3D Lab Glossary

Lighting Equipment and Technology

• Snoots, Barndoors, Grids, and Filters are essential accessories for any lighting system. These devices alter the shape, intensity, or color of the light output. Consider them as a painter would a brush, or a sculptor would a knife, or chisel.

• Snoot
  • 2-in-1 snoot. A different opening is derived by removing the mask. Use of a snoot will result in a small circle of light, when it is attached to the front of your light source. The size of the circle of light will be determined by the opening of the snoot, its length, and the distance of the subject.

• Accessory Holder
  • This item is essential for mounting barndoors, glass filters, or diffusion or color gels to the front of a light

• Barndoors
  • Barndoors narrow the beam spread of a light fixture. They help create a 3-dimensional look to a lighting scheme by placing light in a specific area, or by keeping it away.
  • The more leaves a barndoor set has, or the longer the leaves the more precisely the beam can be controlled

• Flag
  • Flags are square or rectangular frames with mounting pins attached. Used to control natural or artificial light. Can be used to protect the camera lens from flares, control spill light from other sources, or keep light from reaching an area on the set.

• Grip Head
  • The Grip Head functions as a grabber for the thing being grabbed -- a flag, a fixture, stud, or a small arm.

• Extension Arm
  • Extension arm for extra lift or reach. It can hold a small light head, a flag, gobo, or reflector.

• “A” Clamp or Pony Spring Clamp
  • This is the classic "A" clamp -- strong, rust-resistant, durable. This size is perfect for holding a reflector board, gathering cloth backgrounds or drapes, or securing a roll of seamless paper to its crossbar. Features plastic end tips to avoid marring delicate finishes, and plastic handle caps for comfort.

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• Cantrell Holder
  • A 3/8" shaft is, threaded at one end with square plates attached. The foam core is speared, and the white plate is then mounted on the foam with the wing nut. The shaft can be mounted into a Grip Head, the foam can then be placed & held in position.

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• Foam Core Holder
  • The foam core or bead board is taped to the flat plate. The Foam Core Holder is also often used to hold small mirrors for reflecting Xenon light beams around a set.

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• Scrim
  • Scrims are metal screen mounted in a metal frame. They are placed in front of a light to reduce light intensity. There are four different types of scrims. Full single- this scrim covers the entire lightface and reduces the intensity of the entire light beam.

• Focal Spot
  • Operating like a snoot, Focal Spots focus light through two glass convex lenses to produce a concentrated beam of light with a smooth field of maximum intensity and sharp edges.