Street Light, Color.

[Albert Smith]

But this one I'd like to just focus on peoples different approach to color. how "real" do you go. I have seen people go as far as matching sodium vapor and on the other extreme just keeping it tungsten.

 

I am shooting a film that that has quite a few wide...often static night exteriors on suburban street lights and we are not doing any "moon light". so I am going toward realism, but I also don't want an entire film that is orange or with a ton of mixed color temp, I'm thinking I'm going to kinda half way it as of now maybe do some strong color on background stuff that is a stop or two under and give my faces 1/4 or 1/2 CTO on tungsten...or maybe some other color....I still have yet to really decide on the color palette for the film and I also dont have too much experience with all the subtle variations of color gels that exist.

 

 

 

anyways what colors do people like? anyone have any favorite examples?

 

 

 

We are also shooting on an MX I donno how much that should factor into decisions, any use in doing offset white balances lower then 3200k with warmer light to get a little less color info like you do get under a sodium vapor?

 

thanks!

[Adrian Sierkowski]

I like Sotraro Yellow from Lee for my night scene/street lights. Perhaps with some CTO. It's normally what I'll reach for whether or not it "matches," per say, the background.

 

I honestly can't say what'd happen trying to WB out sodium vapor, i've never tried it always opting, for, "this is how it looks," mentality. I do know that as you haven't got a full spectrum curve, things can get a bit... odd. I'd recommend a test if possible.

 

 

Rocso also makes a Sodium Vapor gel, but it eats light pretty quick.

[Stuart Brereton]

I like CTO and Straw 013 on tungsten for Sodium vapor, although there are many other recipes. I try to use it mostly as a backlight, maybe combined with a Mercury vapor look when appropriate, and then keep the keylights fairly clean. Maybe just a hint of warmth to tie it into the overall scheme.

[Shelly Johnson ASC]

But this one I'd like to just focus on peoples different approach to color. how "real" do you go. I have seen people go as far as matching sodium vapor and on the other extreme just keeping it tungsten.

 

I am shooting a film that that has quite a few wide...often static night exteriors on suburban street lights and we are not doing any "moon light". so I am going toward realism, but I also don't want an entire film that is orange or with a ton of mixed color temp, I'm thinking I'm going to kinda half way it as of now maybe do some strong color on background stuff that is a stop or two under and give my faces 1/4 or 1/2 CTO on tungsten...or maybe some other color....I still have yet to really decide on the color palette for the film and I also dont have too much experience with all the subtle variations of color gels that exist.

 

 

 

anyways what colors do people like? anyone have any favorite examples?

 

 

 

We are also shooting on an MX I donno how much that should factor into decisions, any use in doing offset white balances lower then 3200k with warmer light to get a little less color info like you do get under a sodium vapor?

 

thanks!

 

Hi Jake,

 

I'm in Eastern Europe doing a film and I have the same situation here, where I would like to create a sodium look. I've used every type of method it seems from matching it completely using gels on tungsten lights, along with keying with actual sodium gas arcs... to contrasting colors like blues and yellows, etc. The local gaffer here had a mix of gels he that he has used to match sodium vapor that I have not heard of before, but that I will test. It's blending Lee 108 with a 1/2 Plus Green. Looks great to the eye, but I'm going to put it on film along with actual sodium sources just to confirm the coloring. Might be worth testing for your application.

 

As far as colors that register well on film, take a look at Lee 013, 131, 241, 242, 088 and 048... along with all the CTS line. Those all work in a palette that seem to resonate with film. A few are clearly aggressive, but that might be OK depending on your specific project. Digital capture has a different response to these colors... especially those containing blue... so you'll want to test a variety.

 

Good luck!

 

Shelly

[Albert Smith]

Thanks for the replies!

 

 

Our cam op's father actually works in industrial lighting so I can probably grab a bunch of real fixtures and run some tests at the rental house next to some tungsten sources gelled up, that seems like a great idea.

 

 

 

 

if anyone has any experience specific to the MX that would really insightful as well.