Lee 119

Overview

Lee 119, designated "Dark Blue," is a lighting color filter (Lighting Gel) from the standard range of the British manufacturer LEE Filters. It is a deep blue film that is placed in front of a light fixture to strongly color the light. Unlike conversion or correction filters (e.g., CTB/CTO), the 119 is not used to adjust the color temperature to a white point, but rather for conscious, visible coloring of the light.

In the LEE system, the 119 is a very saturated, dark blue tint with correspondingly low light transmission. According to the manufacturer, it is suitable for mood effects created by backlight and sidelight and produces strong contrast.

Technical Data

LEE Filters provides transmission values separately for a tungsten source (3200 K) and for daylight (Source C, approx. 6774 K):

The very low transmission of around 2 to 3% indicates that the 119 absorbs a large portion of the light; consequently, the light loss during use is high. The film is heat-resistant and is supplied in the usual LEE formats, including as a sheet and as a roll.

Use on Set

Typical applications for the 119 include strongly blue-colored backlight and edge light, night and moonlight looks, and high-contrast mood lighting. Due to its low transmission, the filter requires a correspondingly strong light source: on many DMX or tungsten fixtures, only a fraction of the original light output remains after the 119, which is why it is used more for accents and effects than for broad area fill lighting.

For LED fixtures, LEE also offers a variant CL119 ("Cool LED Dark Blue"), which visually imparts the look of the classic 119 on a 3200 K tungsten lamp to a cold LED source (over 6000 K).