Jump to content

gaffers tape color coding


Recommended Posts

i've seen on the set gaffers tape colors used to signify the type of film loaded into a mag (daylight, tungsten). i was wondering if there are official industry standards for colors of gaffers tape - or is this something you usually just work out based on what color tape is at hand?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Gaffers Tape is used primarily by the Grip & Electric Depts.... 1 inch Camera Tape is what the Camera Assts. use.

 

Exposed - BLACK

High Speed - RED

Daylight Balance - BLUE

Tungsten Balance - YELLOW

Black & White - WHITE

Reversal - Any Dayglow Color

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Gaffers Tape is used primarily by the Grip & Electric Depts.... 1 inch Camera Tape is what the Camera Assts. use.

 

Exposed - BLACK

High Speed - RED

Daylight Balance - BLUE

Tungsten - YELLOW

Black & White - WHITE

Reversal - Any Dayglow Color

 

I always used pretty much the same system except I used white tape for enexposed and used the color tapes for labels. It doesn't matter as long as you realize that black is exposed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Premium Member
thank you! looks like i will have to figure out what to do with the hot-pink gaffers tape that just showed up from my ebay order, hehe. (was supposed to be orange)

I've got a box full of gaffer/camera tape leftovers I bought from a woman AC. There's a roll of hot pink in it. I think she may have been using it to tape over the mouth of anyone on the set who was sexually inappropriate.

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've got a box full of gaffer/camera tape leftovers I bought from a woman AC. There's a roll of hot pink in it. I think she may have been using it to tape over the mouth of anyone on the set who was sexually inappropriate.

 

 

:P

I bet on the sets that she worked on, there were a few sparks with their mouths taped up......

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Premium Member
I've got a box full of gaffer/camera tape leftovers I bought from a woman AC. There's a roll of hot pink in it. I think she may have been using it to tape over the mouth of anyone on the set who was sexually inappropriate.

 

Hot pink is my favorite color of camera tape because nobody "borrows" it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Premium Member
Also useful when laying marks for actresses because no self-respecting man is going to step up to a hot pink mark.

 

Also true. I try to use it for the leading lady. They always like that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Premium Member
Also useful when laying marks for actresses because no self-respecting man is going to step up to a hot pink mark.

 

I skipped over "marks for" when first skimming through your post. It certainly changed the meaning of what you were trying to say. ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Premium Member

It's a fine thing for us lab people to receive exposed stock in cans with white tape around with black felt marker identification on saying

exposure rate

footage.

 

It is a very sad fact that many camera people, from 2nd to DoP, cannot leave the original sticker on the can as it is, they scribble and paint and paste over it so that for instance the batch numbers are illegible. Please, simply write on the tape around the rim if you feel you must write besides the camera report. The tape we shall be looking at because, you know why.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's a fine thing for us lab people to receive exposed stock in cans with white tape around with black felt marker identification on saying

exposure rate

footage.

 

It is a very sad fact that many camera people, from 2nd to DoP, cannot leave the original sticker on the can as it is, they scribble and paint and paste over it so that for instance the batch numbers are illegible. Please, simply write on the tape around the rim if you feel you must write besides the camera report. The tape we shall be looking at because, you know why.

 

The amount of time and effort that would take would be nearly impossible on a big shoot. With the amount of recans and short ends, multiple units using the same darkroom it would be a headache for the loader. Does Kodak still make the peel off label that doesn't stick to anything?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree.

 

Once a seal is broken, I don't trust the label info anymore.... I trust what is written on the Can by the person who did the re-can.. (i.e. Stock, Feet, Date of re-can etc...)... or what is written on the Camera Report. Rarely is a stock sent to the lab in the same can it came in.. or even a matching can...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Premium Member

Then it seems to me that I am used to keep order in the dark while the crew produces a mess in the light. Why in the world can an exposed portion not be brought back to its can? Don't you keep empty and unlabeled cans in a place for short ends? I always wonder at how archaic procedures are with million dollar budget film productions (or less) right on the level of film.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Then it seems to me that I am used to keep order in the dark while the crew produces a mess in the light.

Simon?

 

Often times you only shoot a portion of a roll.. right then and there you are out of sync as the other part has to go in a different can. Look, cans are cans to 'Set' folks.. that is why we 're-label' them with the correct info. :rolleyes:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I skipped over "marks for" when first skimming through your post. It certainly changed the meaning of what you were trying to say. ;)

 

Hal, you should be ashamed. You have a dirty mind and I like that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Premium Member
Then it seems to me that I am used to keep order in the dark while the crew produces a mess in the light. Why in the world can an exposed portion not be brought back to its can? Don't you keep empty and unlabeled cans in a place for short ends? I always wonder at how archaic procedures are with million dollar budget film productions (or less) right on the level of film.

 

Don't argue with the system when it makes your job easier, too. All you have to do is copy a footage, an emulsion batch number, and the date onto some tape. It beats finding the exact can (or keeping track of them all) a particular roll came out of.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Also useful when laying marks for actresses because no self-respecting man is going to step up to a hot pink mark.

 

I once worked with an actress who would *only* let me use pink for her marks, because that's what she had 'been trained to recognise.'

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Premium Member
I once worked with an actress who would *only* let me use pink for her marks, because that's what she had 'been trained to recognise.'

 

Wow, that's awfully picky. Wonder what would have happened if you couldn't get pink...?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...