Best long lasting blue?

[wolfman005]

So I'm looking for a blue for a rep plot that I can leave in for a decent amount of time. I do plan on using a heat shield (not sure which one yet). I know the more saturated of a blue, the faster it will burn through, but I'd like a deeper blue. We cater to a large variety of acts and so far a deeper blue would have been more usable than the burnt through cyan color that is up there now.

I'm new to using gels because the other theater which I started learning lighting in, we hardly had enough lighting to get a good white without having a ton of ugly shadows.

I'm not sure what brand my dealer carries, but I'd be open to all suggestions

Thanks for your help!
-Aaron

On a side note what do you leave in your rep plot color wise? Right now the red is OK, the "Amber" covers half of the stage, and the green has got to go.

 

[Les]

What kinds and types of instruments are you planning on using it in? Suggestions for Par 64's and 360Q's may be different than say, Source Four ellipsoidals, and Source Four Par EA's.

As for rep colors, I usually do RGB and Amber (overhead) if I have the resources.

 

[wolfman005]

Umm well I believe they are 360Qs and par 56s? I'm honestly not sure. I know they are Altman but I'm not sure what kinds. Mostly everything is a Leko with the exception of some 1000 watt pars. At least according to the sound guy. He's been doing this for 50 years so I trust him on that.
The theater got all of its tech gear from Susical the Muscal when it toured in I belive the 1990s? Lotta work needs to be done on everything. Nice big old dirty CD80 racks and tons of broken melted socket soca (which should probably be replaced with actual hard wires to be code compliant since it's a permanat installation?) But I haven't had time yet to do much more than program some basic scenes to get very faded colors. I have a band gig this Saturday so I'd at least like to get some colors going. Rock type music, but this blue will be for a rep plot.

 

[wolfman005]

Also, do you use green a lot? We have green and it covers the apron but it's ugly on the skin so I was gonna replace it with a nice magenta color.

 

[Les]

Green is usually the first color to go if you want more choices - I just try to keep it if I'm trying to stay UIL compliant (which varies by state I'm assuming). Otherwise, it doesn't stand on its own very well but does mix nicely with blue if you need an aqua-marine color. For any kind of rock show, you probably don't want green.

You will want to replace the melted Soca with something ASAP - that's a severe hazard that makes gel selections trivial or can make the problem completely disappear (as in, the building won't be there anymore). I'll let someone else chime in on the compliance questions regarding temporary cabling in a permanent install, but I'm thinking it's OK as long as things aren't running through walls or plenum spaces.

I also can't find my swatchbook, but with the fixtures you have, you want to choose gels with the highest transmission rates possible while still achieving a color close to what you'd like to see. Higher transmission rates = less heat absorption. This ultimately means longer color life. Transmission rates are listed on manufacturer's websites, but I'd encourage you to pick up a swatch book (they're usually free, or very cheap) and shine a maglite (non-LED!) through them. Seeing colors on the computer screen won't be very accurate compared to what they'll look like in a fixture and shined on stage.

 

[josh88]

Green isn't really flattering on people. Great for making people look dead and for versatility after you've got good coverage but not as many practical everyday uses outside of a cyc.


Via tapatalk

 

[derekleffew]

HT119, which is the High Temperature version of Lee Filters 119, Dark Blue. Has a 3.1% transmission, slightly more than the 1.26% of L120, Deep Blue. In my experience, paying the 2-3 dollars more for the HT version really is worth it. In the Roscolux line, I've never had too many burn-thru or fading issues with R79, R80, or R83.

See also color extender, http://www.derekleffew.com/LSA_ColorExtender.pdf?attredirects=0 , and What's the "secret" behind Lee HT Filters? | ControlBooth .

... I do plan on using a heat shield (not sure which one yet). ...

Gel Shield from Apollo costs more than the others, but again, IME it's worth it. Be aware that it will cut your intensity by about 15%. I'm not sure of the transmission values for other brands of heat shield.

 

[wolfman005]

You will want to replace the melted Soca with something ASAP - that's a severe hazard that makes gel selections trivial or can make the problem completely disappear (as in, the building won't be there anymore). I'll let someone else chime in on the compliance questions regarding temporary cabling in a permanent install, but I'm thinking it's OK as long as things aren't running through walls or plenum spaces.

In regards to melted soca, those branches have been disconnected from the dimmers. I'll probably have to pull down all of it eventually so me (or someone else ) can inspect all of it. Same with the lights.

A while ago I did see a thread about traveling theaters more or less becoming permanent and definitions on whether or not the cabling was required to be a permanent install. I'll have to hunt for that.

If I use a high temp rated gel like the HT119, would I still be better off using a heat shield in addition to the high temp gel?

 

[derekleffew]

... A while ago I did see a thread about traveling theaters more or less becoming permanent and definitions on whether or not the cabling was required to be a permanent install. I'll have to hunt for that. ...

http://www.controlbooth.com/threads/long-term-portable-lighting-system-use.22016

... If I use a high temp rated gel like the HT119, would I still be better off using a heat shield in addition to the high temp gel? ...

Better off? Yes; but with HT color the heat shield may not be necessary. What I'd do, in order of least to most costly (stop when you attain satisfactory results):
1. Build your own double-frame color extenders and use regular color.
2. Use HT in the outer frame.
3. Use heat shield and standard color.
4. Use heat shield and HT color.
5. Use Special FX FadeNot color (no extenders or heat shield required).
6. Use glass/dichroic color (expensive and limited colors).

 

[wolfman005]

Swatch books should be obtainable from a dealer right? Mine carries GAM, Rosco, and Roscolux if there is a difference between the last two. Right now I'm gonna go for some HT gel. My dealer has a racks of swatches with some lights to try them out in. Hopefully I'll be able to stop by the store tomorrow.

Derekle, thanks for your suggestions. I will keep them in mind, but I'm hoping once I start pulling lights and bench focusing them, the HT will do the job.

Man all this talk of dealers...

 

[derekleffew]

... Mine carries GAM, Rosco, and Roscolux if there is a difference between the last two. Right now I'm gonna go for some HT gel. ...

The HT line is only available from Lee Filters. Roscolux and GAMcolor (used to be competitors; Rosco bought GAM last year) are both body-colored polyester filters so I doubt one would have an advantage over the other. Rosco also makes E-colour, a coated filter, and Supergel, Cinegel.

 

[JD]

What about Dichroic filters? A lot more expensive, but lasts forever. Especially good for deep color applications.

 

[wolfman005]

Rather expensive and limited color options. Probably really breakable too if they are glass.