What's the purpose of warm/cool
- Thread startercarsonld
- Start date
By doing warm and cool at 45 on opposite sides you fully light a persons face so they can be seen. One half of their face will look warm and the other half lit with cool tricks the audiences mind into seeing shadow even though they are fully lit. Or at least that's one of the reasons it's useful to do it.
It's not law, and there's always compromise but it's an easy hot and fast rule if you need something that looks ok in a hurry. The angles can be less or more than 45 and you can use other colors, that's where the design fun comes into play.
http://www.controlbooth.com/wiki/?title=Collaborative-Articles:McCandless-Method
Also take a look at the toning and blending section of this for a bit more of an explanation
http://www3.northern.edu/wild/th241/sc12c.htm#blending
It's not law, and there's always compromise but it's an easy hot and fast rule if you need something that looks ok in a hurry. The angles can be less or more than 45 and you can use other colors, that's where the design fun comes into play.
http://www.controlbooth.com/wiki/?title=Collaborative-Articles:McCandless-Method
Also take a look at the toning and blending section of this for a bit more of an explanation
http://www3.northern.edu/wild/th241/sc12c.htm#blending
Last edited:
RickR
Well-Known Member
I expect you'll get many views, and interpretations. The key to understanding is to see what the light does. But here is my 2 cents.
The long answer is in the books by MacCandless.
Short versions:
- Warm/cool colors create contrast at the same level of brightness.
- 45s create highlights and shadows that reveal shape. Note that MacCandless said 45s all around, not just in front.
The long answer is in the books by MacCandless.
Short versions:
- Warm/cool colors create contrast at the same level of brightness.
- 45s create highlights and shadows that reveal shape. Note that MacCandless said 45s all around, not just in front.
chawalang
Well-Known Member
Keep in mind thats for theatre, if you work broadcast you will have a few more things thrown into the mix. The Mccandless method applies for TV but you will also want to use front light and different kinds of gels. Spot lights with non flicker ballasts will be needed as well.
Top light will help round up your look.
If you are referring to side light like fixtures hung from ladders OFF STAGE SL or SR I primarily use that for dance or opera, creates a lot of drama lighting performers using fixtures from that location.
Top light will help round up your look.
If you are referring to side light like fixtures hung from ladders OFF STAGE SL or SR I primarily use that for dance or opera, creates a lot of drama lighting performers using fixtures from that location.
lwinters630
Well-Known Member
If you have a thrust stage, one that projects into the audience, cross-lighting at 45 helps the with visibility and avoiding unwanted shadows.
Some will do a 4 point light scheme using warm/cool in opposite corners, which also works for a theater in the round.
warm cool can also be used to create a natural look as when you are outside the sun will usually be stronger on one side of an object, revealing form (3d roundness). Top/back light helps with this shaping, like a Rosco 56.
Some will do a 4 point light scheme using warm/cool in opposite corners, which also works for a theater in the round.
warm cool can also be used to create a natural look as when you are outside the sun will usually be stronger on one side of an object, revealing form (3d roundness). Top/back light helps with this shaping, like a Rosco 56.
Only sort of? Two front lights work best for getting that shadow but a sidelight works. The look will be slightly different but still similar. I'd suggest just trying it if you can. Put something on stage and light it a bunch of different ways. Multiple angles, colors, backlight only, etc, it will give you a feel and an understanding of various looks you can achieve
lwinters630
Well-Known Member
JD
Well-Known Member
I always called it "amplifying reality." Much as sound reinforcement amplifies the audio reality so the audience can better hear the show, the cool/warm overlap and interference visually amplifies the look so that at a distance the performers look more realistic. I know that sounds funny, but as distance increases, stereo 3D vision drops off so that a mono illuminated object begins to look two-dimensional.
I also vote for the idea by @josh88 set up a light demo and experiment. For the front light also experiment with warm with neutral versus cool with neutral (with limited equipment one trick is to double hang one side and use the warm and cool there and on the single hung side use a neutral, that way you can have looks for day and night, interior and exterior). Also set up booms for 90 degree side light, high, mid and low so you can find out why shinbusters are so great for dance. There is also the old rock and roll trick of using colors opposite on the color wheel, red from one side and cyan from the other, or purple opposite green. In addition to high backlight, also set up low backlight. A Fresnel on deck can be a useful look, even a Fresnel with the lens removed behind a drummer for a solo. Yes, it's a gimmick but is a nice trick to have up your sleeves.
