What color gels are the most usefull?

[lordgarak]

I'm about to order some new gels and I'm trying to decide on what colors to get. We have mostly 500watt pars and dark color gels don't come out very nice.

The red and blue gels we are using now are nice but I'm haveing a hard time trying to find some other gels to use that arn't too dark or just plain ugly from what we have.

[f6r6e6d6]

keep it to just two or three collors in general.
your setup will look really tacky,with like 10 different collors imho

just make sure you get one "warm" and one "cold" colour.

[nonetheless]

no one is coming so I am going to make sure my sig works, sorry for the inconvenience.

------------------
I play rock music.
here are my songs Here is my website. [URL=http://www.nonetheless.indiegroup.com (http://www.garageband.com/artist/nonethelessmusic[/URL)

[nonetheless]

one more time

------------------
I play rock music.
here are my songs [URL=http://www.garageband.com/artist/nonethelessmusic/URL]
Here is my website.

[URL=http://www.nonetheless.indiegroup.com/URL]

[nonetheless]

Sorry, I am not so smart.

------------------
I play rock music.

here are my songs

<A HREF="http://www.garageband.com/artist/nonethelessmusic[/URL" TARGET=_blank>

Here is my website.

[URL=http://www.nonetheless.indiegroup.com</A>

[nonetheless]

this url thing is screwed up

------------------
I play rock music.

Here are my songs

http://www.garageband.com/artist/nonethelessmusic

Here is my website.

http://www.nonetheless.indiegroup.com

[nonetheless]

What the f*ck

------------------
I play rock music.

Here are my songs (http://www.garageband.com/artist/nonethelessmusic)

here is my website (http://www.nonetheless.indiegroup.com)

[Rimmer]

Always take the standard RGB colours and at least three others. Red/Green/Blue and then maybe a yellow, magenta and a rich purple or lilac.

The problem you will find is that when you use a dark colour and then a light colour, when you are operating from the desk, you find that throwing the faders up to 100% will bringing vastly varying light levels. I often program a yellow at about 60-70% of the fader compared to a medium blue which would be at 100%. The show will balance better with different scene changes.

Steve...R

[lordgarak]

Thanks for the tip. Actually on my board I can set the maximun levels on each channel in my softpatch. I almost never use faders except when maybe programming. Duing the sound check I come up with as many cool looking scenes as possiable and then I just use the submaster bumps in kill mode. kill mode on my board is a togle that is turned off once I hit a diffrent channel. Sometimes I have the front lighting set with the faders because they don't change too much durning the show.

I think the boss has some 1000watt PAR-64's on order. All we are using right now are 500watts par-64's. I really like to get some nice darker Blues into my lighting plan. I have some really light blues in their but its too cold, its a nice contrast to the red thought.

Anyone have any #'s for nice red, blue and a yellow for 500watt pars? Our current reds and blues are quite faded and I don't have a yellow to match.

[Rimmer]

My favourite colours are in the Blue spectrum. I like Congo blue for that rich bluesy feel or Winter blue (Lee) for a truer rich blue. You can't beat a medium rock and roll red...! Also, try colours like Aqua and Salmon (Lee or Rosco) for a little divergence. Lemon yellow is another clean colour.

One thing to note though. Gels infront of a 500watt Cp64 and a 1000watt Cp64 are very different in one way. The 1000watt is very hot and will burn dark colours very quickly if the lamps are on for more than a couple of hours. There are two types of gel to consider. Normal lighting gel for up to 500w or HT Gel (High Temperature) for hotter lamps. Don't even think about trying to get away with anything other than the lightest lower temperature gel on a 1000watt can. Lee gel has always offered both temperatures (they might have stopped that now) where as companies like Rosco offer HT gel at all times.

Dark colours with HT gel in front of a 1000watt will burn out quickly...

