[SML] Moving Light Colour Mixing philosophy question

[Herrick Goldman]

You can set most consoles to treat CMY as RGB just to twist your brain around.


Herrick Goldman
917.797.3624
www.EvokeCollaborative.com
www.HGLightingDesign.com
________________________________
From: Stagecraft <stagecraft-bounces at theatrical.net> on behalf of Riter, Andrew via Stagecraft <stagecraft at theatrical.net>
Sent: Tuesday, January 13, 2026 5:39 PM
To: Stagecraft Mailing List <stagecraft at theatrical.net>
Cc: Riter, Andrew <andrew.riter at ubc.ca>
Subject: Re: [SML] Moving Light Colour Mixing philosophy question

Thank you all.  Interesting.  This could be a good discussion.


I like Jerry's point of white source = all colours / RGB = spiky RBG versions of a colour, so subtractive is better colour.  But subtractive is also less intensity in the saturated colours.

The question is more:  why are subtractive systems  CYM and not RGB?



Andrew M. Riter
Assistant Technical Director, Head Lighting Technician
Chan Centre

Phone 604 822 2372
andrew.riter at ubc.ca

-----Original Message-----
From: Stagecraft <stagecraft-bounces at theatrical.net> On Behalf Of *Hobbit* via Stagecraft
Sent: Tuesday, January 13, 2026 12:48 PM
To: stagecraft at theatrical.net
Cc: *Hobbit* <hobbit at avian.org>
Subject: Re: [SML] Moving Light Colour Mixing philosophy question

[CAUTION: Non-UBC Email]

I found that it helped to think of CMY as RGB turned upside-down, in terms of what sliders do.

For why CMY is still there, if it's a profile unit that needs beam consistency all the way through complex optics, RGB(AW) chips would probably get weirdly patchy by the time the light hit a target.  Some "par" units do that too, and need some strategically-placed frost to even out the wash a bit more.  I guess nobody's yet making a multi-color COB emitter?  Possibly more efficient too, but I haven't researched the LPW of those vs. typical multi-chip emitters.

_H*

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