Favourite Colour Wash

[Trunker]

OK, I am not after advice on different colours, but just wondering what are people's favourite colour washes at the moment. I have my couple which I tend to use regular at the moment but these may change. Atm I like 106-red, 036-pink and 117-steel blue.

 

The reason behind this is to share experiences with each other and hopefully to help create ideas that will enhance people's Lighting designs.

[david.elsbury]

Trunker, this very much depends on the show. My L200 wash which is my "favourite" may be totally unsuitable for your purposes, lighting a 60's music-hall night for the elderly...

[Trunker]

Yes I understand what you are saying with this, but surely there are 'generic' washes that you have as a favourite for when you have comedy or cabaret nights etc? I can see I am going to get slated for this topic now arn't I?

[gareth]

As David said, the answer depends on the context of the question. What's right for one show may not be for another. Even if you're doing two shows which just require a 'generic' colour wash, the requirements may be different. A three-colour wash for an evening of variety may be totally the wrong colours for the following evening's showcase of contemporary dance, which might still just need a 3-colour toplight wash but in totally different colours.

[JDP]

What Gareth said, and, its common (in particular for TV Lighting) to use different colours on the front than the back to get more rich colours from the back....

[Just Some Bloke]

Yup. Every show is different. I'll use whatever is right for the show.

 

I once lit 'The Wizard of Oz' and used 089 for the Emerald City scene which looked great and was one of my favourite colour choices at the time, but I wouldn't go around recommending it for use in Guys and Dolls! To be honest, I then lit the same show a couple of years later with a different set and I used a different colour. Context is everything.

[Trunker]

Right, Just some bloke has given me an answer what I have been looking for, perhaps I didn't explain properly. Your fav. wash to suit a scene in a show i.e. exactly whats above.

[gareth]

I didn't explain properly

You've got that bit right, at least. It's been said before, and it bears saying again - "getting the right answer depends very much on asking the right question". Not that I really understand, even now, exactly what it is that you're asking - our favourite wash to suit a scene in a show? Which scene? Which show?

[J Pearce]

Which theatre, which director, which interpretation, which cast, what costumes, what set?

 

Far too many variables.

 

The thread might have some merit as a crew room 'I discovered L797 today, tis a good colour, I used it for uplighting my nans lounge wall behind the 47 foot christmas tree' type thread, apart from that its fairly hopeless.

[Trunker]

I didn't explain properly

You've got that bit right, at least.

 

No need to be sarcastic, I don't profess to know everything like some people on here! :P

 

A concurrent post has been automatically merged from this point on.

 

The thread might have some merit as a crew room 'I discovered L797 today, tis a good colour, I used it for uplighting my nans lounge wall behind the 47 foot christmas tree' type thread, apart from that its fairly hopeless.

 

This is the sort of attitude I hoped people would take on this topic actually.

[gareth]

This is the sort of attitude I hoped people would take on this topic actually.

Hmm, OK. So what exactly are you trying to prove?

[themadhippy]

L325 and L789 work for me

[Trunker]

This is the sort of attitude I hoped people would take on this topic actually.

Hmm, OK. So what exactly are you trying to prove?

 

If people have discovered colours that work well with certain sets, or have had utter nightmares with colours. Are we not here to help each other along? Or are we going to be childish and say I'm not going to tell you?

[heinz57]

This isnt much, but mixing 103 straw with open whites and having differant intensities works quite well. I've used it quite alot.

[gareth]

Or are we going to be childish and say I'm not going to tell you?

If it was possible to tell you, I'm sure someone would. But it's not, and various people have explained *why* it's not. "Colours that work well with certain sets" is a bit of a bottomless pit of a question - what colours work well with a particular set is almost wholly dependent on the colour of said set. And unless you want a list of every paint colour known to the scenic artistry world, and which lighting colours do and don't work with those paint colours, then there isn't really an answer to this question.