Cya


Steve...R

[paredesa]

Hello,
I see you have gotten a bit of info but no actual numbers. as far as which companies to order from, there are Roscoelux and Lee, with Gam a bit further down the road.
For touring rig I have always liked Roscoelux more, as they are a bit thinner and less prone to chipping/cracking. but if the instrument is installed I think the Lee colours are more vivid IMO. I am not as familiar with Lee #s so I will give the more common colours in Roscoe #s, but if needed I can send you a comparision sheet.
the standard colors (which are always open to interpretation) are (in order):

Red: R 27
Blue: R 80
Amber: R 22

(R = Roscolux)

then after this it depends on what you are doing and how many cans you have. one rule you could follow is:


4 cans to a bar = 4 colours (simple I know, but some people don't get this)
60K rig (Upstage): (5) 6K washes
120K rig upstage: 5 12k washes, or 6 10k washes (to start)

(K = 1000w can, Upstage is the back of the stage)

I always try to think about what type of music I am doing (Country lighting is a little differnt that a death metal show), as well as how many units you have to work with. the darker the colour, the more cans you will need to wash the stage (i.e. congo blue looks pretty weak with 4 500w cans). when running smaller light rigs (60k or less, or a lot of light pollution as is common at outdoor lighting events) I will often use as bright a colour as I can get away with (remember that you can always make the stage darker) even going a little brighter that the standard colours listed above. In larger rigs anything goes as far as cuts, some of the most common are:

Straw/yellow: R 12
Flesh Pink: R 34 (good for downstage specials)
Broadway pink: 339
Forgot the actual title but the number is R 48
Lavendar: R 57 or 58
Indigo: R59, same as Lee's Congo 181Teal: R 95
Dark Green R 91
and of course, the classic NC (no colour)

Good Luck.

[lordgarak]

Thanks for the great info.

I'm usually setting up for festivals where the show is everything from folk to death metal to country to a comedian. We also do a Battel of the bands and we get some small touring groups. We have even done local awards shows.

Our company has a small lighting rig right now only 4 bars of 6 and 2 bars of 4 + 2 bars of 4 ACLS. I joined the company last summer and I have become the lighting guy somehow so the boss is asked me to figure out what we need to expand our lighting rig. (We have a EAW foh rig and yorkville TX series montiors but we have less than 24k of lighting)

I need more gels right now because the ones we have are in hard shape and I'm having trouble finding anymore than 3 gels of the same color in our big box of gels. Also I'm not happy with the colors we have, I don't have any nice yellow/amber colors and I don't have enough blues and reds of the same colors to fill the pattern of gels.

For the bars of 6 I want to have something like RBYRBY so I guess I will go with the Red blue amber gels above.

For the bars of 4 I want warm/cold/warm/cold and I need gels that are very light. So a very light red and blue. Any suggestions?

[This message has been edited by lordgarak (edited December 28, 2001).]

[MoosBros]

you are right to consider the context of the shows you will do. I can only speak from my experience in very small clubs, (since that's where we have to provide our own production). The colors I use with good success are mostly light ones, since we use regular PAR38 lamps(10 max) sometimes even less depending on the size of the venue!! The amber ones always work to illuminate the vocalist and drum kit well, and if power and space permit, I was the sides of the stage with green, to give it a jazzy look, since we play mosly blue, and I have been tempted to try a light salmon color, just to experiment a little, but I haven't thought about what other color might be complimentry to that. I try to stay away from the standard colors of red and blue, because EVERYONE uses them.. blue, and even the red is too dark anyway, for our small lights. I had thought about using PAR46's with 300w DYS lamps, but,, I am afraid that the power at small venues might be a problem... we even had some PAR46's with 600w lamps(with the raykits) at one place I worked,, and they kicked some serious butt, for what they were. I am more a musicina than a lighting guy,, so I really don't know much... just what has worked for me..

[spyderman]

Originally posted by stephenrussell:
Always take the standard RGB colours and at least three others. Red/Green/Blue and then maybe a yellow, magenta and a rich purple or lilac.

The problem you will find is that when you use a dark colour and then a light colour, when you are operating from the desk, you find that throwing the faders up to 100% will bringing vastly varying light levels. I often program a yellow at about 60-70% of the fader compared to a medium blue which would be at 100%. The show will balance better with different scene changes.

