Usually, I mark sheets with a black Sharpie, or, white grease pencil. Lately, a Silver Sharpie for darker gels like Blues, ND's etc. Write: "CTO", or "Full CTO", "1/2 CTO", "1/4 CTO", etc. These are "Man Readable" by anyone looking at the gel. No decoding necessary. I mentor a lot of Noobs. Clarity is KEY! There are differences between gels of the "same color" between manufacturers, Rosco (R), Lee (L) and GAM(G). Cotech? I have a lot of Cotech 4' Diff. Most folks have a black Sharpie on them, so a Rosco CTO will get marked with: R CTO. Lee gets: L CTO, or L 204, using their numerical system. But, I prefer using more general terms, like CTO/CTB, so there's No Doubt.(I know what you're thinking). When I first buy a sheet, or chop a 4' Roll, I will mark all four corners with the Gel's Number/Designation. When sheets get chopped further, be sure to take the time to the mark the new, unmarked bits/off cuts. It saves time. Even if you can tell the difference, which you will, after many years of staring at gels, but in a darkened studio, there's no doubt( I know you're good, I know you're real good...). Mainly, be consistent in how you mark everything. Differentiation between mfrs, will help. Quick Tip: If you lay a gel on a piece of paper, you are actually getting 2x the color. You are getting the light passing through the gel, hitting the paper and then bouncing off the paper, back through the gel a second time. This is not accurate. Holding the gel up to a light source, usually the one that you will be using on set, will help you determine the best gels/colors for your production. Find out who your regional sales person is and then make a friend. Get a swatch book. Or, go to retailer and get one.
Interesting... The way I store gels is in a wastepaper basket storing individually rolled up gels... (but i think your way of storing gels is way neater) anyway each rolled gel is taped, and on each tape it is labelled "F. CTO", "1/2 CTO", with a big piece of tape it's easy... The thing about your method that might be confusing to new people is to differentiate between CTO and CTS gels, if you just put the symbol it might still be tough to identify if you're dealing with CTO or CTS unless that's written too. Cool symbol system though, I'd have to teach the ppl I'm working with what they mean tho.
OhMeGosh!! I just labeled ALL of my gels today! (& then youtube recommended this video!) I found a conversion table online for Lee to Rosco reference numbers, which helped me identify some of the gels. (When I see the circle with the line through it, I think of the location of a sensor inside a camera, that you use to measure distance for focus pulling; it’s on every camera). Do you have another video on how & why using gels? Straw, Loving Amber, etc. When I can, I rent a Kino Select30, with the gels built in; that blew my mind the first time I used one. LEDs just make so much sense, especially in small apartments or during the summer when you hv to turn the AC off for audio recording. Do you have any tips for applying ND gel? (I use a water spray bottle & squeegee, but am always chasing bubbles). Thank you so much for all these videos!
I don’t have an episode about choosing colored gels. Regarding applying ND, I’m a fan of using snot tape (ATG tape) in window corners and keep everything dry:)
Great channel and I am sure it will grow. Doing a great job with it. So much grip gear you can only see in online stores, especially the newer stuff that only one grip company makes or sells. OK now my question regarding gels. What pen do you use that doesn't come off in time ? I have a bunch of what you call theatrical gels that I want to mark up but I was thinking I would have to use chinagraph (and I still use tungsten hot lights). Also that gel roll case where did you buy it from ? Gell roll cases are so hard to find, especially in different sizes I was actually thinking to make my own as I can only find one gel case online CineBags CB-06 and I need some bigger ones.
Hi Marcus, I often just use a Sharpie marker, but when the gel is a dark, saturated color black ink can be hard to see. Some people use a white or yellow paint pen, something you might be able to find in an artists supply store or in a store that sells tools for crafts. As to the gel rolls, most of mine are quite old and made by a company that got bought out a long time ago. I have some new ones and will look to see if they are labeled. For the time being you could take a rectangle piece of cloth, like duvetyne, that is just a little longer than your largest piece of gel, stack the gel on the cloth and roll it up together. Then use one or two pieces of rope, with a loop knot on one end to secure the roll. Does that make sense?
