Lighting trick of the movies...

[Alicia Ferrows]

Hello,
i remember hearing that in the usual blockbuster films the way they light to achieve the common look is to put orange gels on the lights lighting the subject and blue gels on the lights lighting the background. Can anyone expand on this as this is a technique that looks like its commonly used but never spoken of?

 

[4100xpb]

I don't know the details of it, but the principal of what you are describing is placing a warm foreground subject against a cool background. This helps make the foreground subject 'pop' out from the background, or get you more separation from the foreground and background, as in our mind warm colours tend to advance while cool colours recede.

 

[Alicia Ferrows]

thats makes alot of sense actually, i plan to do some testing soon also

 

[bruce southerland]

Alicia

The technique you are describing can be used, but I would say it is not a technique that is commonly used in feature films. Many times the actors in films have lights hitting them that
are different in color temperature, and the lights are set up for that effect-but I've never heard of a common practice of warm light on the actor and cool light on the background.

 

[TiE_Shepherd]

I know what look you're talking about, but I would think most of that look comes from the color correction, more than the lighting itself.

Here's a little info...

http://theabyssgazes.blogspot.com/2010/03/teal-and-orange-hollywood-please-stop.html

 

[memento515]

Flipping through the tv I caught a short snippet of Jeniffers Body and in the mental hospital the patients all wore orange and the walls were blue. Not a coincidence. Noones gonna say yeah the color pallette for the movie is gonna be mostly blue and orange but color and light anything however you want well do it in all in post.

Im doing a sleazy grindhouse horror short and might be doing some of that blatantly obvious blue gel in the background stuff. Fun. Red gels on the faces. Sleeaazzzy.

so the answer to your question is that its not as simple as slapping gels on the lights tho you could do that. Just know about warms and cools and use the information however you want. I got a copy of Magic Bullet Mojo and its pretty awesome; not sure how I want to use it tho cause I tested it out on some night shots I did with blue gels and it made everything TOO blue!

everything interacts (costumes, sets, lights, post). Theres no hollywood button.

 

[stuckfootage]

Here's a fun blog with lots of examples of the teal-orange cliché:
http://theabyssgazes.blogspot.com/2010/03/teal-and-orange-hollywood-please-stop.html

 

[TiE_Shepherd]

Here's a fun blog with lots of examples of the teal-orange cliché:
http://theabyssgazes.blogspot.com/2010/03/teal-and-orange-hollywood-please-stop.html

Thanks for the link, never saw that before... oh wait... j/k.

 

[stuckfootage]

Thanks for the link, never saw that before... oh wait... j/k.

Doh!!!

My New Years Resolution is to stop doing stupid things.

 

[Alicia Ferrows]

lol wow that abyss website really hate the look im speaking of. Hmmm

 

[GrahamH]

This may be of interest: http://www.redgiantsoftware.com/videos/redgianttv/item/23/

 

[stuckfootage]

lol wow that abyss website really hates the look i'm speaking of. Hmmm

I think it's a question of how much: whether you add just a touch of the effect or go overboard.
For example, if you have an interior shot with daylight streaming in the window,
the orange-blue contrast may be too much or just right. Look at the shot on a good monitor
and adjust the color–either with the lighting or the color correction–to find the right balance,
either making the color contrast stronger or weaker. That's one reason to have a variety of CTB and CTO
filters in your kit, and that's why it's really important to have a good monitor.

Another thing to keep in mind is that you can create color contrast with three colors, too.
So you can offset the skin's red-orange hue with a background of green and purple.
Also keep in mind that there is more to color than just hue. The huge difference in human
skin color is mostly a result of saturation and brightness, not hue.

Check out Itten's famous book on color theory.
This website might be a good place to start: http://www.worqx.com/color/itten.htm

Once you get a better understanding of the many ways of using color,
you'll realize that the orange-teal thing is a huge simplification.
It's OK to use sometimes, but don't overdo it.

 

[Jordan Scott Price]

This may be of interest: http://www.redgiantsoftware.com/videos/redgianttv/item/23/

Beat me to it!

Magic Bullet can pull this contrast in post with ease.

