Gels Burning Out, S4 Juniors...etc.

[RonHebbard]

I had a good chuckle when I read the last post. I haven't thought about doing that for many years! Back when gels were made out of less effective materials than they are now, they couldn't handle heat very well at all. When you used a saturated color, you had no choice but do that "tracing wheel" action on the gel before putting it in front of the light.
Does anyone here remember Rosco's old 800 series? They called it Roscolene, instead of Roscolux! The difference between the two media was like cardboard and stainless steel!

Oooh! Roscolene 827, sex in a sheet!
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard.

 

[express]

I don't so much have advice, but congo blue does have a way of burning...

 

[Les]

I'm having an issue with burning a hole in AP 3850. We have it in a Source 4 70 degree. And we burnt through it in under a minute. I was wondering if anyone had tips about how we might avoid burning through it so fast. We've put a frost between it and the light and also pounced but that hasn't helped at all. Any advice would be welcome.

My first suggestion (since it's free) is to check your bench focus. A flat field will be easier on your gels (and shutters/gobos). Frost won't help a whole lot, and might even do more harm than good if you're putting it in the same frame as the gel (my theory being that you're lowering your transmission rate and capturing more heat).

My second suggestion is to put Heat Shield in a separate frame, and stick it in the runner closest to the lens. Put your color in its own frame in the runner furthest from the lens.

I have never pounced gel - there are some debates on whether it allows gel to "breathe" or just provides a convenient hole to begin burn-through.

I would normally also suggest gel extenders, but with your 70° fixtures, those probably wouldn't be the best choice as they'll most likely interfere with the beam.

 

[derekleffew]

...I would normally also suggest gel extenders, but with your 70° fixtures, those probably wouldn't be the best choice as they'll most likely interfere with the beam.

Yep. Here's what I would do: Put heat shield or gel shield in the color slot as normal, then "diaper" the AP3850 using clothespins/binder clips as necessary. If/when it burns, just move to a different part of the sheet.

May also be worth seeing what the manufacturer says. @Kelite , @GreyWyvern ?

 

[np18358]

Apollo Heat shield is IMHO the best, and will certainly add some life to the gel. I use congo blue a lot, and have found that the Lee High Temperature 181 lasts the longest. I think Gam 930 was the next longest lasting.

 

[Kelite]

That's a pretty saturated Congo Blue for sure, Wayne. Adjusting the bench focus a bit flatter may help as would a barrier of Gel Shield. We install Gel Shield on all Apollo Smart Color PRO scrollers before they leave our place, as it lengthens gel string life an average 7x longer than without.