Every industry has its own set of terminology and language. Those in other professions would be at a loss to explain what a Fresnel, gaffer or gobo is in the lighting lingo common within the TV and movie industry. The following provides a sample of the terminology used by industry pros when illuminating venues and events around the world.

• Gaffer – The person that oversees operation or luminaire equipment.
• Luminaire – An electric light unit.
• Gobo – This is a general term for an opaque item that’s placed in front of a luminaire to block all or a portion of the beam.
• Color temp – Rated on the Kelvin scale, it’s the color appearance (warm or cold) of different types of lighting, from candlelight and tungsten lights to electronic flash and a clear, sunlit day.
• Fresnel – It’s a flat lens constructed in multiple concentric rings to reduce the loss definition and used to adjust the focus from spotlight to floodlight.
• Card – A circuit board.
• Saturation – The amount of white light – from low to high levels – that affect the overall color.
• Graduated scrim – A round and framed metal screen, it increases or decreases density from one side of a frame to the other.
• Barn doors – It’s a device with adjustable flaps, attached to the front of a luminaire to shape or block the beam as needed.
• Egg crate – A rectangular device with partitions attached to luminaires to reduce glare.
• Accent light – Lighting to highlight a person in a scene through the intensity of illumination or color.
• Key light – The primary source of light used to establish the mood in a scene.
• Fill lights – Supplemental lighting used to fill in shadows.
• Back light – Illumination to artfully separate the actor or subject from the background.
• Bleed through – An effect created by the intensity of illumination.
• Cold mirror – This is a mirror that transmits infrared radiation while blocking light.
• Snoot – A metal tube in various sizes that’s mounted to luminaires to control light spillage.

There are hundreds of other lighting lingo terms used within the illumination industry that every member of a professional lighting crew will know and use. It may seem confusing at first, but it’s the language of lighting that every professional will know.

Frank Gatto & Associates, Inc. are specialists in lighting for television events of all kinds.  If you have an event that needs expert lighting, please call us today to see how we can help.

Phone: 561-368-0101

Email: frank@frankgattolighting.com 

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