interview tent, what colour & does it matter?

jamedia.uk

jamedia.uk

Well-known member
Not exactly lighting gear but gear that affects the light :)

We are looking at getting a pop up 4M * 4M gazebo to use for news interviews on location.

Marketing Dept want the tent in the company blue whereas I think we would do better with it being white. Like a big soft box.
Has anyone any experience of doing interviews/talking head in tents outdoors and does the colour of the tent matter?
 
I shot a pickup for a short film under a semi-opaque blue canopy on a sunny day once. The blue spill was VERY noticeable in post. We managed to salvage it, but never again.
 
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It depends if the material is translucent or not. I shot under a translucent circus tent once, and had a terrible time with red spill. A custom white balance wasn't enough to get good color in camera.
 
Stick with white. I shoot at all of the major auto races at Lime Rock Park. Most the race cars in the paddock area are parked and worked on under canopies attached to their transport trailers. Many of the canopies are colored and I have never had success getting a good white balance under a colored canopy. The worst is Ferrari with their red canopies. Save yourself a lot of headaches and go with white.
 
As someone that has shot God-only-knows-how-many network LS's under EZ-Up(pop-up) tents, my .02 on colors that are safe: White, white or white. And if white isn't available, get white.
 
Many thanks for al the comments above.
It confirms my thoughts and I have some ammunition to show marketing (they can still have the logo's on the tent. )

Run&Gun said:
As someone that has shot God-only-knows-how-many network LS's under EZ-Up(pop-up) tents, my .02 on colors that are safe: White, white or white. And if white isn't available, get white.
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When you say "white" which white do you mean? I pinged www.dulux.co.uk and got Magic white, Chalky white 2 , chalky white 3, absolute white, chiffon white 4 chiffon white 3 chiffon white 2, mist white, jasmine white, barley white, white chiffon, ultra white, orchid white, almond white, vanilla white, ashen white, nutmeg white, dafodile white, metal white, apple white, apricot white, jade white, cornflower white, violet white. blossom white, white cotton.... (the list goes on and on)

or just what ever "white" the tent maker has in stock?

BTW if you think this is bad you should see the shades of black :- )
 
I went to a wholesale automotive paint store once, looking for some colors for a hobby project, and asked for "white." They laughed, and showed me what they called "the white book" - a 6" thick binder containing several thousand sample paint chips, all in subtly different shades of "white," to match every vehicle (up to and including ocean going ships and the Space Shuttle) produced in the last hundred years. After looking at the samples for a few minutes I was almost completely blind to any differences between them, and simply picked one I thought looked reasonably good and neutral. It turned out it was a little more yellowish than I would have preferred, but I stuck with it since I didn't want to go through that ordeal again.

After that, I was hesitant to ask about "black," which I also needed for my project. Turns out, there is exactly one "black" in the DuPont auto paint catalog. That was an easy choice.

- Greg
 
jagraphics said:
Many thanks for al the comments above.
It confirms my thoughts and I have some ammunition to show marketing (they can still have the logo's on the tent. )



When you say "white" which white do you mean? I pinged www.dulux.co.uk and got Magic white, Chalky white 2 , chalky white 3, absolute white, chiffon white 4 chiffon white 3 chiffon white 2, mist white, jasmine white, barley white, white chiffon, ultra white, orchid white, almond white, vanilla white, ashen white, nutmeg white, dafodile white, metal white, apple white, apricot white, jade white, cornflower white, violet white. blossom white, white cotton.... (the list goes on and on)

or just what ever "white" the tent maker has in stock?

BTW if you think this is bad you should see the shades of black :- )
Click to expand...

Greg Smith said:
I went to a wholesale automotive paint store once, looking for some colors for a hobby project, and asked for "white." They laughed, and showed me what they called "the white book" - a 6" thick binder containing several thousand sample paint chips, all in subtly different shades of "white," to match every vehicle (up to and including ocean going ships and the Space Shuttle) produced in the last hundred years. After looking at the samples for a few minutes I was almost completely blind to any differences between them, and simply picked one I thought looked reasonably good and neutral. It turned out it was a little more yellowish than I would have preferred, but I stuck with it since I didn't want to go through that ordeal again.

After that, I was hesitant to ask about "black," which I also needed for my project. Turns out, there is exactly one "black" in the DuPont auto paint catalog. That was an easy choice.

- Greg
Click to expand...

Hahahahaha... That’s awesome. Yeah, have you ever tried to match black material from one manufacturer to the next? Damn near impossible. Go into a clothing store and pick 3 random black items(shirt, pants, jacket, etc.) from 3 different companies and if they all match, leave and go immediately to the convenient store and buy a lottery ticket, because it’s your lucky day.
 
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