Lighting Accessories

You're thinking of buying a new lighting kit and you are researching the light types and accessories in our current Lighting Buyer's Guide. As you think about all the lighting tools, you realize there are also lots of little pieces in some of these kits besides all those fancy lights. So, what are those things in your lighting kit?

Let's open it up and go over those strange objects and examine the terminology. By the end of this story, you will know the difference between a flag, a gel and a cucaloris.

Why: Control the amount of light coming out.
How: In video and film terminology, barn doors aren't used to corral farm animals. Think of them as leaves - 2 to 4 of them, usually. You put these doors in front of a light source. You will see them all over the place in lights used for film, television or Broadway productions. You use them to shape the light and place it where you want it and to mask it where you don't. This is a very handy piece of equipment that you will never tire of using. Be aware that lights run hot - if you need to make an adjustment to one of the barn doors, please use gloves. On a production, it is easy to forget about wearing gloves and just move the barn doors - that's a bad idea.

Why: Color balancing and some dramatic effect.
How: There are many names associated with gel - so you will hear it referred to as color gel, color filter, lighting gel or just gel. No matter the name, it all does the same thing. A gel is a transparent material that has color on it. You will see gels used extensively on theater productions, photography shoots, videography shoots and, of course, in movie production. You can use these gels for color correctness or to add color to a scene for dramatic effect. Gels are made of thin sheets of polyester or polycarbonate. You place them directly in front of the lights. Gels will not last you forever; they will fade or most of them will melt because of the intense heat from the lights.

Why: A shape that you can place in front of a light.
How: A cookie is a cut-out shape that you place in front of a hard light. A hard light is a light that is usually small, which you can focus and use to produce dark shadows and highlights. The result is usually rather dramatic, but - a word of warning - this is not the most flattering light. In case you were wondering, the "proper" names for this device are cuculoris or cucaloris.

Why: Reduce contrast
How: Like a gel, a diffuser is a translucent piece of material that you place in front of a light to soften highlights and shadows. You will also use a diffuser to reduce contrast and increase beam angle. Contrast refers to the difference between one tone and another or between the darkest and lightest parts of a scene. The light that comes through a diffuser is called diffused light. The diffused light creates softer shadows than a hard uncovered light.