Gel (Colour Filter)

Rosco Gel Swatch Book

Rosco Gel Swatch Book

White light may show what is happening on stage but it doesn’t really create a mood and gets a bit boring after a while. Gel is a coloured sheet of plastic which is fixed to the front of a light inside a gel frame and which produces a coloured light beam. Like gobos, there is a vast number of standard gel types made by a number of companies. Here’s a rough guide to their effects:

  • Red: angry, dramatic
  • Blue: cold, night time
  • Pale purple: neutral
  • Orange/yellow: warm
  • Dark colours are usually used for lighting bands and since they absorb lots of light, they can get very warm and eventually melt.
  • Paler colours are more suited to theatre lighting where subtle mood setting is required.
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