Lighting Color Theory

Maybe you are fresh new church, just starting out. Maybe you have been around a while, but are just updating your equipment. Maybe you just built a new building, and have tons of new technology. No matter where you are right now, there is a potential that you could be saying this, regardless of which category you may fall in to: “What do I do with these lights?!?”

Lighting has really taken off in churches over the last decade or so. As the technology gets better, it gets cheaper, which makes it more accessible to smaller churches. Gone are the days of only the “mega-churches” having the best technology. The reasons for using lighting in the worship setting are numerous. Not only can you use lighting for the obvious reasons of seeing the people on stage…but if used well, it can help take someone to a deeper, more abundant place of worship. “Are you serious?” you may ask. I absolutely am. If you go to Disney, you are fully immersed from the very moment you enter the front gate. The lights, the sounds, the environment, the staff, etc….EVERYTHING is there for a specific reason, to take you to that magical place where they want you to be, so you can get the most of your experience. Churches should be the same way. Except, we aren’t delivering some Mickey Mouse message (no pun intended)….we are trying to get people to connect to our Creator in a meaningful and very real way. Why not use lighting, projection, set designs, awesome worship bands, etc….if it draws people in?

Using lighting correctly can make all the difference between helping or hindering a worship service. You don’t have to have haze, or flashy intelligent lighting….you can make a room look great with just a few pars….if you use them correctly. Let’s get into some of the basics.

The Color Wheel

An RGB Color Wheel is traditional in the field of art. The wheel shows the three Primary colors as Red, Green, and Blue. I suggest you save this. Print this. Use this. You’ll see why below.

PRIMARY COLORS
: Red, green and blue
These are signified by the black triangle. They are Primary, because there are no two colors that can be combined to create these colors. However, by combining any of these three colors, such as any LED lighting fixture, you can create any other color in the universe. Adding all of these colors together at once produces a white light. This technique is called additive color mixing.

SECONDARY COLORS
: Cyan, magenta, and yellow

These are the colors formed by mixing the primary colors. They are located exactly halfway between the primary colors. Intelligent lighting uses Subtractive color mixing, using these colors, to obtain any other color. The reason this is called subtractive mixing, rather than additive like the RGB, is that RGB starts black, and adds the colors until you get to white. With CMY mixing, you start with a white light, and then add filters in front of it, until you get your desired color. Additive color mixing gets brighter as you add color, while subtractive gets darker, to more color you add.

TERTIARY COLORS: 
Red-yellow, red-magenta, magenta-blue, blue-cyan, cyan-green and yellow-green

These are the colors formed by mixing a primary and a secondary color, which is why they are located halfway between a primary and a secondary, and why the hue is a two word name, such as blue-green, red-violet, and yellow-orange. They are indicated by the white hexagonal shape.

COLOR HARMONY
Harmony can be defined as a pleasing arrangement of parts, whether it be music, poetry, color, or even an ice cream sundae.

In visual experiences, harmony is something that is pleasing to the eye. It engages the worshiper and it creates an inner sense of order, a balance in the visual experience. When something is not harmonious, it’s either boring or chaotic. At one extreme is a visual experience that is so bland that the worshiper is not engaged. The human brain will reject under-stimulating information. At the other extreme is a visual experience that is so overdone, so chaotic that the worshiper can’t stand to look at it. The human brain rejects what it can not organize, what it can not understand. The visual task requires that we present a logical structure. Color harmony delivers visual interest and a sense of order.

Some Formulas for Color Harmony

There are many theories for harmony. The following illustrations and descriptions present some basic formulas.

A color scheme based on analogous colors

Analogous colors are any three colors which are side by side on a 12 part color wheel. Usually one of the three colors predominates.

A color scheme based on complementary colors

Complementary colors are any two colors which are directly opposite each other. In the illustration above, there are several variations of yellow-green in the leaves and several variations of red-purple in the orchid. These opposing colors create maximum contrast and maximum stability.

If you talk to any graphic designer, they will tell you the #1 Rule of things NOT to do in graphic design, it to put yellow text on a blue background. It’s hard to read, and it’s not visually pleasing. If you look at the color wheel, you see why. Yellow and Blue are neither analogous nor complementary colors. In theory, this is why it does not look good. Having this color wheel handy when setting your lights will give you a great starting point when deciding what to do with your lights. When you use the Analogous theory, it may seem like the colors are too close to the same, but that’s ok. Subtle differences create depth, without going overboard. Once you get cozy with this theory, start playing with it, and combining practices. For instance, maybe start with an analogous set of 2-3 colors….let’s say Blue, Cyan, and Blue-Green. Then, as an accent color, maybe to be used in on 1-2 lights, use a complementary color to that set, like yellow-orange. You can create some great looking designs, if you stick to the wheel. As you can see in the photos above, even things in nature seem to follow this theory. Knowing this theory helps you to view the beauty He sets before us in a whole new light.