Steve...R

NO!!! this person is a moron! avoid using green like the plague! it will make you look like you're sick and about to puke.
stick with red, blue, and yellow if you're not feeling too ambitious. you can get more creative later.

[Rimmer]

Spyderman: Chill there my friend. Insulting people doesn't fit into a discussion forum.

I was taught that many years ago and it's a good plan. I don't like green much at all but sometimes there is a use for it. If you limit yourself to not using one of the primaries then you are maybe the moron.

Also, have you ever lit an Irish Bands? obviously not...

Steve...R

[spyderman]

Originally posted by stephenrussell:
Spyderman: Chill there my friend. Insulting people doesn't fit into a discussion forum.

I was taught that many years ago and it's a good plan. I don't like green much at all but sometimes there is a use for it. If you limit yourself to not using one of the primaries then you are maybe the moron.

Also, have you ever lit an Irish Bands? obviously not...

Steve...R


well first off i have to state that you just violated your own self imposed rule by attacking me. and this thread was somebody looking to light their band. they are not lighting designers. which i am, and yes for a matter of fact, i have designed for irish bands, i've also toured with irish bands. you do use green, but you don't usually shine it on the band, it's usually to the backround. lol, dumbass.

[Rimmer]

Originally posted by spyderman:
NO!!! this person is a moron! avoid using green like the plague! .

Spyderman. I'm not going to continue this. My advice was good and that's that. If you read your messages you contradict yourself.

I never said use it on the band but that may work, it would depend. I remember seeing Genesis during the 80's and during the track Mama, they used a green uplight on Phil Collins.. Was that LD a moron too?

Originally posted by spyderman:
for a matter of fact, i have designed for irish bands, i've also toured with irish bands. you do use green, but you don't usually shine it on the band, it's usually to the backround. lol, dumbass.

I didn't attack, I reacted to being referred to as a Moron. Wouldn't you do the same? Thanks for the advice for actually avoiding Green like the Plague and then recommending using it but not shining on the band. A bit indecisive though


Regards


Steve...R

[terminaldreamer]

Originally posted by spyderman:
NO!!! this person is a moron! avoid using green like the plague! it will make you look like you're sick and about to puke.
stick with red, blue, and yellow if you're not feeling too ambitious. you can get more creative later.

I tend to agree. The first thing I learned when doing lights was that Green makes you look ill. The only time I would ever use green was when I was purposefully trying to make something appear sinister. But even then, only in moderation, and I seriously doubt EVER in front-light.

Look for Saturated blues, pinks/reds, and golds for basic washes and light. However, R 99 (chocolate) is my favorite color for FL.

..becs.

[terminaldreamer]

Originally posted by terminaldreamer:
I tend to agree. The first thing I learned when doing lights was that Green makes you look ill. The only time I would ever use green was when I was purposefully trying to make something appear sinister. But even then, only in moderation, and I seriously doubt EVER in front-light.

Look for Saturated blues, pinks/reds, and golds for basic washes and light. However, R 99 (chocolate) is my favorite color for FL.

..becs.

cancel that. I tend to agree w/ everything BUT the moron part. To each his/her own.

[spyderman]

well terminal, thanks for the agreement in knowledge. i do apologize for calling home-boy a moron, but that was pretty stupid advising someone to use green. generally speaking it's a bad idea. so we avoid mentioning it. i don't even suggest it to my directors, because if they want to use it, i have to work around it, because it's nature is to make the actors look sickly. either way, blah. don't really care enough to continue arguing about this.

[Rimmer]

Hey... 'Home boy' is an insult as well. I think we don't get on there matey... What's your problem?

This is a discussion forum. There are a ton of different views for good reason. Whether you like it or not Rosco and Lee make many many types of green spectum gels. If you don't like them then that cool. Take the piss out of people for suggesting the primary colours, make a fool of yourself and get on someones tits at the same time. Nice 'discussion' attitude there.

Remember the primaries.. RGB. Red Green Blue. It's science, go argue with science.

