Lights, Reflectors, Diffusers: The Tools of the Trade

Dr. Robert G. Nulph
May 2004

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"Lights, camera, action!" is about as clichéd as you can get, but there is a reason they say "lights" first. Video and films always look better if you light them well. This doesn't mean the scene has to be awash in light. It does mean that there is a well designed plan behind the lighting and the resulting picture has rich blacks and bright whites. To achieve a well-lit scene, you need the right tools. A good light kit with plenty of accessories, as well as a variety of reflectors and diffusers will make designing the lighting in a scene easier. The video that you shoot with that good lighting will look great.

In this article, we will introduce a variety of lighting instruments and accessories, as well as some different reflectors and diffusers available. Use the accompanying buyer's guides to help you in your search for the right lights, light kits, reflectors and diffusers.

There are primarily four types of lighting instruments from which to choose: the broad or pan light, the reflector spot, the Fresnel and the soft light. We've defined these four categories by the way the light works, but each category has a variety of styles. For example, some manufacturers have three or four types of reflector spots that go by a variety of different names. Let's take a closer look at these four categories.

The broad or pan light is an open-faced lighting instrument that is broader than it is tall. Its lamp is a long horizontal tube. The larger version of this rectangular light is a broad. Lighting designers use large powerful versions of this light in television and theatre for set lights and area lighting. The smaller versions used in video production are also used for lighting large areas and providing fill light in a scene. The Cool-Lux Broad Light ($270) is a good example. In this category Lowel has its Tota ($110) and V-Light ($100) and Desisti has its Cosmobroad ($210). These lighting instruments all vary in size, wattage and accessories, giving you different price points for the different models.

The reflector spot is an open-faced light that has a bulb surrounded by a highly reflective bowl. This light is a multi-purpose light that you use for key, back or fill lighting. These lights come in a variety of sizes and styles and every lighting manufacturer has many models from which to choose. Lowel lighting has a number of reflector spots including the tiny Pro-Light ($105), the Omni-Light ($130 - $154) and the workhorse DP-Light ($155). Mole Richardson, a standard on the film set, offers the 600W Teenie-Weenie Mole ($219), the 650W Teenie Mole ($240), the 1,000W Mickey Mole ($285) and the 2,000W Mighty Mole ($340).

The Fresnel is a light with a special glass lens (a Fresnel lens) in front. This lens features a specially designed series of steps that focuses the light forward. Whether it's the Mole-Richardson 1,000W Baby Solarspot ($420), the Lowel Fren-L 650 ($360) or the LTM Pepper series ($180 - $350), the Fresnel provides an even, focusable light that is ideal for using as your key.

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