Setting The Scene
This piece is about setting the mood, the lighting, sounds, ambience, etc. These aspects are easy to overlook but when used well can elevate a good scene to a truly great one. I am not going to attempt to go in to creating an elaborate dungeon scene, an interrogation booth or an Arabian harem. The idea is to cover the basic aspects that can make all the difference to a traditional scene, in somewhere like a bedroom, and can be selectively applied to more elaborate settings as you wish.
Lighting
Overly bright lighting can make relaxing uncomfortable. Equally, too dim lighting makes watching for reactions, subtle signs, many of the things that make D/s so much fun, much harder if not impossible - not to mention the difficulty checking your aim with things like whips and crops.There are several ways you can control the level of lighting. The most immediate option is to turn the light source(s) on or off. That gives very little control but can work well if you have multiple lights around the room which can be turned on or off as needed, providing an overall level of light.
Another alternative is to control the bulb itself - replace a powerful bulb with a weaker one. Again, this offers little control and is hard to adjust.
Probably the best option is to install a dimmer switch if you do not already have one. This allows you to adjust to exactly the level of light you require. For outright showing off/style, you can get hold of remote control dimmers for about (US$30).
Ideally you can combine several options. A dimmer switch gives you control over the main light source, with lamps in other places providing any additional light sources you want. Additional lights also help you create diffuse light - the next concept.
Diffuse light is where the light does not come from one specific source. If you have the light coming from one place, looking in that direction will leave your eyes having trouble adjusting to the relative dark elsewhere, not to mention making that light seem harsher. Using an uplighting lampshade directs the light from the room's main light to the ceiling, which helps it reflect off a much larger area and creates a much more diffuse, softer light. You can also use gauzy, translucent shrouds over lights. Be careful with this though, as lights get very hot and can be a potential fire risk. Whatever approach you use, diffuse light is much softer and more relaxing, ideal for scenes where concentration and mental states are the focus.
The final type of light, after specular (direct) and diffuse (indirect) light, is kinetic - this is light that moves. Candles and fires are the two most obvious sources. The light cast will flicker and move, animating shadows, drawing attention to planes of flesh. This type of light is usually not powerful or consistent enough to provide the sole light source but does add interest and atmosphere. You can also use the candles for wax play later.
Once you have addressed types of light, you may wish to consider the colour of it. Plain white, or more artificial yellow, shows things clearly but can be, for want of a better term, a little boring. The immediate choice for most people is red. Red light has all sorts of connotations with adult industries and taboos. There are problems with red light though: it makes some things very hard to distinguish - it also just does not make people look good.
If you watch adult movies that use coloured lighting, you will notice that they tend toward blue rather than red light. Blue light has the advantage that it actually makes people look thinner - always good for your own self confidence and something your partner will thank you for.
Sound
Sound is easy to overlook. After all, silence is pretty easy to get. The problem here comes that silence does not actually block out any background noises such as those from the outside, noisy bed springs, etc. By providing a background level of sound, most of these sources, and the distraction they cause, can be limited.If you want to, you can go with contemporary music. Try and consider making the music complimentary to the scene rather than directly challenging it. After all, you want to increase the ability to concentrate and reach heightened mental states, not block it. The kind of music that will do that for you will probably vary. It could be classical, romantic or sensual (i.e. Barry White), ambient (i.e. Massive Attack) or mystical (i.e. Ozric Tentacle [Don't ask]).
Carrying on the mystical theme you may wish to go for less common forms. Tribal or religious chanting, middle German, or natural sounds (i.e. whale song, "sounds of the rainforest", thunder, etc.) can all work well. Picking a consistent, rhythmic, but non-lyrical (or non-intelligably lyrical in the case of Latin, middle German or tribal chanting) sound source can heighten the mood without actually providing lyrics to focus upon and therefore break concentration.
Dom/mes may wish to try and focus their efforts so they are in time with the beat of any music. By timing kisses, touches, blows, etc. with the beat, the two combine to make the experience more intense - one playing off the other - helping with journeys towards sub-space. There is also the stylistic point that the beat can keep your actions fluid and consistent.
Temperature
To quote kitten, who asked me to include this section, "Goosebumps just aren't sexy!". It may seem trivial but avoiding the room becoming too hot or too cold is well worth considering. Either one can be distracting. Ensuring heating is set to keep the room at a comfortable basic temperature with fans or air conditioning available to cool it is not difficult and can make quite a difference.Once you are controlling the temperature, you can make subtle variations to suit the types of play you are using. By raising the heat just enough to raise a light sweat makes cool breaths that much more powerful and ice-cubes even more intense. Dropping it a few degrees, so things are just a little cool makes the perceived heat of wax all that much more intense without increasing the risk of a burn.
Furnishings
If you are bringing someone to a room for a scene, make the room everything it can be. Clean, crisp sheets can be evocative of far more romantic settings. Having a pillow or cushion ready to put on the floor if you intend to make someone kneel, to protect their knees, will gain unbelievable gratitude. A wooden chair, again maybe with a cushion for comfort, can be great for bending someone across your lap for a spanking or easy to tie them to for sensation play. They are all simple touches that take next to no time to arrange yet can enhance a scene, while an untidy bedroom with unmade dirty bedding and discarded clothes all over the floor can completely kill the mood.If you intend to use a set of toys, you may wish to lay them out somewhere convenient, but to the side, before hand. This way you can gently introduce the person you are playing with to them if they are nervous, or deliberately leave them there, in the edge of vision, threateningly, if you wish to make them more so. You can also add the formal aspect of sending someone to fetch the toy that they are about to have used on them. Not only that, it saves the embarrassing searching around for a misplaced toy, losing the mood of the moment while you search.
Conclusion
It takes very little effort to set a great scene: Consider the lighting, maybe add a dimmer switch; select a couple of CDs that will enhance the mood; set the heating and have a fan to hand; prepare the room by making the bed, tidying up, having a spare pillow or two ready; lay out the toys you intend to use. Those simple touches can make all the difference to the mood of a scene, changing it from appearing fumbling and ill-prepared to stylish and assured. Surely a good investment?
SoulThief
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This page was last updated on Sunday 17th 2000f September 2000