Hi Luke, I think what you call a paint pen I call a chinagraph pencil, you might know it as a grease pencil. They were film editing or sound mark up pencils. But I will try a white Sharpie and see if heat effects it. Good idea for the temporary gel case but I think I will bite the bullet on buying an Ebay old school sewing machine (one thats good for many layers of extra thick material) and make my own, with an internal fold/sleeve so they don't fall out of the bottom and some velcro. I will use 1050 Denier Nylon Fabric, thats heavy duty, its used for making luggage. I have never used a sewing machine in my life but there are too many things, like gel cases in big sizes, that are impossible to find. I will also make some simple top pocket bags for my light stands and attempt to replace the reflector fabric on my Sunbounce frames. Sunbounce are brilliant in terms of construction but the reflector fabrics degrade really badly just with time. I thought I would replace mine with rip stop nylon or light grid and add velcro sides so I can add layers or other reflector materials. And if I am doing that I could make additional fabrics or custom cookies for my soft boxes and frames. By the way my personal two favourite bits of grip gear that you didn't cover are Matthews Roadrags II (the big ones not the small ones) and I have an additional silver one I use as a bottom reflector for beauty set ups and the Matthews Min Grip kit. My personal rule is Sunbounce for outside Roadrags for indoors.
Tnx I think I'll use the tip for marking gels. Also do you know of a brand or supplier for window film so that outdoor windows can be converted to match interior lighting?
There are a number of gel manufacturers: Lee, Rosco, Gam. Google “ND window gel” and you’ll be able to watch videos of how to ND windows. I usually get the 5’ rolls rather than the 4’ rolls so that I’m covered on larger windows.
I don’t think there is necessarily one standard size. Colored gel and diffusion come in sheets and rolls. Traditionally, at the beginning of a longer show, a Best Boy Electric would direct someone to cut gel and diffusion to fit the lights in the package. These “gel packs” can be cut from standard sheets available from manufacturers like Lee, Roscoe, and Gam. There might be less call for that now if the package is made up of Kelvin tunable LEDs. Grips will still build out 4x4 frames with diffusion and color for HMIs. These frames are made from rolls of gel and diffusion. Hope that helps?
Hi Luke, When I started studying photography & videography, I started with photography. I gradually built up my gear which included speedlights, photography light stands, and umbrellas. But I wanted to do both photography & videography, and I wanted my gear to do both. So, I switched to Sony for my cameras & lenses, and sold my speedlights, photography light stands, and umbrellas. I bought Dracast & Aputure video lights, Impact Century Stands, Matthews Light Stands, and Westcott Frames & Diffusion. I now have a small studio full of gear and I want to know how to label it. I have bought a label maker, but have not started labelling yet, because it seems like such a huge task. Can you make an episode on how you label your gear. I have spent so much time & money buying all this gear that the thought of working with other people that also have gear terrifies me. I am afraid that I will lose something even if I am working with good people. In example, do I have to label all the parts of my C-Stands? All of my C-Stands are made by Impact and they all have turtle bases, not to mention the grip head, grip arm, and sometimes a 6" pin. Thanks, Mathew
Most G&E owners I know paint their gear, some more carefully than others, and get stencils made for larger items and cases. I don’t have that much gear and it doesn’t cross pollinate very often, so I have been terribly lax with labeling/painting. People who work with me buy me paint, send me label catalogs, and offer to help, but for some reason I resist. I have gotten a little better recently: bought some labels and started putting them on, but still haven’t done a full scale paint job:) I don’t want to be to attached to gear. I don’t want it to walk away, but I don’t want to be consumed by it either. By all means, label your gear, check and recheck that it’s all there, but I would also recommend a certain detachment so that you can accept new equipment and let old equipment go. Maybe we could ask people to send in examples of how they label their gear and crowd source your answer?!
@@meetthegaffer Thanks for the In-Depth reply; I hadn't considered painting my gear. Maybe if you have some Gaffer friends you could do an episode on what they do?
Usually, I mark sheets with a black Sharpie, or, white grease pencil. Lately, a Silver Sharpie for darker gels like Blues, ND's etc. Write: "CTO", or "Full CTO", "1/2 CTO", "1/4 CTO", etc. These are "Man Readable" by anyone looking at the gel. No decoding necessary. I mentor a lot of Noobs. Clarity is KEY!
There are differences between gels of the "same color" between manufacturers, Rosco (R), Lee (L) and GAM(G). Cotech? I have a lot of Cotech 4' Diff.