Different readings of the same color

Keep in mind that even once you choose your color palette, you can still vary the way that they are used. In the boxes above, the same two colors are used, but the primary color is flipped. Just changing that subtle difference makes a drastic change. Consider a change like the between a verse and chorus, or maybe on a key change. It will help build the anticipation along with the music, but you don’t have the reinvent the wheel (pun intended). Simple, but effective.

Color Association

Lastly, listen to the lyrics. Colors have meaning. Every logo you have ever seen, whether at a restaurant, a clothing store, a grocery store, an online advertisement for something….the designer picked the colors you saw for a specific reason. Lighting is no different. Colors have many meanings, and can be used to relay information. There are some associations that people know by heart….”Green with Envy”, “Red-faced with Anger”, Sadness is blue, purity is white, girls are pink, etc. But did you know that colors can also stand for certain days of the week? Or even planets? Colors can carry meaning just like the lyrics of a song can…..so if you take time to listen to the tone of the song, and then program your lights accordingly, the effect can be quite dramatic. See this chart below:

COLOR: Associations and Symbolism

RED: Signifies: strength, health, vigor, lust, danger, Holiday: Yule, Planet: Mars, Day: Tuesday.

ORANGE: Signifies: encouragement, adaptability, stimulation, attraction, plenty, kindness, Holiday: Candlemas. Planets: Sun, Mars, Mercury Days: Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday.

YELLOW: Signifies: knowledge, learning, concentration, persuasion, charm, confidence, jealousy, joy, comfort, Planet: Mercury, Day: Wednesday.

GREEN:Signifies: finances, fertility, luck, success energy, charity, growth rejuvenation, ambition, counteract greed and jealousy, plants kingdom including herbal healing, Planets: Venus, Mercury, Days: Friday, Wednesday Holidays: Spring Equinox, Beltane.

BLUE: Signifies: tranquility, understanding, patience, health, truth, devotion, sincerity, honor, loyalty, peace, wisdom, protection during sleep, astral projection Planets: Moon, Venus, Saturn, Jupiter Days: Monday, Friday, Saturday, Thursday.

VIOLET/PURPLE: Signifies: power, piety, sanctity, sentimentality, tension, sadness amplification of other energies. wisdom, high ideals, spiritual protection and healing, psychic ability, protective energy, Planet: Jupiter, Day: Thursday.

BLACK: Negation without reflecting, unlocking when stuck, banishing evil or negativity, Holiday- Samhain, Planet- Saturn, Day – Saturday.

WHITE: Signifies: purity, consecration, meditation, divination, exorcism, the full moon, healing, peace, spiritual strength, may be substituted for any other color. Planet: Moon, Day: Monday.

GRAY: Signifies: balance, neutrality, used in erasing, canceling, neutralizing, and return to the universe without repercussion destructive energies Planet: Moon, Day: Monday.

PINK: Signifies healing, familial or emotional love (rather than sexual), friendship, affections, unselfish emotions, spiritual healing, banishing hatred, Gem: rose quartz Planet:Venus, Day: Friday/

BROWN: Signifies: The Earth. grounding, trees, concentration, telepathy, spells to locate lost objects, protection of the familiars, pets, and animals, Planets: Moon (tan browns), Venus (all), Saturn (dark browns), Days: Monday/ Friday/ Saturday.

SILVER: Signifies: purity, the moon, treasure, values, female energy, the unconscious mind, Day: Monday.

GOLD: Signifies: the sun, male energy, wealth, financial wisdom, conscious mind, attracting happiness, activity, intelligence, Planet: Sun, Day: Sunday.

In closing, I hope you see that the impact you can have with lighting, is much greater if you take some time, do your homework, and specifically try to connect to your congregation with your design. Note also, that these theories can be used with any stage lighting apparatus that has coloring options. You don’t have to have the latest and greatest gear to get great results. In my next article, we will dive into how intensity, or brightness, can make a difference as well.

Some information/graphics were obtained from website whose Copyrights I believe, ran out. I am in no way, claiming that this article is 100% mine. I thank those sites for providing this info.

Related posts:

1. Using Intensity in House & Stage Lighting
2. The Importance of Understanding Music Theory