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full screenprintcontentsfull screenprint50 VIDEOMAKER >>> MAY 2019
Spill happens when light bounces off
your green — or blue — screen and
splashes onto your subject or actors.
While it may only be a hint of green, it
makes your post-production work —
keying out the green screen — much
more diffi cult.
Gels alleviate this spill by keeping
the light intensity down — a cheaper
alternative to refl ective panels and
umbrellas. The can also balance out
the greens or blues with counter
colors so they are less noticeable on
camera. While a little bit of a spill may
not seem like a big deal on set, it’s a
massive headache in post-production.Proper lighting goes a long way to-
ward selling your project to viewers.
Dynamic lighting allows your fi nished
video to tell a visually captivating
story, elevating your production to an
entirely new level. A great way to do
this is through lighting gels.What gels do
Lighting gels serve a number of pur-
poses, but the ultimate goal of any gel
is to change a light’s color temperature.
Sadly, retinas and camera lenses don’t
see color the same way. Thus, manag-
ing color temperature so images on fi lm
look how we expect is a tricky balance.
Gels let you tweak the color tem-
perature on your lighting rigs to make
them warmer — more yellow/orange
light — or cooler — bluer tones — de-
pending on the needs of your scene.
Used properly, gels add more realism
to your video while bringing in an-
other level of visual detail to the story.
Plus, if you’re using a green screen,
there are also gels to limit color spill.LIGHTING
If you’ve never used lighting gels
in your video productions before,
they may seem a little daunting,
but the effort is worthwhile.
Here’s how to use gels to get the
most out of your lights.
by Jordan MaisonTinted lighting gels help set the
mood for your video
Gels serve these very practical purposes,
but they also allow you to get creative.
More than balancing colors, gels can
drastically alter the overall color palette
of your scenes. For example, say you’re
recording a project with science fi ction
themes. Using deep blues and violets
can add a stark neon, cyberpunk feel to
your scenes, as in “Blade Runner 2049.”
Viewers may not consciously recog-
nize these choices, but they still lend
another layer of immersion to your
story. Similarly, using colored gels to
highlight important character mo-
ments or emphasize emotional points
allows you to tell your story visually.
This is all true even if you’ve made
the jump to LED lights over tungsten.
While many LED rigs have built-in
color temperature options, gels are
still your best option for stylized and
natural looks. Even with the best LEDs,
there are still plenty of situations
where gels can more easily give you
the results you need.Types of lighting gels
There are different gels for different
purposes. Knowing what each gelHow to use lighting gels
does and the best times to use each
of them is crucial to gels being an ef-
fective part of your kit. There are four
main types:
CTO - Color Temperature Orange brings
down the intensity of daylight by fi lter-
ing out the blues on the spectrum.
Where daylight is considered to be
around 5600 Kelvin, CTO gels your
lighting set up down to 3200K. This will
closer match indoor lighting sources.
CTB - Color Temperature Blue is the
opposite of CTO. These give your tung-
sten lights a more “daylight” appear-
ance — great for outdoor scenes or
when augmenting natural.
Minus Green - This Magenta gel
strips out the green and gives off a
more natural indoor light. If you fi nd
yourself fi lming inside an offi ce with
fl uorescent lighting, this gel is a must.
Minus green also helps with green
screen color spill.The creative use
of tinted lighting
gels can help set
the mood for your
video for more ef-
fective storytelling.This complete six-part training DVD covers every aspect of the wedding, giving you
the inside scoop on the extra details that separate the serious wedding videogra-
pher from the amateur with a camera. Videomaker's trusted editors will walk you
through every facet of wedding videography, from navigating the legalities ahead of
time to adding post-production effects after the ceremony.Become a professional
wedding videographer
Learn more at http://www.videomaker.com/weddingDVD
To be a professional wedding videographer,
you need to show up prepared to do things
right. The award winning Wedding Videography
will make sure you can handle any curve ball
the big day throws at you.Segments include: Legalities, Pre-Ceremony, Audio, Ceremony, Reception and Post-Production.
TellyAward
Winner!
