Color contrast in theatrical lighting is an efficient tool for emphasizing plasticity and creating a three dimensional color perspective. An example of this is the sense of depth evident in color television broadcasts as opposed to those in black and white.
Contrasting or
complementary colors
enable us to perceive hues better.
As the principal color model of the human face ingrained in us is one lit by natural light sources, a face lit with blue light from the left and yellow light from the right may be plastic and expressive, but it will not appear natural .
Although a combination of two related colors, such as red and magenta, blue and magenta, blue and green and similar combinations, will be less striking than that of complementary colors, tints of related colors are often used for lighting the actor's face .
In lighting for dance productions, where the emphasis is on the plasticity of the dancer's body and not on facial features, it is general practice to use color combinations of a more distinct contrast.
Contrasting color can help to enhance the sense of depth and to separate between the actor and the background. For instance, the actor could be lit with a warm color such as a pink, and the background with a complementary color such as cyan .
