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Lighting Lighting Technology

Lighting has finally jumped on the bandwagon of change. For those with a budget to work with, the introduction of the HMI enclosed metal arc lamp in the late 60s and the xenon gas-discharge arc in the 80s - both used by film crews - were the only real changes in light-emitting technology. However, a walk through the aisles of this year's industry technology conventions is a walk through a myriad of lighting technologies. Rows upon rows of companies offer up not only the standard quartz-powered lighting units, but those featuring the newest technology in fluorescent lighting and LEDs. LEDs? Yes, those little light-emitting diodes have grown up. In this column, we will take a look at some of the new technologies in the lighting arena, talk about their benefits and provide a few cautionary comments as well.

The reason the quartz-halogen light has been so popular through the years is that it meets two basic technical requirements of lighting: it is consistent in its color temperature rendition, and it is a lot of light in a very small package. The one disadvantage of this technology is that it burns very hot, and the life of the lamp is fairly short.

Enter the fluorescent fixture. Most of us think of fluorescents as the lights that drive us crazy when shooting in offices. Green nasty color-temperature fixtures that turn blonde hair into a witch's dream. In the late 80s, companies like Kino-Flo and Videssence introduced fluorescent lighting that was color-corrected for video and film. Unlike their quartz-halogen brothers, these lighting fixtures gave off little to no heat, and the lamp life was extremely long. An added advantage was very little power consumption. While the industry was slow to catch on, fluorescent fixture lighting is now used everywhere in the broadcast and video world.

A new technology that has really swept through the industry lately adds the advantage of working with both AC and DC power. In other words - no electric cords! This technology is the LED. Companies like Litepanels offer LED lighting fixtures that not only give you the ability to run on battery but also provide a bright, soft light when you are on location.

These new technologies have advantages and disadvantages. Let's take a look at each.

Bright, soft panels with fluorescent tubes are lighting television studios throughout the country. These lighting fixtures require very little maintenance, because they measure lamp life in thousands of hours, not hundreds like their quartz-halogen brothers. The power consumption of these units is also very minimal, saving on the electric bill.

Lighting panels with fluorescent tubes use both daylight 5200K or 5600k lamps and indoor or 3200K lamps. These fixtures give off very little heat, which is a distinct safety as well as health advantage (see sidebar).

These lamps provide light that is flicker-free and very soft. The talent who sit in front of these panels rave about the softness of the light and how it takes years off the face.

This is all well and good, but what if you wanted a harder light? What if you wanted to show the wrinkles on someone's face or the texture of an object? In the past few years, companies have developed lighting fixtures that use the spiral fluorescent bulb as their light source. These fixtures have the advantages of the standard fluorescent flat panels with the added advantage of being single-lamp sources, when the scene or shot demands a hard light.

The fluorescent fixtures have the added advantage of letting you easily change the color temperature of the fixture. If you find yourself shooting an interview in an office with a great deal of outdoor light that you want to use, change the lamps in your fluorescent fixture to daylight color-temperature lamps. No longer do you need to worry about adding gels to the lights. Just change the lamps.

Gels do provide a problem for fluorescent fixtures. Do not attempt to gel a fluorescent light. If the lamps do not have enough airflow, they will heat up, and the color temperature of the lamp will begin to move towards the ugly blue-green spectrum you usually associate with fluorescents. This can be problematic if you are trying to add color to your set. To do this, mount a gel in a frame that sits in front of the fixture but does not restrict airflow to the lamps. A little more work perhaps, but the end result will be very satisfying.

Fluorescent lighting comes in a variety of shapes and styles. Whatever your lighting needs, think beyond the ugly green fluorescent tubes of the past, and consider adding this low-heat, low-power-consumption soft light technology to your lighting equipment list.