Exploring Light, Discovering Style: A Lighting Tutorial

Concept: Cast a tight beam for theatrical emphasis.

Tools: Two 200w Mole InBetweenie SolarSpots

Action: This image was created within the tight confines of a tiny and ornate lavatory. The faux-painted walls and gilded accessories found in this space assured that uncontrolled reflections would abound if an unfocussed light source was introduced. Too much output from our supplemental source could wreak havoc as well...

Something small, tightly- controllable, and of moderate output would be perfect. Given that the low ambient illumination was created by a couple of weak incandescent wall fixtures, I felt we should stick with a continuous tungsten source for consistency of color temperature.
For this challenge, I reached into my cinematic "bag of tricks" for one of the smallest professional Fresnel focusing spotlights, the Mole-Richardson "InBetweenie" Tungsten Solarspot.

These fresnel-lensed fixtures are fully-featured but miniature versions of one of Hollywood's most dependable workhorses. These versatile little instruments are available with their own dedicated assortment of light-shaping accessories. These modifiers include "barn doors" to control spill and "snoots" to help reduce the diameter of the beam of light. "Single" and "Double" metal-wire "scrims" are available to reduce the light's intensity without creating a color shift. Drop-in "Filter Frames" adapt high-quality gelatin filters for either color correction or theatrical emphasis.

A choice of different wattages for the easily-replaced incandescent globes means that you can accurately match the intensity of your ambient light without resorting to the use of dimmers and their attendant reduction in color temperature. For this task, I chose 200 watt globes and a selection of wire scrims to control intensity.

Careful placement allowed the first head to project a tightly-focused beam of light into a small patch of ceiling deemed appropriate to create a hair-light. The second head was flooded, dimmed with a "double", and aimed directly at the model in a classic "short-light" pattern.

These versatile units need 120V AC, but in a pinch something similar could be done with a nice pair of 12V Sunguns. Tiny lights for a tiny spaces...

Gear Used:

Canon 1DS Mark II - F3.2 @ 1/160 ISO 400

Canon 50 mm F1.4

Two 200w Mole InBetweenie SolarSpots

Two C-Stands

Two Gobo Arms with Magic Finger