ABSTRACT
Color is an inherent quality of light. This chapter analyzes how the television camera processes color, and the importance of understanding these dynamics in order to properly and creatively use color in light to achieve the desired results. Color temperature, the measurement scale that designates, describes, and compares colors in the visible spectrum, using Kelvin (K) units, is explained in this chapter. Cameras have color temperature settings that regulate how they see color. The lighting of a televised or streamed presentation must match the camera’s color setting to avoid potentially unnatural and unflattering color shifts on skin tones and scenery. Many factors contribute to the choice of color temperature that will be used on a production. The range of temperatures output by different lighting fixtures is discussed, along with methods to “correct”, or adjust their color to suit the camera’s settings. The chapter concludes with a look at “color fidelity”. This refers to the accurate rendering of a color captured on-camera compared to how that color might look to the eye under a perfectly neutral lighting source, such as the sun. Ratings indexes such as the Color Rendering Index (CRI), TM-30 and the Television Lighting Consistency Index (TLCI) are introduced.
