Colourblind

[Andy!]

Hey all.

 

I have read in some posts that some people here are colourblind or have worked with colourblind lampies. I just wanted to ask a few questions about it.

I myself am colourblind (red-green colourblind) and I have applied to study lighting design. In the past on the many school productions I have lit or the out of school dance shows I have lit. The director has never seen any fault in the design I have done for the production. Obviously I had a few struggles with the choice of colour but after studying with them and the light I am able to make the right choice.

 

What I want to ask is have you ever worked with anyone who is colourblind and found them hard to work with, or not hired them purely because they are colourblind (based on lighting job)?

 

Does anyone here reading this suffer from being colourblind, If yes how have you copped with it in this industry?

 

I would like to hear all opinions etc...

 

Cheers

Andy.

[Nicktaylor]

This is am interesting point. There are some jobs where it is really impossible to allow totally for a handicap. As well as doing stage lighting as a hobby for thirty years, I work as a VT editor. When I joined the company at the very lowest level, I had to have a colour test and hearing test. When you think about it that is pretty obvious. No point cutting the pictures in a lovely sequence if you dont realise the colour has been filmed wrong or it does not sound right.

The only way around this would be to double bank staff and only with those who are handicapped. I am not sure that could work in a commercial environment. I know you can light by gel numbers once you know what looks right, but it may be difficult to experiment

[gingertom]

From memory there has been some interesting discussion here before regarding colour blindness within the industry, I don't have time to sift through the pages, but it may be worth a quick search as it brought up lots of pages for me.

 

Tom

[tokm]

Hi,

 

I suppose if you look at this from a recruiting point of view, the employers would have to judge how much the colourblindness could affect the quality of his work and ability to work around the disability? I guess this is where references and showing you have a proven track record comes in to play, if you can show you've lit shows fine before then it shouldn't be a problem.

 

What I want to ask is have you ever worked with anyone who is colourblind and found them hard to work with,...

No, Ive worked with a colourblind lampie/LD at one of the venue's I've freelanced for, great guy. Took the pi$$ out of himself about it constantly! Was recently so I remember asking him about doesn't his colourblindness screw him around, he said he just tried stuff at college and at work, asked what other people thought and worked from that.

 

or not hired them purely because they are colourblind (based on lighting job)?

Never been in the position of employing someone with this disability. But, I'd say that equal opportunities rules aren't too clear cut on this.. Like I said before, it would depend on how severe said applicants disability was. If it was a flat NO! regardless of how bad it was, then the applicant could probably challenge the decision under equal opportunities rules?

 

Apologies if this was answered on the same thread as gingertom stated/this has been covered before. But does anyone know of any cases of this being taken to court.. like someone being turned down regardless?

 

Tom

[Andy!]

I know you can light by gel numbers once you know what looks right, but it may be difficult to experiment

 

Very true about the gel numbers, but I can still see the colour I have just had to educate myself much more on the colour and take note of how I see the colour and how others see it. For example I used to struggle to see the difference with the blues and purples, but no I have taught myself so that when I see a certain tint or shade in the gel I can recognise it. Interestingly when I have asked different people what they see a certain gel as after them studying the colour they all seem to have different views whether something is a blue or purple for instants.

[paulears]

I had a colour blind sound op this year. Nice bloke, but his handicap made things very difficult.

 

He's picked the wrong mic up, he's on red.

Which ones that?

He's next to the dancer in the green dress?

Which ones that?

 

And so on - it made me realise how colour vision is misunderstood. So mic ID with colour went out, and we moved to stripes.

 

One thing we couldn't solve was cables. I buy cable in as many colours as possible, so identification is easy - not so hot if you are colour blind.

 

Endless jokes about traffic lights.

 

Now with some experience of this, I'd have to say that colour blindness is something I'd beware of. I'm not saying that I'd not use anybody who suffered, but it is there in my head.

 

I'll get shot for saying this - but I feel that it can be overcome, but in this case was trotted out as an excuse - a bit like when somebody moans about spelling - "I'm dyslexic" comes back almost automatically. In my case, it was me who striped the mics, me who swapped cables about, me who altered the desk labelling. "which one's that, I'm colour blind" over and over again get's wearing.

 

I'm comfy with the condition, but find problems with attitude!

[steveo]

Slightly :P but I used to work with a Chief LX who had a form of number dyslexia. Not too bad a problem apart from flashing out the rig before flying, He couldn't get 6 and 9 the correct waqy round especially on circuits 69 and 96. We certainly learned how to fault find these slight errors and ended up not allowing him to flash out or plug up the over stage rig.

