theatrical design and production chapter 6: color © 2006 the mcgraw-hill companies, inc. all rights...
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Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 6: Color
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
Color
Perception created in the brain as a result of stimulation of the retina by light waves of a certain length
The intrinsic physical properties of specific objects that allow those objects to reflect and absorb light waves of a certain length
Color requires light…
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 6: Color
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
Lightportion of the spectrum of
electromagnetic radiation that is visible to the human eye
1022 Hz1021 Hz1020 Hz1019 Hz1018 HZ1017 Hz1016 Hz1015 Hz1014 Hz1013 Hz1012 Hz1011 Hz1010 Hz109 Hz108 Hz107 Hz106 Hz105 Hz
Cosmic rays
Gamma rays
X-rays
Ultraviolet
Infrared
Radar
Television
Commercial radio
Visible light
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 6: Color
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
Light - portion of the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation that is visible to the human eye
Frequency range: approx. 750 nanometers to 400 nanometers
(Nanometer = 1 billionth of a meter)
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 6: Color
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
Color Terminology
Saturation: (Chroma) The amount or % of a particular hue in a color mixture (Higher saturation = more hue)
Hue: The quality that differentiates one color from another (the name of the color)
hue
Value: Relative lightness or darkness of a color
white blackgray
Tint: A color with a high value – usually achieved by mixing white with a hue
tint
Shade: A color with a low value – usually achieved by mixing black with a hue
shade
Tone: Color of middle value – usually achieved by mixing black and white with a hue
tone
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 6: Color
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
How does the human eye see color?
The light receptor nerves:
Rods – Sensitive to faint lightCones – Sensitive to bright light (red, blue, green)
An electrochemical reaction interprets the simulation received when light is emitted by
or reflected from an object.
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 6: Color
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
Sunlight contains all electromagnetic
wavelengths of the visible spectrum
Light strikes a blue-green paint chip and the wavelengths that
respond to that color are reflected – all other wavelengths
are absorbed.
Reflected blue and green light is
received by the eye in the cones which
then send signals to the brain to be interpreted as
turquoise
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 6: Color
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
Color Mixing – Primary Colors
Hues that cannot be derived or blended from any other hues.
light pigment
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 6: Color
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
Color Mixing – Secondary Colors
Hues that result from mixing two primary colors.
light pigment
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 6: Color
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
Color Mixing – Complementary Colors
Any two hues that, when combined yield white in light or black in pigment.
light pigment
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 6: Color
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
Color Mixing – Theory vs. Practice
Theory…
Complimentary hues = 1 primary hue + 1 secondary hue
Secondary hue = 1 primary hue + 1 primary hue
Complimentary = All 3 primary colors = Black (pigment)– Absence of light – not reflected color – Black –
Practice…
No pure pigments, so no pure black
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 6: Color
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
Color and Light
When white light passes through a filter, part of the spectrum is absorbed…
Subtractive Color Mixing…
Color filters allow only their own hue to pass throughSaturation changes how much is absorbed/transmitted
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 6: Color
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
Color and Light
When white light passes through a filter, part of the spectrum is absorbed…
Additive Color Mixing…
Eye adds together several individual hues.
Hue is NOT created!!!Cones in eye are stimulated and brain interprets the mix as a particular hue
Tones, tints, and shades are determined by level of stimulation to the cones
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 6: Color
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
Color and Paint
Color mixing in paint = subtractive process
Selective absorption characteristics of individual hues in a paint mix cause a reduction in saturation in the resultant hue…
How ‘bright’ or ‘rich’ your orange is depends on the saturation of the red and yellow mixed to create it…
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 6: Color
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
The Integrated Color Wheel
= Light= Pigment
Places light and pigment on the same wheel
Renames the primary colors of light
Reflects a more ‘true’ relationship between various hues in pigment and light
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 6: Color
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
Hue relationship chart…
Values of the colors on the outside columns correspond with the
values of the adjacent gray blocks on the center gray-scale column
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 6: Color
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
Complementary hue-tone relationships…
The value of a specific hue changes as white or black is added.