Most folks have a black Sharpie on them, so a Rosco CTO will get marked with: R CTO. Lee gets: L CTO, or L 204, using their numerical system. But, I prefer using more general terms, like CTO/CTB, so there's No Doubt.(I know what you're thinking). When I first buy a sheet, or chop a 4' Roll, I will mark all four corners with the Gel's Number/Designation. When sheets get chopped further, be sure to take the time to the mark the new, unmarked bits/off cuts. It saves time. Even if you can tell the difference, which you will, after many years of staring at gels, but in a darkened studio, there's no doubt( I know you're good, I know you're real good...).
Mainly, be consistent in how you mark everything. Differentiation between mfrs, will help.
Quick Tip: If you lay a gel on a piece of paper, you are actually getting 2x the color. You are getting the light passing through the gel, hitting the paper and then bouncing off the paper, back through the gel a second time. This is not accurate. Holding the gel up to a light source, usually the one that you will be using on set, will help you determine the best gels/colors for your production. Find out who your regional sales person is and then make a friend. Get a swatch book. Or, go to retailer and get one.
I really like this labeling system for gels, way better than writing a number and having to find the right lookup table
Your channel is the best, Luke! Really great and practical content! Thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge!
Love the little details like this! I love having my gels well organized and easy to find, so I will definitely take on this lighting approach.
Yes, I figure whatever is the simplest and leads to the least confusion from whichever side!
Im from Argentina and Im learning a lot with you, thank you so much!
You are very welcome!
Great advise.. thanks
Interesting... The way I store gels is in a wastepaper basket storing individually rolled up gels... (but i think your way of storing gels is way neater) anyway each rolled gel is taped, and on each tape it is labelled "F. CTO", "1/2 CTO", with a big piece of tape it's easy... The thing about your method that might be confusing to new people is to differentiate between CTO and CTS gels, if you just put the symbol it might still be tough to identify if you're dealing with CTO or CTS unless that's written too.
Cool symbol system though, I'd have to teach the ppl I'm working with what they mean tho.
Great knowledge I like it's for Gel remember.
Great tips.
Great tip. I'm going to have to steal this from you.
OhMeGosh!! I just labeled ALL of my gels today! (& then youtube recommended this video!) I found a conversion table online for Lee to Rosco reference numbers, which helped me identify some of the gels. (When I see the circle with the line through it, I think of the location of a sensor inside a camera, that you use to measure distance for focus pulling; it’s on every camera).
Do you have another video on how & why using gels? Straw, Loving Amber, etc.
When I can, I rent a Kino Select30, with the gels built in; that blew my mind the first time I used one.
LEDs just make so much sense, especially in small apartments or during the summer when you hv to turn the AC off for audio recording.
Do you have any tips for applying ND gel? (I use a water spray bottle & squeegee, but am always chasing bubbles).
Thank you so much for all these videos!
I don’t have an episode about choosing colored gels.
Regarding applying ND, I’m a fan of using snot tape (ATG tape) in window corners and keep everything dry:)
great advice
Thanks for sharing.
Great video. Thanks for the info! I just subscribed.
+JetSetDiva, Welcome!
Great channel and I am sure it will grow. Doing a great job with it. So much grip gear you can only see in online stores, especially the newer stuff that only one grip company makes or sells. OK now my question regarding gels. What pen do you use that doesn't come off in time ? I have a bunch of what you call theatrical gels that I want to mark up but I was thinking I would have to use chinagraph (and I still use tungsten hot lights). Also that gel roll case where did you buy it from ? Gell roll cases are so hard to find, especially in different sizes I was actually thinking to make my own as I can only find one gel case online CineBags CB-06 and I need some bigger ones.
Hi Marcus,
I often just use a Sharpie marker, but when the gel is a dark, saturated color black ink can be hard to see. Some people use a white or yellow paint pen, something you might be able to find in an artists supply store or in a store that sells tools for crafts.
As to the gel rolls, most of mine are quite old and made by a company that got bought out a long time ago. I have some new ones and will look to see if they are labeled. For the time being you could take a rectangle piece of cloth, like duvetyne, that is just a little longer than your largest piece of gel, stack the gel on the cloth and roll it up together. Then use one or two pieces of rope, with a loop knot on one end to secure the roll. Does that make sense?
