CA 375 : Finding images and reviews for inspiration

This research guide is intended to help you do research in your role as a student of lighting design for live productions. 

 If you do not find what you need, please Ask a Librarian or contact me, Sylvia Roberts, Liaison Librarian for Communication. 

If you email me (sroberts@sfu.ca), we can figure out how to consult in real time, by phone, Zoom or in person. Or, for a more immediate response, Ask a Librarian.Inspiration from artists

Powerpoint slides (Oct.18, 2022)

Searching for images

The chief difficulty finding images is that you have to search for images using words.   The words that describe the image in the source (the title, the description, the subject descriptors) may not match how you would describe the image

The answer for this is to think creatively and laterally of words that might describe the topic, aspects of the topic (broader, narrower, opposite), applications of the topic word, etc.  Using a thesaurus can help you to find alternative search terms.

Artists' works as inspiration

Artists have often used the qualities of light in their artworks.

Examples of contemporary artists using light as a medium:

If you don't find images that inspire you, try searching one of the image databases using words that describe your topic. 

Alternatively, you can search the visual arts databases to find artists that work with light, with water, or whose artworks embody qualities that you hope to address in your own design.

SFU books & articles

SFU Library databases with images

Open digital image collections

Considerations when using others' images in your work

Inspiration versus reproduction

  • Fair dealing provision of Canada’s Copyright Act for school projects
  • Creative commons licenses
  • Public Domain
  • Otherwise, if you're using images in professional productions, reproducing images requires permission from the copyright holder

Representation

  • Consider what is missing, selected, altered
  • Verify assumptions through research

Finding reviews of productions

Reviews can be excerpted or quoted in books about playwrights’ work. Search the Library catalogue for the name and “dramatic production”, “stage history”, “criticism and interpretation”
 

News sources

 
Consider the place, the date and the scale of a performance when selecting a news database to search.  Performances are not always reviewed but, when they are, the reviews are usually published in a local news source.

Citing the work

 SFU Library provides citation guides that help you cite works that you use in your research, whether these are texts that inform your work, such as production reviews or images that you've adapted into your own designs.  Providing a citation for a work helps your reader make connections between your work and the creative or cultural influence of experts that have inspired you.
 
In theatre, citation style is usually MLA or Chicago / Turabian. 
 
Start by identifying the nature of what you want to cite, whether it's a book, an article, an image or a video.  Look for the explanation and example in the citation guide that covers this object.  Note that citations styles differ for electronic (web-based or database) and print sources.
 
If you have questions about how to cite a specific source, you can Ask a Librarian.