Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Michael Mell on March 8, 2010 at 6:54am

James:
For low energy you can use compact fluorescents with a 3200 degree K color. These are available at Home Depot, etc. You can also investigate LED's. Higher initial capital cost, but tremendous lumen/watt and an extremely long life.

Michael Mell

Permalink Reply by James O'Donoghue on March 8, 2010 at 12:01pm

Thank you Michael. Regards. James

Permalink Reply by Joel Svendsen on March 8, 2010 at 12:32pm

James -

You might consider our LitePad LED product. Due to the slim, durable design and the soft, even light output - they are perfect for dressing room mirrors. We can make them custom to your specification and they are available in a 3200K color temp.

The price tag on them will certainly be higher than CFL's, but the extra money is worth the LitePad's durability and lighting quality.

Learn more about LitePads here: http://www.rosco.com/us/video/litepad_dl.asp
Or contact me directly - joel@rosco.com and I can send you a datasheet and a picture of a dressing room mock-up we've done.

Joel Svendsen
Rosco Laboratories
800-ROSCOLA

Permalink Reply by Lawrence L. Graham, ASTC on March 9, 2010 at 7:01am

Color temperature in light is stated in degrees Kelvin. "Daylight" fluorescent, for example, has a higher Kelvin temperature than incandescent lamps (bulbs). Incandescent lamps are usually around 2800K to 3200K, which is what most people are accustomed to in theatre dressing rooms. CFUs (compact fluorescent) lamps are available in that color range, although the spectrum of the light is somewhat different. Note: Code requires all lamps at dressing tables to be "guarded."

Permalink Reply by James O'Donoghue on March 9, 2010 at 10:41am

Thank you. Sincerely appreciated.

Permalink Reply by David McCall on March 9, 2010 at 8:32am

I once saw a specification for what was required for make-up mirrors and lighting. IIRC it specified the type and number of lights as well as the need to have protection around the globes. I just wasted an hour looking for it, and this is the only useful thing I was able to find.

A copy of section 58 Actor’s Equity Association Rules can be found at
http://almond-architects.com/Actors%20EA%20Rules.pdf

Text from Section 58
Use of fluorescent lights for make-up purposes is prohibited unless the fluorescent lighting is specifically warranted by the manufacturer to be for theatrical make-up purposes.

Also in section 58, they require 30 inches of dressing table space with 1' x 2' mirrors near for each actor as a minimum.

Permalink Reply by James O'Donoghue on March 9, 2010 at 10:39am

Dear David
Thank you for your input - And I am sorry that you have wasted an hour. Personally I hate fluorescent lights as I would within an hour working under them, get a debilitating migraine. Thank you also for the pdf. Regards. James

Permalink Reply by Rick Reid on March 9, 2010 at 5:20pm

The best fluorescents are not like the ones from 20 years ago. Do not accept flicker or bad color!

For make-up mirrors I would insist upon 90 CRI and want 95 or better. Make up is a color critical job and CRI is the only measurement you are likely to get.

"Flicker free" high frequency ballasts and 3000K-3200K color are also manditory, but very easy to have. Note that these specs can be met by LED's as well, so your not locking them out. Price will probably do that for you ;-)

For what its worth: there is a small percentage of people who report issues even with the "imperceptable" flicker of a 40Khz ballast.

Permalink Reply by Erich Friend on March 23, 2010 at 3:42pm

A good resource for 91+ CRI fluorescent lamps that are commonly used and accepted in the production industry is Kino Flo (www.kinoflo.com). With a proper diffuser (not a bare bulb) to both soften the light and protect the lamp from the user (and the user from the lamp), and a good quality solid state ballast, you should find the results quite acceptable for the performers. Fluorescent lamps got a bum rap years ago (hence the wording in the AE specs), but technology has far surpassed those days.

An often missed point is that the entire work-flow should be illuminated consistently (i.e. - with the same exact type of light source). The design studio, scene / prop / costume shops, and dressing / make-up rooms should have the same color spectrum so that materials / sketches / people all look consistently the same as they move throughout the work flow. To achieve this you need to have not only the make-up mirror lights all alike, but also all of the general illumination in the areas, too. This includes the walls, ceilings, counter-tops, and floors. Match the paint to a photographer's 3200K white balance card when it is mixed (or buy the really expensive pre-calibrated paint if you have an unlimited budget), and get floor tiles / carpet / paint that is a neutral density gray (again, not just any gray). This will allow the matched lights to bounce of the neutral room surfaces and not unduly affect the colors that truly exist in the scenery, props, costumes, and make-up. Even the reflectors in the lighting fixtures affect the color output (silver / chrome reflectors vs. brushed aluminum, vs. enamel white, etc.).

One of the amazing side-benefits of re-painting and re-lamping your facility will be this great new level of task lighting due to the whiter walls and lamps. Of course, if your shops didn't have adequate task lighting before, then this would be the time re-engineer the quantity and types of fixtures. For shops with the orange-tinted high-pressure sodium, or blue-tinted mercury-vapor industrial high-bay fixtures, this is yet another reason to re-engineer the lighting solution for the space.

For those that are really sensitive to the color shifts in the work-flow, or may be moving into the TV / film / animation world, or use computers to do their sketching and composing, you will find that buying a color calibration software tool for all the computer workstations in their department can really help. Matching what you see on the screen, printer, and scanner to what you see in the real world isn't that difficult and can save a lot of re-design / re-tinting. Animation studios do this as a matter of course. Every monitor must show colors the same way so that when the components are edited together they all look like they belong there. Digitally edited video / film are laregely the same.

Of course, if your work is for TV / Film they tend to use 5400K for the color temperature reference point in lieu of the 3200K that stage a still photographers use. If you are designing a staging / costumes / light plots for a touring rock show that uses mostly automated lights with arc lamp light sources, then calibrating your workflow environment to the color temperature of those particular lighting instruments would be the way to go.

A small amount of effort up-front to coordinate the computers, building surfaces, and lighting can save everyone a lot of grief day-to-day. Just remember that 3200K (or whatever your chosen reference point is), will still appear different under incandescent, fluorescent, LED, arc-lamp, or whatever technology is being used. Pick a single make / model / brand and try to use it everywhere, otherwise, all bets are off. Also be aware that CRI (or Ra) is not an end-all definition of true color rendition, it is an imperfect guide that we use for lack of a better solution. 92 CRI with an LED does not look the same as 92 CRI with a fluorescent lamp.

Safety Note: Be sure to get approval from the local AHJ before repainting any building surfaces, particularly lay-in ceiling tiles. Not all paints meet the strict fire retardant and smoke production rules that apply for commercial buildings. Find-out what is acceptable and then get the colors mixed with the approved paint bases.