Followspot color choices

[PeteEngel]

Rosco (as well as other gel manufacturers) make a line of CTO gel to correct from daylight to various warmer color temps. You can drop the proper CTO in one of your gel frames, then use the standard gel color you would like to see from another frame. Here is a link to the Rosco site. I'm sure Apollo and Lee offer similar options. I'll add those links as I find them.

Roscolux - rosco.com Apollo link, Color Correction is in the 2000's Apollo Design | Gel Lee has a link that allows you to pick source and converted color temp at this site; Mired Shift Calculator for LEE Lighting Filters

 

[GoboMan]

Awesome! Thank you all for your suggestions and advice! As soon as I can get into the space I will try these out!

 

[lighttech11]

Anyone out there have some favorite gel choices for arc followspots? Or any colors that they've found work well with arc followspots? Color correction, etc?

 

[techieman33]

You'll almost always find R33 in a spotlight. A n/c violet, some flavor of CTO, and a soft diffusion (R119, R132, or R140) are the most common.

 

[DuckJordan]

I personally hate diffusion in spots

 

[LD4Life]

As far as diffusion goes, I always make sure that there is an R132 in the spots so that I can soften them depending on the song. As far as color goes, I don't tend to use strong colors for spots. However, I will use a variety of color corrections to make it look more pleasing and mix better with the colors used in various numbers.

 

[Heather R]

I'm wondering if anyone has come across the situation I'm in, and has found a gel(s) that make them happy. I am in a concert hall of very pale wood, and I find I have to consider the look and bounce from the deck as much as the direct light from the source itself. It is so warm in here on deck colour temperature is more in the 2800 range in a show state. I hate having to use my 2 Lycian Superstar 1.2K spots with their 5600 temperature, as I have yet to find a gel combination that doesn't make people look grey against front light that is generally R02, R05 or R305. R30 I can almost live with, but it should be better! I've tried various combinations already mentioned on this thread - just wondering if anyone has had joy with a pale bouncy deck that doesn't include painting it black.

 

[CameronLD]

Hello CB

In the past, my school's followspots have been loaded with 6 (the maximum our color magazines can hold) fairly saturated and diverse gels (I believe it is currently one red, one pink, one blue, one purple, one green, and one yellow,). While this has seemed like a decent idea in the past, when I got to thinking about it, I have wondered about the practicality of it all, because we rarely end up using them, which I suspect is due to the fact that they often don't work with actors skin tones very well, and make them appear to be very unnatural.

So, I was wondering if any of you have "generic" or "repertory" gels that you use in followspots, especially for those of you who work in spaces that are used for many different purposes, such as schools. Like if you have a set of gels that you put in your spots after a show, or a set that you even use during a show unless you have to have a special effect with a followspot that could only be achieved with a specific color. Ideas, criticisms, life lessons?

My current plan for the 6 gels:
1) A frost: R132 (for a tiny bit of diffusion on the edges, to diminish the effects of the light awkwardly clipping set pieces and other actors)
2) A warm: R04
3) A cool: R60
4) A red: R26?
5) A blue: R60?
6) A green: R91?

Thanks,
Cameron

 

[techieman33]

First off, lose the green. No one looks good under a green light. There might be a rare occasion that you need a green spot, and need to put a green gel it, but it shouldn't be part of a standard spot color package. The big thing your missing is a n/c pink like a R33, and maybe a light lav. Generally a light pink, blue, lav, and amber will get you through just about anything. But lighting is an art, and what works for me, might not work for you. You may want to do something like that for normal stuff, and then plan on changing them for musicals, and other special occasions.

 

[JD]

Deep colors are great for a specific special effect in a specific scene, but other than that, they are a waste of space. Your colors should be dictated by the particular production you are working on. I think what you are looking for is a "default" set that would remain in the spot unless a special need arises. There's a lot of latitude in those choices. I would agree with the frost, but beyond that I would stick to various shades of white. A pale amber, something with a hint of pink, something a bit cooler, maybe a daylight correction if it is a tungsten spot, then maybe a deep read for kicks.

 

[derekleffew]

I know I've posted this before, but cannot find the thread.

This approach may be the most sensible approach when dealing with "standard" followspot colors. Not only are the colors useful on their own, but by subtractively mixing them, many other useful colors can be achieved.

Actual results will vary, as there are a number of uncontrollable factors: How bright is the light, what is it competing against, light source, color temperature, and so on. DISCLAIMER: I've never tested this, and very likely would never use this approach. But if I had house fixtures that needed stock color with no time/budget to regel between events, and no outside lighting designer, I would definitely test the theory, and likely tweak the colors somewhat.

 

[np18358]

There's a lot of debate on the frost. I know a lot of designers prefer the absolute lightest frost possible (which I believe is R140), but I find that R132 is great, and is a more versatile frost. The Spots (6000K) at my school also have 6 frames, and the colors that we use for rep are
1. R119
2. R132
3. L204 ( Full CTO)
4. A Minus Green (I don't know which)
5. L790
6. L108

But Usually For the Musicals, unless I am doing an effect (like the green spot I did for Shrek), I just Tape R132, a minus green, and sometimes a CTO on the front. Since the Boomerang is self cancelling, it's really hard to get all three frames in at once.

For our S4s on a stick, they usually get a safety frame filled with the same frost as the other spots, and I sometimes will put L201 in front (or an additional safety frame and I'll have them carefully add) if I am trying to match the other spots (although that kind of voids one of the main purposes of the S4 Followspot).

I have rarely used any saturates, the only that come to mind were green for shrek, a Medium Lavender for a Light In The Piazza, and a Red for Anything Goes.

 

[z2oo]

For our S4s on a stick, they usually get a safety frame filled with the same frost as the other spots, and I sometimes will put L201 in front (or an additional safety frame and I'll have them carefully add) if I am trying to match the other spots (although that kind of voids one of the main purposes of the S4 Followspot).

A little off topic, but I've used something like 1/16" or 1/8" GAC through a hole in a SFOAS gel frame to make sure that my SFOAS spot ops will NEVER drop a frame 30' below them... Usually just R02/R60 that I can have them swap out, and diffusion stays in the slot closest to the lens. I know there's another thread here about safetying accessories. This is totally a case in which that's required.