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HANDBOOK OF PHOTOGRAPHY' 



Since general lighting does not present problems of great complexity, in practice it 

 is usually relegated to the "gaffer" or head electrician of the producing unit. Spot- 

 lighting, on the contrarj^, being a means of imparting depth and character, is the 

 responsibility of the cameraman. 



Typical general lighting units are shown in Figs. 31, 32, and 33.^ The first shows 

 a so-called "rifle" lamp, usually mounting a 1000- or 1500-watt incandescent lamp 

 horizontally in a deep metallic reflecting cup with a spirally corrugated surface. This 

 and the "side-arc" of Fig. 32 are usually arranged in rows along the camera lines or 

 in other positions about the set. The "scoop " shown in Fig. 33 is an overhead general 

 lighting unit. It is an arc type; both the scoop and the side-arc generally incor- 



FiG. 3.3. — Overhead scoop. 



porate twin 40-amp. flame arcs. Other types of general lighting equipment include 

 multiple-lamp overhead "strips " of five or more 500- or 1000-watt bulbs. In addition 

 small auxiliarj^ lamps are often positioned behind portions of the set, as in back of 

 doorframes, and 250- to 500-watt bulbs are used in visible lighting fixtures to give the 

 impression that the illumination comes from these sources. 



The design of modeling units is, as would be expected, more complicated than that 

 of floodlighting units. The principal types are the condensing-lens spotlight, the 

 parabolic-reflector spotlight, and combination forms employing both a reflector and a 

 condensing lens. The simple condensing-lens spotlight is characterized by even 

 distribution of light within the beam and a sufficient spread, but the intensity is 

 limited by the fact that the lens collects only the light from the forward portion of the 

 globe, and lens-transmission losses are high owing to the required thickness of the 



' The lighting units illustrated in this section and the distibution curves accompanying them were 

 furnished by Mole-Richardson, Inc. 