The values of the resultant tints and shades on the outside columns
correspond with the values of the adjacent gray blocks of the central
gray scale.
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 6: Color
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
A word of warning…
All discussion of color theory assumes that hues are 100% pure and saturate.
In practice, they NEVER are… unless considerable expense and effort is expended
End results often vary from theory –
Practice is always dependent on other elements that theory cannot predict or assume
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 6: Color
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
Color and Meaning: Common interpretations (not always ‘correct’)
YellowYellow: stimulating, cheerful, exciting, joyful, serene, unpleasant, aggressive, hostile
OrangeOrange: warm, happy, merry, exciting, stimulating, hot, disturbed, distressed, unpleasant
Red: happy, affectionate, loving, exciting, striking, active, intense, defiant, powerful, masterful, strong, aggressive, hostile
GreenGreen: youthful, fresh, leisurely, secure, calm, peaceful, emotionally controlled, ill
Blue: pleasant, cool, secure, comfortable, tender, soothing, social, dignified, sad, strong, full, great
Violet: dignified, stately, vigorous, disagreeable, sad, despondent, melancholy, unhappy, depressing
Black: sad, melancholy, vague, unhappy, dignified, stately, strong, powerful, hostile, distressed, fearful, old
WhiteWhite: pure, tender, soothing, solemn, empty
Brown: secure, comfortable, full, sad, disagreeable
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 6: Color
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
Practical Use - Pigment
Hues of medium saturation and value: background rather than focus
Proximity impacts spectators: strong contrast = greater tension
Accent colors: small touches of contrasting color used by scenic and costume designers to enhance visual look
Color selection impacts viewer by color meaning as well as visual translation!!!
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 6: Color
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
Practical Use - Light
Typically avoid heavy saturation: hard on skin and clothing! Seek to enhance rather than distract: brain stimulation with additive color
Serve to enhance color palette of scenic and costume designers
Sense of environment achieved by ‘mixed’ white light (can go slightly warm or slightly cool…)
Focus and understanding of environment also draws on color meaning with light
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 6: Color
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
Color Analysis of Terra Nova Scenic Design
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 6: Color
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
Color Analysis of Terra Nova Scenic Design
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 6: Color
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
Color Analysis of Terra Nova
Costume Design
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 6: Color
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
Color Analysis of Terra Nova
Lighting Design
Color Key for lighting design
Arrows indicate direction from which the light is traveling toward
the stage.
The horizontal flags on the arrows at the upper part of the illustration
indicated that those lights are coming from above, rather than
behind, the actors
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 6: Color
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
Color Analysis of Terra Nova Lighting Design
Numbers indicate Roscolux gel colors – Notice a ‘cooler’ look in the image
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 6: Color
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
Color Analysis of Terra Nova
Lighting Design
Numbers indicate Roscolux gel colors – Spotlight is also used in this image
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 6: Color
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
Color Analysis of Terra Nova Lighting Design
Numbers indicate Roscolux gel colors – England vs. Antarctica
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 6: Color
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
Color Analysis of Terra Nova Lighting Design
Numbers indicate Roscolux gel colors – ‘warmer’ look evident in this scene
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 6: Color
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
Color Analysis of Cabaret Scenic Design
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 6: Color
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
Color Analysis of Cabaret Scenic Design
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 6: Color
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
Color Analysis of Cabaret Costume Design
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 6: Color
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
Color Analysis of Cabaret Costume Design
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 6: Color
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
Color Analysis of Cabaret Costume Design
Theatrical Design and Production
Chapter 6: Color
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.
Color Analysis of Cabaret
Lighting Design
3 Primary Considerations:
1) Full-spectrum of colors in costume design & set
2) Heavy, smoke-filled, sensuous atmosphere
3) Need for a ‘lighter’ more realistic atmosphere outside the cabaret