Mixing Practical Bulbs: DPs/Gaffers, What's YOUR Color Control Workflow?

Posted by Jason Fong in Cinematography 0 views · 2 replies

Hey everyone, Jason Fong here. I've been doing a lot of deep dives lately into CRI/TLCI nuances and the potential pitfalls when color controlling a set. It's got me genuinely curious about how everyone else tackles this. Specifically, when you're on a show and you know you'll be mixing various practical bulbs (say, old tungsten in a house lamp next to modern LED strips for an accent, all hitting a KOMODO or a RED) what's your personal workflow?

Do you prioritize finding high-CRI practicals exclusively? Do you lean heavily on gels and then correct in post? I’ve tried using high-end dimmers that allow for some color tweaking, and my SkyPanels X are fantastic, but then you've got the challenges of matching other sources. On my last project, we used some Older Tungsten and some Nanlite Forza 500 II for general lighting. It was a bit of a headache getting everything to play nice. How much time do you dedicate to testing these specific practicals in pre-pro before you even step on set? What's your go-to strategy for maintaining color consistency when mixing such diverse light sources?

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