Gel Color Basics

[dtpuga]

Alright all you pro and not-so-pro lighting guys. Our church is moving into our new building in a month and I need lighting advice. We have three theaters and a good bit of theatrical lighting in each of them. Currently we have no gels, so everything is bright and white.

The stage positions are mostly covered by at least 3 point lighting and most of the lights are Frenels, not spots. I need to purchase gels, lots of gels. What colors should I purchase lots of? What colors should I keep a few on hand of? What are some basic color combos that you have used and been pleased with?

I am thinking I want to mainly keep white light as my front light and then light the stage, instruments and musicians with colored back and down lighting.

HELP!

[Davyboy]

If you're talking color combos, just use the complementary colors. If you aren't an artist, that means red/green, yellow/purple, orange/blue, etc. You can make some cool looks with almost compliments too, like yellow/blue.

If you go with red/green/blue, you can color mix alot, but the green won't be too bright, however, red/yellow/blue can yield some good results(red/yellow/blue/magenta/purple) and will save you on how many lights you use(3 for 5 colors).

Experimenting with more exotic colors is also a good idea for when you need special looks(sermon series, etc.)

-David

[Doc Kavanagh]

Travis , back in the day I worked in a situation where we used 2 lights .That's all there was room for . We used the same color gel in each . It was , I believe a number 003 . It was called " bastard amber " . It made skin tones look natural . Be careful with green and some other colors or you will have your people with unnatural skin tones .

Doc

[amprodirect]

Amber is always a good one, today we are politically correct and the name is now "fatherless amber" - seriously. For church, a good blue and purple is always good. Davyboy's mention above is good to go with.

David Cherry
Shoreline
Austin

[twc_admin]

Doc,
We have the bastard amber, I'll never forget the reality that Travis wasn't kidding when he said that was the color!

[geoffmclarty]

Ok so I've read the past couple of replies to this post and I agree mostly with these posts. I was the lighting/sound/audio engineer at Evangel University for three years. We had plenty of people come in with ideas about lighting... and frankly, most of them stunk. When you are gel lighting it is difficult to place the gels in and be happy.

I am now at a church where I can do what I want. First, let me say this. If you can, GO WITH LED LIGHTS!!! With millions of color combos, you can't go wrong!! If you can't go that route (Money is always a factor) try putting more than one gel in the light. Ive mixed color variations of red to light the back wall behind the drummer. To light the ceiling in front of the musicians, I've used a combo of orange and yellow. It sounds weird, but it gives an almost rust look that compliments the red in the back.

Go to guitar center and but the DJ pack of gels (make sure it is the dj and not the rock pack). It will generally run you thirty bucks, but you have tons of options!

Good Luck!
Geoff McLarty
Worship and Creative Arts Pastor
New Life Community Church
Clayton MO

[Rocky Presley]

Bastard Amber (02) is cool if you want a soft light up front. I was noticing that some were using (03) which is a dark Bastard Amber. Be sure you have the fixture to handle the transmission loss that will occur with a more saturated color. If you want something a bit more intense, I prefer some of the color corrective gels like 3204. It enhances the natural light from the fixture, rather than changing it, thus decreasing the light transmission loss. It gives the stage that cool, television look rather than the bright Sunday glory that bastard amber gives.

For your front lights, I like to do 3204 for the head on light, and then your two key lights use a 11 (light straw) and 60 (No Color Blue). I also use 116 diffusion so that I can hard focus the lighting intensity, and then soften the edges with the diffuser rather than running the barrel out. That gives you some really nice shadows, and gives you a very looking light that still draws the attention to the stage.

For back light, it depends on how many fixtures you have hung as to how many color combinations you can do. If you are limited, then you might just have a cool/warm look, ie 82 (surprise blue) and 10 (Medium Yellow). If you have the fixtures, add 26 (light red), then 92 (turquoise), and lastly 58 (deep lavender). Then you can begin to create some really great moods beyond just a cool/warm look.

If you are limited on fixtures, color gels are an economical way to add additional color without the expense of additional fixtures/dimmers. LEDs may not work for you if you have a high ceiling. They just don't put out the foot candles to be affected back lighting, but work great for scenic/FX lighting.

Hope that helps! That was kind of a lighting gel basics class!

[Doc Kavanagh]

Thanks , Rocky