What is gaffer's tape used for?
Gaffer’s tape is commonly used in theatre, photography, film and television production and industrial staging work. Gaffer’s is a heavy cotton cloth pressure-sensitive tape with strong adhesive and tensile properties. In the theater industry, Gaffer’s tape is preferred over duct tape, because it can be removed without leaving behind an adhesive residue. Another benefit is that it doesn’t reflect light.
What is the purpose of a lighting plot?
The purpose of a lighting plot is to outline the view of the stage showing where each lighting instrument is located. The instrument type is represented by a symbol, and each light is identified by a unit number placed within the symbol. Depending on the designer, the color, purpose (or focus), circuit (or dimmer) and control channel for each unit may also be listed on the plot.
How do you write lighting cues?
A lighting cue is essentially a snapshot of the lighting on stage of one moment in a play or musical. A show is composed of many cues, each of which is built specifically based on the piece’s specific parameters (place, fixture locations, mood, timeframe in play, etc). To use a musical metaphor: Essentially if a lighting fixture is a single instrument then a lighting cue is the designer creating a chord in the theatrical piece. The entirety of all of the cues then becomes a symphony where each of those cues would be a movement or verse.
What is a CTO gel?
The main color correction lighting gels are CTB (color temperature blue) and CTO (color temperature orange). Lighting gels are colored transparent sheets used to alter the color of a light source. They are called gels because for years gelatine was used in their manufacture.
What colors are traditionally used to light the actor?
Generally Light Warm Gels such as R02, R05, R08, R33 are used to add a touch of warmth to facial features. To cool them down a little we use R60, R64, R3202. If you wanted a touch of both you could use a neutral lavender such as R51-54 which when used in conjunction against a warm or cool gel creates a cooler effect on the person. For night scenes, we tend to use R68 or L161 from the front and R80 from the back to create the “theatrical illusion of night”. Similarly R321 is a great side light to use for a sunset effect on an actor.
What are lighting gels made of?
Lighting gels were originally made from colored gelatine, however, they are now made from various dyed plastics. Depending on the manufacturer and the particular color line, the exact method, size, and material may vary. A typical size of a lighting gel sheet is 20” x 24” and rolls tend to come in 24” x 25’.
In our showroom, we stock a variety of products, including but not limited to:
Gaffers Tape
Use this heavy cotton cloth pressure-sensitive tape with strong adhesive and tensile properties for your theatre, photography, film and television production, and industrial staging work needs.
Spike Tape
Spike tape is commonly used for stage marking or a “spike.” Spike tape is rolls of very thin gaffers or paper tape marketed as “spike tape” specifically for placing spikes.
Lighting Plot Templates
Lighting Plot Templates, also known as Field Templates, are the industry standard template for drawing strip lights on your print.
AND
- Rolls of Fabric
- Cheeseboroughs
- Pipe Clamps
- Safety Cables
- Audio Cables
- Lighting Cables
- Lamps for most stage fixtures
- Fog Fluids


M. Cramer & Associates sells all major lighting gel manufacturers, and many of our products are in-stock and ready to ship.
Popular gel products we sell include:
Rosco/Gam
Enhance your scene using the world’s largest collection of lighting materials that color, correct, shape & control light; choose from nearly 1,000 color options to create the perfect scene.
Lee
Lee provides high-quality lighting filters in a vast range of colors that are accurately consistent from batch to batch, long-lasting and dependable.
Apollo
Apollo gel color filters are available in a palette of over 150 colors, color correction and diffusion textures. Any color in our palette can be made with easy-to-tear perforations.