Hi Luke,
I think what you call a paint pen I call a chinagraph pencil, you might know it as a grease pencil. They were film editing or sound mark up pencils. But I will try a white Sharpie and see if heat effects it. Good idea for the temporary gel case but I think I will bite the bullet on buying an Ebay old school sewing machine (one thats good for many layers of extra thick material) and make my own, with an internal fold/sleeve so they don't fall out of the bottom and some velcro. I will use 1050 Denier Nylon Fabric, thats heavy duty, its used for making luggage.
I have never used a sewing machine in my life but there are too many things, like gel cases in big sizes, that are impossible to find. I will also make some simple top pocket bags for my light stands and attempt to replace the reflector fabric on my Sunbounce frames. Sunbounce are brilliant in terms of construction but the reflector fabrics degrade really badly just with time. I thought I would replace mine with rip stop nylon or light grid and add velcro sides so I can add layers or other reflector materials. And if I am doing that I could make additional fabrics or custom cookies for my soft boxes and frames.
By the way my personal two favourite bits of grip gear that you didn't cover are Matthews Roadrags II (the big ones not the small ones) and I have an additional silver one I use as a bottom reflector for beauty set ups and the Matthews Min Grip kit. My personal rule is Sunbounce for outside Roadrags for indoors.
Tnx I think I'll use the tip for marking gels. Also do you know of a brand or supplier for window film so that outdoor windows can be converted to match interior lighting?
There are a number of gel manufacturers: Lee, Rosco, Gam. Google “ND window gel” and you’ll be able to watch videos of how to ND windows. I usually get the 5’ rolls rather than the 4’ rolls so that I’m covered on larger windows.
I see, I thought special window film would be needed, I'll try to coke method and see if that sticks ;)
@@meetthegaffer
:)
What standard size do you cut the gels to?
I don’t think there is necessarily one standard size. Colored gel and diffusion come in sheets and rolls. Traditionally, at the beginning of a longer show, a Best Boy Electric would direct someone to cut gel and diffusion to fit the lights in the package. These “gel packs” can be cut from standard sheets available from manufacturers like Lee, Roscoe, and Gam.
There might be less call for that now if the package is made up of Kelvin tunable LEDs.
Grips will still build out 4x4 frames with diffusion and color for HMIs. These frames are made from rolls of gel and diffusion.
Hope that helps?
Hi Luke,
When I started studying photography & videography, I started with photography. I gradually built up my gear which included speedlights, photography light stands, and umbrellas. But I wanted to do both photography & videography, and I wanted my gear to do both.
So, I switched to Sony for my cameras & lenses, and sold my speedlights, photography light stands, and umbrellas. I bought Dracast & Aputure video lights, Impact Century Stands, Matthews Light Stands, and Westcott Frames & Diffusion.
I now have a small studio full of gear and I want to know how to label it. I have bought a label maker, but have not started labelling yet, because it seems like such a huge task. Can you make an episode on how you label your gear. I have spent so much time & money buying all this gear that the thought of working with other people that also have gear terrifies me. I am afraid that I will lose something even if I am working with good people. In example, do I have to label all the parts of my C-Stands? All of my C-Stands are made by Impact and they all have turtle bases, not to mention the grip head, grip arm, and sometimes a 6" pin.
Thanks,
Mathew
Most G&E owners I know paint their gear, some more carefully than others, and get stencils made for larger items and cases. I don’t have that much gear and it doesn’t cross pollinate very often, so I have been terribly lax with labeling/painting. People who work with me buy me paint, send me label catalogs, and offer to help, but for some reason I resist. I have gotten a little better recently: bought some labels and started putting them on, but still haven’t done a full scale paint job:) I don’t want to be to attached to gear. I don’t want it to walk away, but I don’t want to be consumed by it either. By all means, label your gear, check and recheck that it’s all there, but I would also recommend a certain detachment so that you can accept new equipment and let old equipment go.
Maybe we could ask people to send in examples of how they label their gear and crowd source your answer?!
@@meetthegaffer Thanks for the In-Depth reply; I hadn't considered painting my gear. Maybe if you have some Gaffer friends you could do an episode on what they do?
Sure, but at the moment we keep our distance😷
Check out @absolutegripco on insta for some visuals on how to paint c-stands.
Most important take away from this? ALWAYS HAVE A SHARPIE ON YOU.
I just do 1/1 , 1/2 , 1/4, 1/8, +Gr, -Gr