Colour Gel Reference CardEasyStagecraft Course · Tier 1B · Module 1 (Speak Lighting) · v1.0 · Lee + Rosco numbers commonly used in AU school + community work

Why this matters. Gel codes show up on every lighting plot. When the LD says "we need an L201 on FOH bar position 6", you need to know what colour that is, what it does to faces, and whether substituting a cheaper alternative is sensible. This card is the cheat sheet. The swatch column is a colour approximation only — real gel sheets sit between two lighting filters + look different against a face than on paper.

Section 1 · Colour-correction (the most common gels you'll see)

Used to shift colour temperature — typically to make a tungsten fixture look more like daylight (or vice versa).

Code (Lee)	Rosco equiv	Name	What it does	When you'd use it
L201	R3202	Full CT Blue	Shifts 3200K tungsten to 5500K daylight	Make a tungsten fixture look like sunlight / outdoor.
L202	R3204	½ CT Blue	Partial cool shift	Subtle daylight feel, less heavy than full blue.
L203	R3206	¼ CT Blue	Slight cool shift	Cool tone without losing skin warmth.
L204	R3407	Full CT Orange	Shifts daylight to tungsten warm	Make an LED at 5600K feel like firelight / lamplight.
L205	R3408	½ CT Orange	Partial warm shift	Soften daylight LEDs for face coverage.
L206	R3409	¼ CT Orange	Slight warm shift	Just-warmer-than-neutral key light.

Section 2 · The warm palette (faces, golden hour, indoor/sunset)

Code (Lee)	Rosco equiv	Name	When you'd use it
L007	R02	Pale Amber	Warm face light — flattering on most skin tones.
L008	R05	Dark Salmon	Late-afternoon warmth.
L013	R10	Straw	Indoor-lamp warmth.
L015	R09	Deep Straw	Heavy golden-hour wash.
L020	R23	Medium Amber	Sunset cyc.
L021	R26	Gold Amber	Strong autumn / sunset.
L022	R317	Dark Amber	Deep sunset / candle-fire effect.

Section 3 · The cool palette (night, water, melancholy)

Code (Lee)	Rosco equiv	Name	When you'd use it
L079	R74	Just Blue	Moonlight / night scenes.
L132	R75	Medium Blue	Deep night cyc.
L119	R80	Dark Blue	Stormy / oppressive night.
L181	R381	Congo Blue	Deep theatrical blue — very saturated.
L183	R383	Moonlight Blue	Cool back-light separation for night scenes.
L117	R64	Steel Blue	Industrial / dystopian wash.
L165	R67	Daylight Blue	Realistic open-sky day cyc.

Section 4 · Reds, pinks, lavenders (drama, romance, fantasy)

Code (Lee)	Rosco equiv	Name	When you'd use it
L026	R26	Bright Red	Strong dramatic red — danger, fire, alarm.
L106	R27	Primary Red	Saturated red wash.
L182	R385	Light Red	Theatrical red back-light.
L036	R37	Medium Pink	Soft romantic wash.
L048	R342	Rose Pink	Cabaret / musical-number warmth.
L194	R339	Surprise Pink	The famous "musical theatre" wash — flattering on faces from above.
L058	R51	Lavender	Dream / fantasy / introspective scenes.
L052	R57	Light Lavender	Subtle cool romance.

Section 5 · Greens (nature, sickness, supernatural)

Code (Lee)	Rosco equiv	Name	When you'd use it
L139	R86	Primary Green	Saturated green — supernatural, witch, alien.
L121	R88	Lee Green	Forest / outdoor.
L122	R89	Fern Green	Deep jungle.
L124	R3304	Dark Green	Misty woodland.

Section 6 · Diffusion + frost (softens edge, not colour)

Diffusion sheets soften the edge of a beam — they don't add colour. Often used together with gel.

Code (Lee)	Name	When you'd use it
L216	Full White Diffusion	Maximum softening — heavy frost. Cuts intensity by ~50%.
L250	½ White Diffusion	Medium softening — typical FOH wash.
L251	¼ White Diffusion	Light softening — most common front-key choice.
L252	⅛ White Diffusion	Just-barely-noticeable softening.
L298	0.6 ND	Neutral density — reduces intensity without colour shift. Used on overlapping washes.

How to read a gel code on a plot

L### = Lee Filters (UK manufacturer, most common in AU theatre).
R### = Rosco (US manufacturer, common in AU broadcast + film).
NC or O/W = no colour / open white. Don't put a gel on.
L###+L### (double gel) = two sheets stacked. Cuts intensity significantly. Ask if necessary.
L### bumped = a piece of gel with corners trimmed to ease heat dissipation. Not a different colour.

Substitution rules

Most Lee numbers have a Rosco equivalent. If the supplier doesn't have the Lee number in stock, the Rosco equivalent is fine 90% of the time. Question only if:

It's a face-light gel (then substitution can shift skin tones — ask the LD to confirm).
It's a specific signature wash mentioned in the design brief (ask the LD).
It's a cyc colour — substitution can break the colour-mix relationship across multiple cyc lights.

How to keep gel costs down

Reuse from school's existing gel stock. Most school theatres have a gel bin — go through it before the gel cut.
Standardise the palette. 8-10 different gel codes is enough for most school musicals. If the plot calls for 22 different codes, ask why.
Cut economically. One gel sheet (53 × 60cm) can yield 4-6 gel cuts for standard profile/fresnel gel frames.
Order from the supplier in advance — gel sheets ordered the day-of usually carry a rush fee.