There is an expensive restaurant in London which has a cocktail bar. It's well lit with something called green/blue gel. Looks nice to me, there again what would I know, i'm just a home boy moron, yeah?

Had enough of this...

Steve...R

[MoosBros]

well,, what a topic,,, never thought to see it get personal... I am no lighting designer by profession,, just a working musician, so I can only relate what works for me...

the greens wash the sides and rear of our set, and i agree, it's pushing it a bit if you stand in it,(yeah, it could make ya look sick), but,, for jazz and blues,, it actually looks ok, in intimate club settings where we play... I use a bright amber to illuminate the front vocals, and drum kit,,,,

like i said before, we use up to 10 par38's,, so we don't have a lot of power(lumens?) to work with...on a very small stage, I'll just use 4 ambers, to light the whole thing...

[Rimmer]

MoosBros:

I like amber and yellow gels for music. I know a lot of people that don't use yellow but I think it is one of the most usable bright gels.

I think a lot of people learn the gels they like from experimentation. Not just the colours, but the way they work with each other and the different brightnesses for different parts of the music.

Most people are happier to make a flashing lightshow for a band whereas fading between thoughtful scenes is usually preferable. Amber is a good choice...

Cya

Steve...R

[Soundude]

I have noticed green or lime reen is used very frequently in big rock concerts I have seen. Bon Jovi's "Its my life" used green on the stage shots. Green to me seems to kind of jump out and get your attention since it is different.

[waters]

:)

[1big1]

you can go to the lighting board at www.prosoundweb.com. (http://www.prosoundweb.com.) there are some links to setting up your show using r-g-b and secondary colors as well as a chart for all the rosco color gels by number. you might also try using a grease pencil for writing the number of the color gel on the gel. it makes them much easier to sort through and store. if it's a rosco gel.. use an r to indicate that.. if it's a lee gel use an l to indicate that. their number systems aren't the same.. so that helps cut the confusion. if you want a richer color wash try using more than one instrument focused on the same spot from different sides of the stage. it gives your show dimension.

[spyderman]

Originally posted by stephenrussell:
Hey... 'Home boy' is an insult as well. I think we don't get on there matey... What's your problem?

This is a discussion forum. There are a ton of different views for good reason. Whether you like it or not Rosco and Lee make many many types of green spectum gels. If you don't like them then that cool. Take the piss out of people for suggesting the primary colours, make a fool of yourself and get on someones tits at the same time. Nice 'discussion' attitude there.

Remember the primaries.. RGB. Red Green Blue. It's science, go argue with science.

There is an expensive restaurant in London which has a cocktail bar. It's well lit with something called green/blue gel. Looks nice to me, there again what would I know, i'm just a home boy moron, yeah?

Had enough of this...

Steve...R

dumbass. "homeboy" isn't meant as a insult, im from california, if you don't know someone's name you either call them dude or homeboy. if you find that title insulting then you're just a stupid rascist. get over it. the mere fact that i called you "homeboy" rather than "that moron" is a good sign.

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"why don't you go buy a spoon, and eat my ass?"

[Rimmer]

Originally posted by spyderman:
the mere fact that i called you "homeboy" rather than "that moron" is a good sign.

A good sign for you maybe

I meet all sorts of A-holes (that's a deep compliment in England by the way) and dickheads (another compliment but with greater warmth) on this forum, and your no exception.

Surpise yourself, be nice for a day and see how it feels.

SteveR

[MoosBros]

woah,, slow today, huh?

[jomer]

BASTARD AMBER ALL THE WAY!!!

used a lot in theatre.

[code_blue]

Clear.

[Jagmaster]

could someone tell me a good web site to study up on lighting,I am in charge of my bands light show and I could stand to learn,alot.
Thanx

[Rimmer]

Originally posted by Jagmaster
could someone tell me a good web site to study up on lighting,I am in charge of my bands light show and I could stand to learn,alot.
Thanx

There are some good theatrical books available. Learning lighting design for the theatre counts for a lot in the stage lighting world...

SteveR