Gel Pre-cuts

Brian Shaw · November 15, 2006

Hi, I've just gotten myself a small selection of gels, and smaller scraps etc.. and I want to pre-cut them however I'm at a loss as to what sizes i should be cutting them too.

I'm looking at using them on a selection of lights, from peppers to Baby's Blonds and redheads, up to a 4K HMI as the biggest light, I don't have big enough pieces for 4x4 cuts so I'm looking for a small range of sizes i should be cutting for these lights in a way that i can be most efficient with my small selection until i can come across more Gel.

Can anyone enlighten me?

thanks

-Brian

JD Hartman · November 24, 2006

The most efficient thing would be to preserve your gel cuts in the size you received them in. As soon as you cut them down, you'll find you have the need for a larger sheet to cover a frame, outside of barn doors, window, etc. Just label them with a sharpie and when you do cut off a piece, be sure you label it as well. Mailing tubes cut to various lengths, make it easier to keep them organized.

Jon Rosenbloom · November 25, 2006

It's a total pain in the ass to keep gels organized. The "saving grace" is that if you're using them on fresnels or pars is that the gels wear out pretty fast, so it's really a moot point as far as reusing the same pieces of gel over and over. You can try file folders, or dividing up milk crates, or putting a few ready cuts in the scrim bags, but on the big shows, the electricians most often just cut what they need off of the rolls.

Gels for kinos are a different matter, since they don't burn through. I have a selection of grids and muslins that I keep in zip-lock bags, and that go w/ me from shoot to shoot. Labelling everything is paramount. Next is getting your crew to abide by the system!

JD Hartman · November 27, 2006

If are using a gel frame, I agree the life of the gel is very finite. But if clipped to the outer edge of the bardboor, the gel is away from the heat and its life is greatly exteneded. Another plus is it doesn't require any accurate cutting.

Brian Baker · December 15, 2006

This may be reiterating what JD said:

On one job where we were pretty low on gels since the beginning of the day, our key grip would use 4x4 and larger cuts on any size lights, and just roll up the excess gel on the bottom barndoor and spring clamp it on. I think they may have even done that with some grid cloth that was still on the roll...

Sidenote:

The "saving grace" is that if you're using them on fresnels or pars is that the gels wear out pretty fast,

We use a lot of fresnels at my school, and have been using the same scrap gels for a while now... and I honestly haven't noticted any deterioration. Any reason why that may be? Are we lucky, or am I missing something with what you were saying?

BtB

Jon Rosenbloom · December 15, 2006

Maybe I'm thinking of the colors?? One trick I've just now remembered is to put the gel on the barn doors vertically, so that the heat can vent up. (Meaning, if the gel is rolled up it's vertical.)