Chapter 4

Lighting Instruments

A variety of lighting instruments are used in film, video, and television. They are the basic tools of the trade and range in complexity and cost from the simple and inexpensive to the complex and pricey.

First, I want to introduce a bit of terminology you will run into. The historical theatre term for any lighting instrument is luminaire, from the French term for what we would call a luminary. Many companies still use this term, although it’s not common to hear an American lighting gaffer asking for a Mole 1K by saying, “Hand moi that luminaire de bébé, s’il vous plaît. It’s more likely to be “Gimme dat Baby, OK?”

Also, some folks are very averse to calling quartz halogen bulbs “bulbs.” In the trade, glass bulbs ...

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