384 C03 Lighting.indd 50 3/19/19 2:30 PM 314 VM Wedding DVD Half Horizontal.indd 48 6/21/2017 9:55:02 AMVIDEOMAKER >>> MAY 2019 51
LIGHTING
Tinted lighting gels help set the
mood for your video
Gels serve these very practical purposes,
but they also allow you to get creative.
More than balancing colors, gels can
drastically alter the overall color palette
of your scenes. For example, say you’re
recording a project with science fi ction
themes. Using deep blues and violets
can add a stark neon, cyberpunk feel to
your scenes, as in “Blade Runner 2049.”
Viewers may not consciously recog-
nize these choices, but they still lend
another layer of immersion to your
story. Similarly, using colored gels to
highlight important character mo-
ments or emphasize emotional points
allows you to tell your story visually.
This is all true even if you’ve made
the jump to LED lights over tungsten.
While many LED rigs have built-in
color temperature options, gels are
still your best option for stylized and
natural looks. Even with the best LEDs,
there are still plenty of situations
where gels can more easily give you
the results you need.Types of lighting gels
There are different gels for different
purposes. Knowing what each gelHow to use lighting gels
does and the best times to use each
of them is crucial to gels being an ef-
fective part of your kit. There are four
main types:
CTO - Color Temperature Orange brings
down the intensity of daylight by fi lter-
ing out the blues on the spectrum.
Where daylight is considered to be
around 5600 Kelvin, CTO gels your
lighting set up down to 3200K. This will
closer match indoor lighting sources.
CTB - Color Temperature Blue is the
opposite of CTO. These give your tung-
sten lights a more “daylight” appear-
ance — great for outdoor scenes or
when augmenting natural.
Minus Green - This Magenta gel
strips out the green and gives off a
more natural indoor light. If you fi nd
yourself fi lming inside an offi ce with
fl uorescent lighting, this gel is a must.
Minus green also helps with green
screen color spill.LIGHTING MAY 2019
J ordan Maison is a writer with Videomaker, Pure
Nintendo Magazine, Cinelinx, Star Wars, Guin-
ness World Records, and an official artist for
various Topps Trading Card licenses.ND - Neutral Density gels are all about
controlling light intensity. They’re like
sunglasses for your lights, pulling the
brightness down without affecting the
colors. Primarily, these are used for
covering windows to block out the sun
coming inside.One size doesn’t fi t all
Gels are incredibly helpful, but like
all things in video production, no
single tool is perfect for every situa-
tion. All gels have multiple gradations
to choose from, and you may need to
test a few out before fi nding the right
one for your specifi c scene.
Thankfully, gels are among some of
the cheapest pieces of equipment you
can purchase, with variety packs going
anywhere between $15-$30. While
some are more expensive depending
on the size — Neutral Density espe-
cially — on the whole gels are rela-You can comment on this article by going online:
http://www.videomaker.com/?p=72000297tively inexpensive and will last through
multiple shoots. Since price is less of a
hindrance, there’s no reason to ignore
the benefi ts of using gels in your own
lighting setups.
In the digital age, it’s easy to fall into
the we’ll-fi x-it-in-post trap for color
correction. Yet, that’s a long and tedious
process that often results in a compro-
mise. Using gels properly can eliminate
those headaches early on. Sure, they
require a little more setup, but the time
saved in post is more than worthwhile.
Not to mention, you’ll get far more natu-
ral tones via gels on set than by trying to
replicate them on the computer.This complete six-part training DVD covers every aspect of the wedding, giving you
the inside scoop on the extra details that separate the serious wedding videogra-
pher from the amateur with a camera. Videomaker's trusted editors will walk you
through every facet of wedding videography, from navigating the legalities ahead of
time to adding post-production effects after the ceremony.Become a professional
wedding videographer
Learn more at http://www.videomaker.com/weddingDVD
To be a professional wedding videographer,
you need to show up prepared to do things
right. The award winning Wedding Videography
will make sure you can handle any curve ball
the big day throws at you.Segments include: Legalities, Pre-Ceremony, Audio, Ceremony, Reception and Post-Production.
TellyAward
Winner!
384 C03 Lighting.indd 51314 VM Wedding DVD Half Horizontal.indd 48 6/21/2017 9:55:02 AM3/19/19 2:30 PM