Conventional Fixtures Color Media Inventory poll

[LightStud]

For what I was buying it didn't make a difference because it was a very common color, but I can see a situation where this would be very problematic. Has anyone else had this experience??

Yes, but the dealer is no longer in business. First, change dealers. If you want Roscolux, you should be able to get Roscolux. Any dealer that cannot/willnot supply the most popular line of color filter ever is...(I won't speculate, but there are reasons--none of which benefit you as the consumer). Second, LEE Filters 0xx are supposed to be identical in color to Roscolux xx numbers, although some are not, and some are available in "HT" versions. Caveat emptor!

 

[quarterfront]

I was wondering if anyone had ever heard of this. I recently had a weird experience when trying to buy gels at my local rental house. I had ask for a Rosco color and was told in reply that the rental house only sold Lee gels and that they could sell me the equivilent gel color by Lee. This seemed very strange to me. For what I was buying it didn't make a difference because it was a very common color, but I can see a situation where this would be very problimatic. Has anyone else had this experience??

I've never run into a dealer who didn't stock Rosco. 'Course, I don't get out much.

I wish my friendly local theatre supply (really, they are friendly and they are local and they do supply theatre stuff) could stock Gam but they say it's not feasable for them. What they tell me is that to sell Gam they have to stock the full line, keep a stock of x number of sheets of every color Gam makes. Because Gam isn't in high demand here (I have folders in my cabinet for the full range of Rx colors but only about 35 or so Gam numbers, for example) it'd be an economic boondoggle for them to stock Gam. I don't do their books so I'm in no position to argue.

I imagine if said supplier switched to nothing but Gam I'd buy mostly Gam, over time. No real brand loyalty to Rx, just pragmatism....

 

[len]

When I (seldomly) get calls from someone else to do a show, they mostly specify Rosco colors. And 99.9% of the time when I ask if I can substitute comparable Apollo or Lee they don't have a problem with it. Only once that I can remember did someone say "Rosco" only. Occasionally, I'll get someone specify some color that is only made by Rosco, or Apollo, or Lee, but there's usually enough time to get it.

 

[PadawanGeek]

All Rosco here. I'm just more familiar with their colors so I stick to them.

 

[derekleffew]

Here's the best reason I've ever heard for choosing one brand over another, at least in one very specific circumstance for Gilbert Hemsley:

... Lo and behold I got a telegram from Tharon Musser asking if I would come to Beirut, Lebanon and finish lighting a girlie show. ... I used to pray for Rosco gel because there was no toilet paper in Beirut and Rosco gel tissue sheets had better absorbency than Cinemoid. I used to hide the stacks of gels so I would have toilet paper.

 

[sdauditorium]

The majority of what we have is Rosco. For the last four-five years though, I've only been purchasing Apollo gel. In my opinion, Apollo seems to last just as long (if not longer) and the color seems to be just as good. Also, it doesn't hurt that I can find Apollo sheets (20x24") at $4.75 a pop.

At this point, we don't have a ton of touring shows and outside demands for certain gel to satisfy, so as LD, I can order pretty much whatever I want based on my needs and likes.

On a separate note, our house has become a big Apollo fan. Great customer service, great prices, and we haven't had any problems with any of our stuff...whether it's gel, Right Arms, or color scrollers. Plan on picking up some DMX Gobo Rotators from them next year or the year after.

 

[shiben]

So our local supply house does not stock Apollo, but they can order it. This irks me, since I like Apollo, and tend to use the color that I like no matter who its by. At any rate, We stock every color of Rosco (including a few that are not made any more (about 50 sheets of R866), along with select colors by GAM, Lee and Apollo.

 

[seanandkate]

Overwhelming majority is Rosco.

 

[zmb]

Nearly anywhere I've been at most the gel selection is Rosco and that's what I mainly use for when I design shows. Lee and Rosco are also the easiest to find in the Seattle area, GAM and Apollo are also available if you look for them.

 

[zuixro]

We are completely Rosco with the exception of two or three LEE colors. We use L201 in almost every show. We buy out our supplier any time they have it. (They don't usually have it, so we usually end up with Booster Blue (R62 I think), which is a pretty close equivalent.

 

[derekleffew]

Today I used 10 sheets each of L201 and X119. I've said before, if any manufacturer could combine these two, they'd claim the corporate meeting market, and save the end user half the cost, and more importantly, half the labor.

 

[Dsotm75]

I use Rosco about 95% of the time. There are a couple Lee and GAM colors that the designers I work with use also (mostly L160, L170, and L180).

 

[derekleffew]

I got concerned with myself. Now I don't do Lee 4xx or 7xx numbers, but I thought I knew all 1xx numbers pretty well. Lee 160 does not appear to exist. Did you mean L161, perchance?

 

[shiben]

What does it take to get a color named after yourself? I dont know what color I want, but I want one named after me.

 

[gafftapegreenia]

1) Become a Broadway designer.

2) Insist that no color perfectly suits your needs.

3) Convince Producer show cannot happen without your perfect color.

4) Pay ROSCO for minimum # of sheets of custom color.

5) Name gel after yourself.

6) ?????

7) PROFIT

 

[shiben]

1) Become a Broadway designer.

2) Insist that no color perfectly suits your needs.

3) Convince Producer show cannot happen without your perfect color.

4) Pay ROSCO for minimum # of sheets of custom color.

5) Name gel after yourself.

6) ?????

7) PROFIT

That sounds like a lot of work. Any way I can just bribe someone?

 

[erosing]

You could always buyout or start your own company.

 

[Dsotm75]

I got concerned with myself. Now I don't do Lee 4xx or 7xx numbers, but I thought I knew all 1xx numbers pretty well. Lee 160 does not appear to exist. Did you mean L161, perchance?

Why, yes I do!

 

[Kelite]

That sounds like a lot of work. Any way I can just bribe someone?

Ummmm..... how much have you got?

 

[renegadeblack]

We use, and all the shows that I've done elsewhere, have been entirely Rosco, with the exception of one shoe where we had a guest LD (who was a major PITA) who swore by LEE and left all of his gel behind and seems to have forgotten about it.