Blue green Fluorescent

[Hamilton Yu]

I was wondering what fluorescent tubes at what color temperature to use in order to achieve the blue green color seen in the music video "turn down for what". It looks like they were balanced more or less to tungsten.

 

 

Thank you

[Stuart Brereton]

Those look like cool white tubes, which are around 4300k, so you'd need to white balance to 3200k to get that blue/green look. If you wanted a more extreme blue/green look, you could try using daylight balanced tubes, although they are sometimes not as green as cool white.

[DanielSydney]

Hi Stuart,

I am trying to achieve the same thing.

What exactly do you mean with cool white tubes ? Are they film lights and where can I get them from ?

Many thanks,

Daniel

 

Those look like cool white tubes, which are around 4300k, so you'd need to white balance to 3200k to get that blue/green look. If you wanted a more extreme blue/green look, you could try using daylight balanced tubes, although they are sometimes not as green as cool white.

[Phil Rhodes]

No, they're just a very cheap kind of commercial fluorescent tube.

 

Actually most modern tubes are better than the old-school ones that originally created that blue-green look - it was seen as undesirable....

 

Just google for "cool white fluorescent tube", but also get in some gels in a pale cyan-green. Modern electronic cameras are often quite good at giving you what your eye sees, rather than emulating the faults of old!

[Stuart Brereton]

Most cheap domestic tubes come in either warm white or cool white. They typically have a CRI of 70 - 80, so are likely to have the green cast that you're looking for. Warm white are generally close to tungsten (around 2900-3000k). Cool white are 4300k. More expensive Daylight tubes, which are around 5600-6500k often have a higher CRI, so they'll be less green.

[Satsuki Murashige]

The other thing you can do if getting cool white tubes proves to be a hassle is to gel your Kino tubes. Use a Rosco or Lee gel swatch book and find a cyan gel that you like. Pick it up or order a few sheets online and fit them to a standard kino tube by rolling it around the tube, cutting it, and taping it together with clear tape. Now you have a gel sleeve that can slip over the tube itself when needed.

[Stuart Brereton]

The other thing you can do if getting cool white tubes proves to be a hassle is to gel your Kino tubes. Use a Rosco or Lee gel swatch book and find a cyan gel that you like.

In the past I've used LEE 241 Fluorescent 5700k, 728 Steel Green, or 213 White Flame Green. It's all a matter of taste.

[Satsuki Murashige]

Fluorescent 57 is great! I also like Deep Blue-Green and Peacock Blue. Also, 1/2 Plus Green plus Full CTB.