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Facelight... hit me with your favourite gels!


scottmcleod

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I'm always at a loss of what to choose for facelight, so It's usually just a gamble against whatever I've got most of in my inventory, versus what looks good in the light!

 

(unless I'm trying to mix specifically, but I'm talking a single general front wash here!)

 

... We're doing les Miz, and I want a kinda pale, neutral, but effective front wash for use in scenes that need some "universal" frontlight.

 

My scenes, times of day, and effects will be coming from just about every other angle that I can find, that's not "front."

 

Rosco has a "Pale Bastard Amber" R302, but I was hoping to avoid the "A" (R02/03, L004, L102 etc...) word ;-)

 

Thoughts?

 

No wrong answers here folks... just hit me with your best solos or combos!

 

(I say solos, because I'm pulling my "cold" frontlights from the house plot and moving them to elsewhere in the theatre for this show)

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I tend to use C.T colours FOH L203-cool and L206 -warm.

 

I also think how you position your light has an effect on how you view front light, that's just my opinion.

 

As Gareth says there's also nothing wrong with open wight.

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003 lavender tint is good for just off white.

 

Get hold of a swatch and a halogen based torch or par 16 and play with open white and 'just off white' filters. There are some that are very close to white, but just takes the edge off the harshness.

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I always use a pale lavender for what you're decribing. Our House Hang has R054 in that position. I'd also consider Lee 52, 53, 702 - things along those lines - goes well with cool colours, goes well with warm.

 

A straight-on, open white "bosh" is always a winner, too.

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A straight-on, open white "bosh" is always a winner, too.

 

I'm a big fan of open white, and I think it can have a lot of subtlety to is, especially in tungsten where you get it slightly warmer by dimming the light. And it makes the colour call so much easier (and the poor workie or cassie that ends up cutting all the colour will thank you for it).

 

Though if it needs to be warmer than that then either straw or I'm quite keen on lavenders. But nothing too deep or anything with too much yellow in.

 

For colder stuff, I like L201/202 (I find 203 too pale). I like 200 for a nice cold backlight (irrelevant I know).

 

Then again, the usual caveat applies that it always depends on the concept of the show (etc. etc).

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It all depends on how colourful you want it to be, but I'd aim for something like 702. Any sort of lavender which dims well and dims to give you a nice range of possiblities would be a good choice - I personally find 052 is excellent at this, although it may be a bit too extreme for your particular application.

 

Things I would stay away from include warm tints - certainly anything like 206 or warmer should probably be avoided. It's a very personal thing, but I feel you have less control over warmer tints - they're warm at full, and then dim even warmer. At least with lavenders they can often be quite cool at full, and warm up nicely when dimmed.

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I quite like Lee 151. It has a straw tint but is a tiny bit pinky. Works especially well bringing out the 'goldness' of grand period costumes... and pretty much anything requiring a 'bright' sunny feel.

 

Ben.

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for warm lee 162 bastard amber, 09 straw tint or R#205 full ct orange

 

for cool lee 63 pale blue, lee 202 half ct blue or R#117 steel blue

 

sometimes for the fun of it I throw in r#52 pale lavender

 

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

 

For rock and roll I like-

 

front and back

106 red

119 blue

139 green

105 orange

126 mauve

115 peacock blue

15 amber

 

side fill

 

128 bright pink

15 amber

131 marine blue

49 medium purple

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I am just an amateur but do lots of musicals in provincial theatres... For facelights I tend to use L153 Pale Salmon for warm and L281 3/4 CT Blue partially because I often have lower wattages and need plenty of light to come out of the front! It works well when blended with slightly darker pinks and blues from on stage, and deeper still from the sides and back. If I need sunlight I replace the L153 with L103 Straw (then deeper straws on stage, sides, and back). However pinks and blues tend to work better for most musicals IMHO. When I am really desperate and can only use one colour I tend to use L136 Pale Lavender, as someone else has pointed out it blends fairly well with overall warm or cold light. I don't often use open white except when the starkness of a play demands it as I like to be able to use the face/area lights for altering the tone from warm to cool without needing lots of extra resources.

Peter Vincent, UK

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I'm sure we've been down this road before ...

 

I seem to recall the conclusion last time being that any discussion of colour choices is pretty pointless without putting it into the context of a particular production and considering the set and costume design/colours, the way the show is being staged, the mood that's being sought, etc.

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I'm sure we've been down this road before ...

 

I seem to recall the conclusion last time being that any discussion of colour choices is pretty pointless without putting it into the context of a particular production and considering the set and costume design/colours, the way the show is being staged, the mood that's being sought, etc.

 

Yes, but the nuances that people describe for each colour are what I'm looking for. It helps me revisit my own doubts and/or convictions about certain combinations and rethink them.

 

If we must apply specifics... "Les Miz, Dirty Look, floor is grey stonework with tan highlights, etc.. etc... etc.."

 

... but then you'all'd be doing my job for me ;-)

 

Thanks for all the insights everyone!

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Just to throw in one that hasn't come up yet: L004, medium bastard Amber. You say you want to stay away from the a word, but for dance in particular I really quite like what it does to (white) skin.

 

Aside from that I'm ashamed to admit that all my regular choices have already been mentioned.

 

edit: ####! it appears that actually it was mentioned. by you. sorry.

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