Creating Sepia wash for preshow

gpforet

Active Member
I'm doing Brighton Beach Memoirs and want to do a pre-show wash creating a sepia type feel. Am I fooling myself that I can do with with just some amber gels and some soft focus breakup gobos?

I also plan on using this to fade the focus on parts of the set when the focus should be directed elsewhere.

I've read so of the negative aspects of attempting sepia onstage, but this is an application where I'm not trying to hold audience focus, in fact, just the opposite. I want it to be there, but more as a memory (photograph) while action plays on another part of the stage.

Any one with ideas?

This is being done with mostly source 4s and fresnels.
 
Rosco does make a "chocolate" gel color. I can't remember the number, but it does work well for Sepia Tone looks.
 
R99 is what you're looking for Van....does ok making Sepia work on stage. If you're not mixing with anything else it'll do the job...if it is mixing with another color I'd find something in the R16-R325 range.
 
Sepia is one of those things like B&W feel. It is also semi dependant on the scenery itself. If the scenery is of a color that will not take a browning very well then your wasting your time. However with the right painting on the set you can make this a very effective effect and pop your actors out quite well.
 
Sepia is one of those things like B&W feel. It is also semi dependant on the scenery itself. If the scenery is of a color that will not take a browning very well then your wasting your time. However with the right painting on the set you can make this a very effective effect and pop your actors out quite well.

This is a really important point. Although R99 is a good sepia color the other colors on the set will play havoc with that. You'll probably need to do some experimenting with several colors to get it just right for your set.
 
There's a Lee colour (156?) Chocolate brown, that works really well for sepia. I once lit the opening of "The Boyfriend" with it. It was a combined Lighting/Set design concept we slipped past the Director. She loved it eventually.
 

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