Tape Colors

[Gino Terribilini]

I've been on set a few times where specific colors of tape are needed, but I still don't know exactly what each color means.

 

This is what I know:

• Black- Exposed film
  
• White- Unexposed film
  

This is what I want to know:

• Blue on the camera/ mags/ can
  
• Red on the camera/ mags
  
• Pink tape
  
• Yellow tape
  
• Green tape
  
• Anything else I should know about colored tape...
  

[Mike Panczenko]

I've been on set a few times where specific colors of tape are needed, but I still don't know exactly what each color means.

 

This is what I know:

• Black- Exposed film
  
• White- Unexposed film
  

This is what I want to know:

• Blue on the camera/ mags/ can
  
• Red on the camera/ mags
  
• Pink tape
  
• Yellow tape
  
• Green tape
  
• Anything else I should know about colored tape...
  

 

 

White is for recans, unexposed film that you have opened but not shot and actually, as the name suggests, recanned. It also can be for short ends, you just write the length on the tape.

Blue is for the daylight stock, if you have one. Red is for the high speed stock. Pink, yellow, and green, are assigned to the other stocks at the ACs choice. In fact, there are no true hard rules other than black is exposed. The white as recan/short end and the red and blue colors are used most of the time when applicable, but if there is no daylight stock or no high speed stock, then these are often assigned anyways. The white being unexposed is also only if you are shooting one stock for the entire show. Otherwise, when you recan or short end it, you normally tape it up with the color you have assigned the stock (ie blue, white, pink, red) so that you can tell easily and without confusion which stock it is a short end or recan of.

[John Pytlak RIP]

As you know, Kodak camera films are packaged with color-coded tapes as a secondary check on the identification provided by the can label and the printing on the tape:

 

5218 Copper

5248, 5212 Green

5245, 5279 Gold

5284, 5229 Light Green

5293, 5274 Mauve

5246, 5205 Blue

5277 Gray

5289 Orange

5285 White

5217 Maroon

5201 Teal

 

http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/support/...1.4.15.18&lc=en

[Matt Irwin]

As for tape on the camera and mags....

 

If you are on a 2+ camera shoot, standard practice is to give each camera and all of it's AKS a specific tape color. For example, I grew up with red tape for "A" camera and blue tape for "B" camera (can also be other way around or different colors). Those colors usually carry over to the slates as well. Everything is given colored tape. It's really just an organizational tool for the AC's that helps to keep track of what gear goes where, etc, etc.

 

If the DP is using more than one film stock, a tape color is designated for each, usually based on the manufacturer tape colors as John listed above (or red/orange for tungsten and blue for daylight). This tape goes on the mags, mag cases, sometimes recans, sometimes exposed. Permacel makes white tape with "EXPOSED" printed in red which was used on the last few shows I assisted.