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. Light portion of the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation that is visible to the human eye Hz Hz Hz Hz HZ Hz Hz Hz Hz Hz Hz Hz Hz 10 9 Hz 10 8 Hz 10 7 Hz 10 6 Hz 10 5 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 black gray 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 light Cones – 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 through Saturation 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’)

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