[Andy!]

Endless jokes about traffic lights.

I am very open about jokes, its funny when I get stupid colour things wrong, and I always take the pee out of myself.

 

 

I'll get shot for saying this - but I feel that it can be overcome, but in this case was trotted out as an excuse - a bit like when somebody moans about spelling - "I'm dyslexic" comes back almost automatically. In my case, it was me who striped the mics, me who swapped cables about, me who altered the desk labelling. "which one's that, I'm colour blind" over and over again get's wearing.

I cant agree with you more on this, it can be overcome if people dont become lazy with the condition, as I said before I have learn to educate myself in colours. I also dont tend to make a big deal about it either, I have done some shows where I havent even said I was colourblind. So I totally agree.

 

Am glad to hear that people have worked with colourblind people on productions, at least I know im not going to go and study for 3 years now for nothing!

[Jivemaster]

I once worked with a London photographer who is colour blind! Sometimes, very rarely, he had to ask for help, but usually he was fine. Really it depends on YOUR attitude, aptitude and actual ability. The DDA is a two edged sword - you can force the issue, get employed, but if you can't actually do the job being fired for incompetence isn't the best reference for future employers

[Andrew C]

One of the misunderstandings is that a sufferer sees red as green and visa-versa. Some may; but on the whole it is a slight difference. Personally I have trouble with greeny browns and browny greens (if you see what I mean). At the moment I'm sat on what I am prepared to swear is a green chair, but I'm told it is brown.

 

I'd been lighting for 10 years or so when I went for a camera job at the Beeb. They were the first to spot it, and not give me the job. I don't think that was the only reason, but it might have been.

[Tomo]

The only time I've seen it become a problem was when I was followspotting opposite a colourblind spot op in a University production.

 

On the first night we got the standby "Standby Tomo on the girl in pink and Otherspot on the girl in green, both full body"

On the "Spots GO!" we both picked up the same girl!

 

For the remainder of the run, the cues were given as stage positions and there were no problems.

 

Nobody had realised he had this problem before, because it hadn't had any effect while rigging and focussing.

When he couldn't tell the difference between certain colours, he'd use the colour number instead.

 

So in short - colourblindness is not a major disability for theatrical lighting. You just need to be aware of it, and take appropriate measures.

- Basically labelling gels and avoiding using certain colours for identification.

 

The only place where I can see it becoming an issue is when programming colour-mixing moving lights, as it would be very difficult for someone with this problem to tell when they'd properly matched the fixtures.

[Droycewalker]

Slightly off topic, maybe, but I was just wondering how colourblindness affected people when it come to wiring up? I'm thinking, primarily, of the drab new three-phase colours. Difficult enough for us techs without the condition, especially when your stuck in some badly lit flea-pit trying to distinguish between black and blue (a costly error!!!!). I'm aware (and have read in the previous posts) that different people find different colours harder to tell apart; does wiring up present issues?

[Andy!]

Slightly off topic, maybe, but I was just wondering how colourblindness affected people when it come to wiring up? I'm thinking, primarily, of the drab new three-phase colours. Difficult enough for us techs without the condition, especially when your stuck in some badly lit flea-pit trying to distinguish between black and blue (a costly error!!!!). I'm aware (and have read in the previous posts) that different people find different colours harder to tell apart; does wiring up present issues?

 

For me personally, I havent done much wiring, but as the colours are so clearly primary I am quite able to tell them apart easily. But for some other colourblind people, who may have it more serious, they will obviously have an issue.

[w/robe]

I know a costume maker who regularly works for me and she is colour blind, which is almost unheard of as it is nearly always men. Over the years there have only been 2 potential disasters, she once made a coat inside out as the fabric was blue on one side and purple on the other, we wanted the purple side out. The other time was sewing blue shirts with pink thread.

 

She is a good maker and a nice person so I would always offer her work even if it is slightly more work for me.

[Cougar]

Slightly off topic, maybe, but I was just wondering how colourblindness affected people when it come to wiring up?

Not quite in the context you asked but I had a colour blind Electronics teacher when I was at school. Thankfully we never needed to wire up anything that mattered as it was all the low voltage stuff you do at school so not vital but he would regularly get red and black the wrong way round and as for resistors well that goes without saying. More amusingly he would write on boards without taking the old stuff off as he couldn't see red at all.