@Alicia

Depending on what camera you are shooting, it is typically better to shoot a flat, clean picture and then add your colors and contrasts in post. This ensures you don't overdo it on set or contaminate your image with too much of the wrong color.

Although, for stylistic considerations, or for the sake of time, I could see lighting talent orange and background blue as a nifty tool.

 

[emeticmedic]

Once you get a better understanding of the many ways of using color,
you'll realize that the orange-teal thing is a huge simplification.
It's OK to use sometimes, but don't overdo it.

Couldn't agree more. But then again, overdoing it is what Hollywood does best these days.

Certain effects can also be achieved using warm cards. White balancing with varying degrees of blue cards will may the image appear warmer than normal, without the need for gels on key and fill lights or a lot of color grading in post. The accent lights on the background can then be adjusted independently using gels, keeping in mind that they will also appear warmer. Takes a little experimenting to get right, but it can be a more subtle solution than gels. I've used it quite a bit for news and documentary interviews, but not for scenes in more narrative films like you're talking about.

 

[RyanT]

This really has little to do with color correction...Just take another look at that blog post with wardrobe and production design in mind.

http://theabyssgazes.blogspot.com/2010/03/teal-and-orange-hollywood-please-stop.html

Now look at this picture.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Q2z1M3wzz-Q/S53AKicHCsI/AAAAAAAAAMA/vEM12qLhYY0/s1600-h/hot_tub4.jpg

Alright, all of them are wearing blue vests. I see multiple blue jeans. Blue star in the background...Blue painting...Then orange skin tones and an orange bar. This looks like production design and wardrobe that's creating this...not color correction.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Q2z1M3wzz-Q/S52uOsMvbpI/AAAAAAAAAIo/Ip_GiIn7jcY/s1600-h/trans_two5.jpg

Again, blue sky, blue sign, orange skin, orange car. Only thing color correction wise was probably to warm his skin tones up and boost saturation.

There are a few where the room is being lit by moonlight or a bluer light through the window, and then the characters are lit by warm practicals in the room....That is one instance where lighting will actually come in handy in getting you this look.

Production design, wardrobe, and things that are actually in front of your camera are a lot more important that anything else. All these fancy lighting tricks can do is hide your awful production design.

 

[Peter Mosiman]

There really is no common trick. It always depends on the mood, what you have available, and how you want to visually tell the story.

Cheers.

 

[Michael Carter]

I really like Roger Deakins' (the last dozen or so Coen bros. films, "Revolutionary Road", "Jesse James/Robert Ford") warm techniques - which generally is bouncing off of unbleached muslin.

He claims to rely on this often, and has stated he often runs into local stores to buy bedsheets in "warm" tones to throw onto walls or floors.

And he's an oscar shoo-in this go-round....

 

[slondon]

I really like Roger Deakins' (the last dozen or so Coen bros. films, "Revolutionary Road", "Jesse James/Robert Ford") warm techniques - which generally is bouncing off of unbleached muslin.

He claims to rely on this often, and has stated he often runs into local stores to buy bedsheets in "warm" tones to throw onto walls or floors.

And he's an oscar shoo-in this go-round....

My two thumbs up on this genius, and, like that other incredibly generous DP, David Mullen, ASC, he shares like crazy with filmmakers like us.

Another great, sharing guy, T.C. Christensen, ASC, got me to go unbleached muslin. So pretty so often.

 

[j1clark@ucsd.edu]

My two thumbs up on this genius, and, like that other incredibly generous DP, David Mullen, ASC, he shares like crazy with filmmakers like us.

Another great, sharing guy, T.C. Christensen, ASC, got me to go unbleached muslin. So pretty so often.

Wow... and I've been using muslin drop cloths for years... because they're cheap... and available at Home Depot everywhere...

The other type of supplier is upholstery supply places... where one can get heavy gauge fabrics for 'cheap' for roll ends and the like...

 

[HorseFilms]

lol wow that abyss website really hate the look im speaking of. Hmmm

Shoot things the way they look best to you. Don't worry about what other people think and just make the best movie you can. Half of the people who will try to tear you down have never shot a thing in their lives.