Source for gels?

Hello, I am looking for a place I can by a supply of Steel Blue gels for par 56 cans. I am a newcomer to lighting, but it was part of the package when I took the A/V directors position at my church.
The steel blue color was recommended to us because we are getting a a yellow/brown look from the cans without any gels at all. Any other suggestions? You can see what our lighting looks like if you check out our website.

http://www.mesquitebible.org/pages/worship.shtml

Thanks for the help,
Mark
 
If you dont have a thatrical supply store near you, i would try Barbizon.com or Lighttrader.com. but in all honesty, you should be able to do a google search and come up with hundreds of places that have what you need online.

Because you didnt mention it, you may need to know a color code for the color you want to get. If you have no clue what the color code is for the brand/color you need, take a look at the major manufacturer sites to search their color collections:

www.rosco.com, www.gamonline.com, www.internetapollo.com, www.leefilters.com (though it doesnt seem to be working right now...)

hope this helps!
 
Using a steel blue i think u are going to get to much of a black light look. you might want to go for an amber color, or a very transperent purple. if u buy a gel book , that has all the colors mad in gels. then u would have a wide range to choose from.
 
Actually, steel blue wont give you a black light look. Depending on what you are trying to achieve, it is a very good cool, ever so slightly greenish front light color. Stanley McCandless (Extremly famous lighting designer from days of yore, developer of the McCandless 5 point lighting method) highly reccomended its use as a face light next to an amber or rose color... one allowing a warm look on the stage, the other a cool. The only danger with this color is that yes, with too much of it, you start to look like you are underwater, but hey... have enough lights, the go for 2 color front light systems and blend away.

I think the original poster was looking for a way to whiten up some lights that were already very yellowy... suggestions for that would be possibly, Rosco 60 , and Lee 201 202 or 203, each gives you a varying ammount of "whitening" power with its own unique characteristics. I do agree though, you need to get some swatch books and see what you like.

Oh... and black light "color" can be obtained with one of my personal favorite colors Rosco 59 (though i have yet to have an opportunity to use it.)
 
Usually I go with the two-color front lighting theory. For straight plays, I usually go with a light amber (R02) and a no-color blue (R60) from Rosco. These two colors are great for achieving realism, but in some applications the amber will look a bit too muddy. So instead, I sometimes substitute the light amber for a light pink, or surprise pink. This is a great tint for musicals and dance theatre, and may be just what you are looking for to give your service a warm and inviting look. It also does great things for skin tones. To be on the safe side, I would buy several sheets of gel in assorted colors, i.e. steel blue, pale purple, light amber, no color blue, light pink, etc...so you can experiment and find what you like best. After all, it has alot to do with tradition and personal taste. In theatre or anywhere in the performance world, its okay to agree to disagree. But be sure to equally balance your "cool" colors with your "warms" so you have some 'leeway' between too hot and too cold.
 

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