In the realm of production, a lighting designer employs an array of techniques to establish a show’s aesthetic. The manipulation of light’s qualities or properties is the primary method. These properties include the intensity or luminosity of the light, its directionality or point of origin, and the central theme of our discussion – color. Color, whether in light or pigment, pervades our surroundings. Yet, rarely do we contemplate it or consider its influence on our emotions, intentions, and attention. Designers cleverly use light to manipulate these elements, collaborating with the creative crew to weave a story.
Dissecting Color – A Closer Look at Its Constituents
To gain a deeper understanding of color, we must dissect it and examine its foundation. Most of us are familiar with the primary colors from our elementary school learning, but it’s crucial to differentiate between the primary colors of pigments (paints, dyes, or inks) and light. The primary colors in pigments are red, blue, and yellow. Hypothetically, every conceivable color can be concocted using these three pigment colors. The secondary colors, produced by combining primary ones, include purple from red and blue, orange from yellow and red, and green from blue and yellow.
In contrast, light’s primary colors comprise red, blue, and green. This divergence poses novel challenges – for instance, identifying the source of yellow. Consequently, we must acquaint ourselves with a fresh set of secondary colors resulting from the fusion of two primary light sources: magenta from red and blue, cyan from blue and green, and yellow from red and green. The concept of two hues combining to create yellow might appear non-intuitive, but it becomes clearer when visualizing a complete color wheel and determining the position of yellow.
The Confluence of Complementary Colors
Two other crucial concepts to comprehend when distinguishing between light and pigment are the amalgamation of complementary colors and the unison of all three primaries. In pigment, the mixture of complementary colors – those situated opposite each other on the color wheel like red and green – yield black. Similarly, merging all three primary pigment colors also results in black. With lighting, however, the combination of two complementary colors – say, blue and yellow – generates white light. When all three primary colors of light are blended in equal proportions, the outcome is also white light.
How Do Objects Exhibit Color?
When we glance at a green mint under the conventional ‘white’ illumination, what causes it to appear green? The color perceived by our eyes is determined by the fraction of visible light that an object reflects. ‘White light,’ or full-spectrum lighting, encompasses all detectable wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum. Each wavelength, or each segment of the spectrum, corresponds to a specific color perceivable by the human eye. Therefore, our green mint merely reflects the fraction of visible light our eyes perceive as green. Similarly, a red candy only mirrors the portion of light recognized by our eye as red.
Consider a scenario where only blue light shines on these two candies. Since the green candy solely reflects green light and the red candy only reflects red light, both candies would not reflect any light back to the observer. This absence of color is perceived as black, rendering both candies virtually indistinguishable.
Lighting Design: A Play of Colors
A lighting designer has an artistic toolset at his disposal to shape the ambiance of a performance or presentation. These tools are primarily based on the assignable characteristics of light, such as intensity (the level of brightness or dimness), direction (the origin of the light source), and the core subject of our discussion – color. Color, both in light and pigment forms, pervades our surroundings, but we seldom ponder its influence on our emotions, intentions, and attention span. Designers deftly manipulate light to alter these factors, collaborating with the creative team to narrate a story.
The Science of Colors: Mixing Light and Its Phenomenal Impact
Creating visually stunning environments relies not only on the colors but also on what happens when they combine. While blending paint colors seem a straightforward process, what happens when colors in the form of light merge is a more complex phenomenon. Light mixing involves two methods – additive and subtractive.
Additive Color Mixing: An Illuminating Process
Imagine a plain white projector screen as an example – a white object that reflects all visible light back at the observer. In the additive color mixing scenario, two distinct colored light sources are projected onto this white screen. The viewer’s brain processes these reflected colors, and an amalgamation is perceived. The term ‘additive color mixing’ is derived from the process of adding two light colors to create a new hue. For instance, projecting red and blue lights onto the screen result in the brain interpreting this as magenta. By adjusting the intensity or brightness of the red and blue lights, the brain interprets distinct colors along the color wheel spectrum.
With stronger red light, a more pinkish tint emerges, whereas enhancing blue light results in a more violet tone. This additive mixing is commonly used in cyclorama or backdrop lighting. Using primary colors—red, blue, and green—a designer can experiment with almost any color they desire on the backdrop. This technique also applies to commonplace lighting devices such as the screens of our phones, computers, and televisions. Composed of millions of pixels, each pixel houses a red, green, and blue light source. By varying the intensity of these lights, a spectrum of colors can be created.
As LED lighting fixtures gain popularity in theatres, additive color mixing emerges as a go-to technique. Most LEDs are RGB fixtures (an amalgamation of red, green, and blue light sources). Often, extra colored LEDs, like amber (RGBA) or white (RGBW), are included to augment color variety.
Lighting Up through Subtractive Color Mixing
In contrast to the additive mixing process, subtractive color mixing begins with a full-spectrum light source, and portions of the visible spectrum are selectively removed to alter the light’s color. Visualize a theatrical spotlight aimed at a white screen. It produces a spectrum of light, making the screen appear white. However, introducing a blue “gel” to the light turns the screen blue.
This is subtractive color mixing in its most basic form, a common practice in theatres. Gels, originally made from gelatin and now from plastic, are color filters positioned in front of a white light source to modify its color. As the term suggests, the filter allows specific wavelengths through while obstructing the rest, primarily converting them into heat. By subtracting parts of the color spectrum, the human eye perceives color variations from white.
For instance, a light blue gel filters out a small fraction of yellow light, blue’s complement. A dark or “saturated” blue gel filters out almost all non-blue segments of the spectrum, blocking all green and red light, leaving only the blue light.
Subtractive color mixing is frequently used to generate color ranges in non-LED moving lights (and some white-source LED moving lights). By combining secondary filters (cyan, magenta, and yellow), a full color array can be achieved using subtractive color mixing. When cyan and magenta filters are combined, they produce blue light as all red and green light are blocked. Combining all three secondary colors using subtractive color mixing blocks nearly all light, essentially generating black.
Conclusion
In conclusion, understanding the mechanics of light and color is vital for a lighting designer. Knowledge of additive and subtractive color mixing opens up limitless possibilities in creating distinctive atmospheres, enhancing stage aesthetics, and even influencing the audience’s immersion level in a performance. Armed with this knowledge, designers can effectively manipulate light and color to narrate compelling stories and create visually captivating experiences for viewers.