Office looking ill and its not quite flu season yet? It could be the overhead lighting tinting the office green. StageSpot is a bit obsessed with lighting and if it’s not working for you, we have solutions.
Lighting that isn’t so appealing
Overhead fluorescent lighting can vary the outlook of the office depending on the tint of the lighting. If it’s not working for you, don’t replace all the lights, which can be incredibly expensive. Adjusting the existing lighting with color correction filters can be a cost effective measure to ensure everyone stays in the best light possible.
Fluorescent lighting comes in varying correlated color temperatures, also known as CCT. What is CCT? It’s the measure of the “shade” of whiteness of light. It’s an industry-standardized measurement of how white a light shines. Fluorescents are generally available in warm white with a CCT of 2700 K (often found in residential lighting, think apartment kitchens), neutral white with a CCT of 3000 – 3500 K, cool white a CCT of 4100 K (most popular for office lighting), and finally daylight with a CCT of 5000 K to 6500 K.
Examples of CCT with neutral white in the middle
These measurements are important. It’s handy to know what CCT the fluorescent lights in the office are, so if one burns out, a new bulb can be found to match. Unmatched fluorescent bulbs tend to look rather wonky and can cause eyestrain and fatigue if you’re working under them. Most packaging will at least tell you what type of “light” these bulbs produce, and many will list the K or Kelvin as well.
Color correction works by adjusting the CCT either up or down to achieve the desired light level. Â The easiest way to decide what color will work best is your space is to get a swatch book. It’s a handy little book filled with samples of the actual gel filters that can be ordered to correct the light. We recommend ordering a Cinegel swatch book as it has the most color correction filters available. Once your swatch book arrives, test out a few different colors to determine which works best for your needs.
Gel sleeves in action
Once you’ve found the right color for your needs, you can order it in many forms to suit your office lighting. Gel sheets come in 20in x 24in sizes and can be cut down to size and laid on covers for easy installation. If your light fixtures do not have a cover, like the fixture pictured above, gel tubes or sleeves may be ordered. These slip over the fluorescent tube lights themselves. These are a custom made item, so ordering a gel sheet first to ensure that the filter color selected really does meet your needs is recommended.
For easy reference, gels labeled “minusgreen” tend to remove the apparent greent tint our eyes process. Those labeled “plusgreen” tend to move light closer to the “cool white” shades. Unfortunately, there is not a one-size-fits-all filter to fix your lights. There are several shades of each color available with varying degrees of “plusgreen” and “minusgreen” to choose from.
Rosco Laboratories has made a handy video to discuss the issue of color correction in terms of cinematography. The principles remain the same when color correcting for general office morale.
Now here comes the best part, if you need to pull an office prank, cover all the fluorescent lights in one office area with a light color, yet insist (and get your officemates to help) that nothing has been done to the lighting. Depending on how savvy your target is you could get a lot of mileage out of the gel ordered for the prank.
Whatever your color needs, please keep StageSpot in mind.
