# new to lighting: What color light for graveyard scene?



## EverydayisHalloween311

I'm. Thinking amber lights for my scarecrow pumpkin patch but what color would look good lighting up a 6ft skelly reaper and some zombies and tombstones... Maybe some blues,purples?


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## Offwhiteknight

Depends on what you are looking for...blue is a good color for general spookiness...red spotlights on key items to give them a more evil look...and green can just look really unnatural. Purple should look unnatural also.

I like a overall blue over the scene, with green or red spots on key props. I do a pumpkinrot/jack-o-lantern/graveyard scene and like the overall creepy blue, but red spots on my pumpkinrots make them look extra evil and green on my scarecrowrot makes it stand out.


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## Bone Dancer

I agree. I use blue through out the whole set up and use small led lights to high light items. You can make your own mini spots fairly easy and cheap. Or just go out and buy some small led flash lights which are normally in the $3 to $5 range and then add colored filter to them.


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## stagehand1975

You should light a scene in layers. A back light in blue or green, highlight some details with the oposing blue or green color. This can.create spooky shadows if done right. Use ambers and reds to highlight the thing that you.really.want.people to see.


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## kevin242

There's a good tutorial here: http://www.robertdbrown.com/haunt/ its the .pdf entitled YardHauntLighting-SkullAndBone.pdf
Best of luck!


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## EverydayisHalloween311

Awesome! Thanks


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## BioHazardCustoms

I swear by the Skull and bone tutorial, Frank. You can't go wrong with his methods.


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## wandererrob

Offwhiteknight said:


> I like a overall blue over the scene, with green or red spots on key props. I do a pumpkinrot/jack-o-lantern/graveyard scene and like the overall creepy blue, but red spots on my pumpkinrots make them look extra evil and green on my scarecrowrot makes it stand out.


Agreed. I've leaned this way myself. Blue wash over the whole scene, then accent with colors. But that may also be because I lack Rob's (Skull-n-Bone) skill with layering my lighting. I need to play around with my lighting more.

To take it one step further, I've gotten some cool lighting effects on certain props by hitting them with two colors, one from each side. Blue and green work nicely together as do blue and red. I find red and green just comes off to "Christmas-y" in my mind so I avoid that color combo.


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## Troll Wizard

In my own yard haunts I have always used blue and red floods. I blend them together and it makes for a very grayish look with the colors combined. I then use small low wattage spots to highlight certain displays with in my haunt. I tend to stay away from colors like green and yellow, tends to be to bright. Purple tends not to light as well I think, except for using as individual mini spots on certain items. 

I feel the two main colors red and blue flooding light onto the yard in connection with a fog machine makes for a very great effect giving off a very mystical look.


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## jaege

If you are just using one color, then blue is perfect for a graveyard. It looks like moonlight scattered across the graves and looks really cool on fog. A second color, I would go with green to highlight any undead (skeletons, zombies, what have you). Green brings out the decay. Or, if you have no walking (or moving) dead, then I like small purple spots to highlight any "special" stones or objects. As to scarecrows or pumpkins, it depends on what type they are. I have seen some really demonic looking pumpkinrots, so red is a good color. If you are going for a somewhat festive mood, then yellow is a good color for anything associated to the harvest.


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## Haunted Spider

Purple light is alot of times a black light bulb in incandesent form. It doesn't light up very well and it gets way way hot. I don't like the look of purple from a bulb. Now LED purple is a different story and I love that look. If you are making your own spots with some of the tutorials, 3 red and 1 blue LED wired in a fixture makes a great combination. 

AllenH just did a tutorial on red and blue light on Youtube you should watch. It covers how red paint turns white with red light and how Blue paint disappears under blue light and red turns black. It is important to note how paints work with what your prop is. If you shadow and highlight with the wrong colors, you will lose the hard work you put into the prop with the detail fading. Purple might work for me but you may need green or blue. It depends on what you prop looks like and ambient light.


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## Kraken

^link?


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## BioHazardCustoms

Here ya go:




Hope it helps you out!


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## EverydayisHalloween311

Thanks again everyone. I bought some green floodlight holders w/ stakes and then bought an amber flood and a blue flood. I'll have a harvest-ie vibe. So I like the yellows


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## MommaMoose

Was wondering if anyone has bothered playing around with the halogen work lights? I know that they get hot but I was wondering if there was some way to us one or two to really flood the area with blue light. I don't have any trees in my front yard to hang lights and the nearest street light is two houses down so there isn't a lot of light and the flood lights just don't really cut it because of the hill that is my front yard.


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## BioHazardCustoms

You might be able to put some gels in the Halogen lights to turn them blue, MommaMoose


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## jackg

I like a overall blue over the scene, with green or red spots on key props. I do a pumpkinrot/jack-o-lantern/graveyard scene and like the overall creepy blue, but red spots on my pumpkinrots make them look extra evil and green on my scarecrowrot makes it stand out.[/QUOTE]

I would sugest A Red/Orange on the scarcrow! Also, a dark green and Blue for the Graveyard scene!


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## jackg

*I argee!*



BioHazardCustoms said:


> You might be able to put some gels in the Halogen lights to turn them blue, MommaMoose


I argree!!!!!!! YEP, Gels will work!


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## itson

*Idea for Paint Colors*

You may have hard of this idea or not, Get various color NON TOXIC High Lighter Markers. Use Appropriate Gloves/Goggles then Carefully cut them open with straight Edge. Take the internal part of Marker Mix it in a small amount of water solution and Paint your props as you see fit. Happy Haunts !


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## itson

*Highliter Marker idea*

If you will be using Black Lighting. I have had success with this idea.


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## CoolDJTV

I like blue and green for graveyards but it is your personal prefrence


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## itson

*Use Tide*

On Tombstones -Tide ( die free ) works best. Paint it on with a sponge or brush for some character. Happy Haunts.:googly:


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## Palmdale Haunter

I made two make shift floods using the halogen lights, heavy duty foil, and professional gel sheets.
They worked pretty well.
I have had the work lights for a dozen years. 
If I had to buy them I would instead buy PAR 56 lights instead.
They can control the light better, use less gel, and are designed for the purpose...
After the big night I had to scrap all the add on foil and sheet gel.
PAR 56 lights can be bought for ubder$20 on eBay.


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## susan from creepy hollow

In our old haunted trail we wanted the graveyard to be basically dim. Had the PVC candles set up to highlight certain tombstones and the only 'real' light came from 2 blue floods mounted high into one of the overhead trees hooked to a sound-activated light box with the thunderstorm CD playing on repeat. It looked AMAZING imo... Very realistic.


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