The Color of Golden Hour ☀️
While CTO (Color Temperature Orange) and CTB (Color Temperature Blue) are primarily corrective gels used to match standardized color temperatures, Half Straw is a creative or ‘cosmetic’ gel. Its purpose is not to balance different light sources to a neutral white, but to intentionally add a specific warm character to a light.
The color of a Half Straw gel is a distinct pale yellow, not the deeper orange of a CTO. This yellow hue is specifically designed to replicate the beautiful, warm quality of sunlight during the ‘golden hour’—the period shortly after sunrise or before sunset.
Creative Application: CTO vs. Straw
A key distinction for a cinematographer is choosing the right warming gel to match the motivation in the scene. The choice between CTO and Straw depends on the perceived source of the warm light:
- Use CTO (Orange) if the motivating light source is artificial and warm, like an incandescent lamp, a candle, or a fireplace.
- Use Half Straw (Yellow) if the motivating light source is natural sunlight, such as a beam of light coming through a window in the late afternoon.
By placing Half Straw on a light source (often an HMI or a daylight-balanced LED), a cinematographer can make a scene feel warm, romantic, nostalgic, or simply like it’s taking place on a beautiful, sunny day. It is frequently used on a backlight or an edge light to create a golden halo around an actor, separating them from the background and enhancing the sense of sunlight streaming into the scene. It’s an essential tool in a filmmaker’s palette for crafting mood and atmosphere with color.