As @JD points out, just like walking the room when setting up a sound system, see how the light looks from everywhere.
As @JD points out, just like walking the room when setting up a sound system, see how the light looks from everywhere.
BillConnerFASTC
Well-Known Member
Mac did cal this "a method" and not "the method". And it went back to when border lights were not uncommon and other lighting tended to flatten things out.
I always liked and have embraced Tom Skelton's spin on this, that instead of left and right, implosion explosion. Front of house center were units that fanned out - left right and center stage - and at ends of foh position were units focused inward towards center - stage left lighting stage left to center, and opposite stage right. Extended to box booms as were common on Bway.
I've always preferred 35 to 40 degrees off the horizon, favoring less dark eye sockets and fewer wrinkles over tight upstage downstage area control.
So, do what you want, and realize many people were taught " A Method of Stage Lighting" and are familiar with those terms.
I always liked and have embraced Tom Skelton's spin on this, that instead of left and right, implosion explosion. Front of house center were units that fanned out - left right and center stage - and at ends of foh position were units focused inward towards center - stage left lighting stage left to center, and opposite stage right. Extended to box booms as were common on Bway.
I've always preferred 35 to 40 degrees off the horizon, favoring less dark eye sockets and fewer wrinkles over tight upstage downstage area control.
So, do what you want, and realize many people were taught " A Method of Stage Lighting" and are familiar with those terms.
My thoughts are that I'd creates a more 3 dimensional appearance. Straight front light creates a 2d look by eliminating shadows. I tend to use 5 fortnight systems, from right to left, A darker warm(I.e. L110), a lighter warm(R02), a no color straight from the front, a lighter cool(R60), and then a darker cool(L117).
Then I use a variety of downright and backlights in darker reds, greens, blues, and violets to create dark colored "halo's" around actors.
Then I use a variety of downright and backlights in darker reds, greens, blues, and violets to create dark colored "halo's" around actors.
Zebulon1880
Member
Simple... Warm color light = highlights
Cool color light = shadow fill
Cool color light = shadow fill
I just designed a show with the following colors all together, and it looked pretty good. Alot of these colors I use regularly in my various shows and rep plots.
A good warm front is either R-02 if you want to go the slight amber route, or R-305 for a very slight pinky look. Front cools I usually use L-201. My usual sidelight colors are like R-36 for warm and R-65 for cool. I recommend R-99 for a warmer interior, and something lavendery like R-57 or R-4930 is worth looking at. I would recommend R-80 or L-200 as a deeper blue that you'd want to use for night time. I have found that R-333 looks pretty good as a top light. dull pink but it has nice blue undertones.
Just remember - color is cheap and the easiest thing to change at the last minute. Experiment!
A good warm front is either R-02 if you want to go the slight amber route, or R-305 for a very slight pinky look. Front cools I usually use L-201. My usual sidelight colors are like R-36 for warm and R-65 for cool. I recommend R-99 for a warmer interior, and something lavendery like R-57 or R-4930 is worth looking at. I would recommend R-80 or L-200 as a deeper blue that you'd want to use for night time. I have found that R-333 looks pretty good as a top light. dull pink but it has nice blue undertones.
Just remember - color is cheap and the easiest thing to change at the last minute. Experiment!
This would be a good time to post these links, the color media companies have lots of help available:
http://www.internetapollo.com/Support/
http://www.rosco.com/colorgallery/
http://www.leefilters.com/lighting/colour-details.html the mood boards are interesting
And this has lots of light plots of well known designers, great info.
http://thelightingarchive.org/index.php
http://www.internetapollo.com/Support/
http://www.rosco.com/colorgallery/
http://www.leefilters.com/lighting/colour-details.html the mood boards are interesting
And this has lots of light plots of well known designers, great info.
http://thelightingarchive.org/index.php
kicknargel
Well-Known Member
Also with a warm/cool system you can vary the intensities to get a primarily warm look with cool fill, or a primarily cool look with warm fill, and varieties in between.
That said, I don't prefer this method and almost never use it. I guess I'm of a minority opinion, but I hate warm front light. I almost always go for a light lav, like R54. I like high sides to create key/highlight (sometimes I do warm/cool here) and straight front, which I use as fill. Then other colors and angles for variety.
That said, I don't prefer this method and almost never use it. I guess I'm of a minority opinion, but I hate warm front light. I almost always go for a light lav, like R54. I like high sides to create key/highlight (sometimes I do warm/cool here) and straight front, which I use as fill. Then other colors and angles for variety.
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