Please help with gels

[djzeroflau]

Hi all

this is my first time posting. Im a small time designer, get me to program an elabrate show with 50 moving lights ..no problem.....ask me to gel. I get lost. I am working on a show now, the whole show happens "inside the kitchen" in 3 different kitchens all at night. I have 12 fernals as front washes. So far i have spent 3 days testing different combinations of gels, and am not happy with any of them. Can anybody suggest a starting point for picking gels for my situations.

anyhelp would be great.

thanks so much

 

[sk8rsdad]

Let us assume you are going for realism. Here are some basic how-to-light-a-box-set considerations that might help you narrow in on your colour choice:

• Is there an apparent light source on the set? If so, that becomes your key light. Light coming from that direction will want to be whiter than the reflected light. Incandescent light would be toward the red end of the spectrum, flourescent toward the green.
• If there is no apparent light source then that implies some sort of invisible ceiling fixture. Your top light becomes the whitest/brightest source.
• What colour are the walls of the set? The reflected light off those walls becomes your fill light and ought to contain a hint of the wall colour. That includes the 4th wall and the ceiling. Ceilings are often painted white so the light from above is typically whiter than the light bouncing off the walls.
• What are the skin tones of your actors? In general, skin tones have some red in them so your front fill should have a touch of red in it too.
• When in doubt, light or medium fatherless amber is a safe choice.

YMMV

 

[JChenault]

If there is no strong sense of directionanility in the light, ask yourself what color is "white". The choice of that color may be based on the set, implied lighting, time of day or emotional content. Then find a warm and cool that work together to give you that color. Use those two colors as the base for what you are doing.

Given your 12 fixtures, Each area gets two fresnels so that you get a warm and cool side tothe face. ( Ie the mccandless method)