The Independent Moviemaker -- Guide to Lights

If you're on the set and someone wants a baby, what are you going to do? Give your sister-in-law a call and tell her to bring her newborn? Well, before you make that call, you may want to read on.

It seems like everything on a movie set has a name plucked out of thin air, and lights are no exception. My first day on the set was a huge learning experience, just learning the names for all the lights and equipment. But then I didn't have this guide to movie lights to help me learn the names of common lighting instruments used in filmmaking.

Basic Lighting Terms

Fresnel - a focusable light that can go from spot to flood with a simple turn of a knob.

Barn Doors - the classic black doors on the outside of a light, used for shaping the light.

Scrim - a round wire mesh screen, similar to what you'd find on a screen door. These are used to lower the intensity of a light by half or full stops.

Snoot - placed on the front of a light to create a small, narrow beam.

HMI - daylight balanced fluorescent light that requires a ballast. Ideal for outdoor use.

Basic Incandescent Closed-face Lights

Midget - As the name implies, this 200 watt fresnel light is tiny and ideal for use in tight spaces.

Betweenie -- This is a 300 watt fresnel light. It is a small light, often used for a back-light or kicker.

Inbetweenie - This 100/200 watt fresnel light is often used as a backlight. This light is often hung above a set.

Tweenie - This is a 650 watt fresnel light that is often used as a key light or back light. It is a medium sized light.

Baby -- With all due respects to your sister-in-law, this is a 1000 watt fresnel light is one of the work horses of the film industry. This light is relatively lightweight and maneuverable.

Junior - This is a 2000 watt fresnel light that's standard on most film sets. Larger than a baby, this light packs quite a punch for a relatively small lighting instrument.

Senior - This fresnel light is usually referred to as a 5K. As the name suggests, this is a 5,000 watt Large (14 inches in diameter) and powerful, this light is commonly used on film sets with broad lighting needs.

Tener - This light is commonly referred to as a 10K. With 10,000 watts of power this light is one of the big guns on the set. Moving and mounting this behemoth is usually a two-person operation.

Lightweight Cousins

Baby Baby -- This is a 1000 watt quartz light a bit smaller than the standard baby. Ideal for hanging, this fresnel light is extremely versatile on the set.

Baby Junior - This 2000 watt fresnel light is the lightweight cousin of the standard junior light.

Baby Senior - This is another 5,000 watt light designed for increased portability as compared to a typical 5K.

Open Faced Lights

Teenie - This is a 650 watt quartz light that is often used for television.

Teenie Weenie - This open-faced 600 watt light can be focused from spot to flood. It's compact and can be hand-held if necessary.

Mickey - This is a 1000 watt open faced light. It is compact and focusable.

Mighty - This is a 2000 watt open faced light. This light packs quite a punch for an inexpensive light.

Softlite - This light is ideal for creating a broad, soft light. It is shaped like a scoop with the light shining up onto a reflective surface to eliminate hard shadows.

HMI's

Joker - a 200 watt HMI light.

While this list is certainly not complete, these were the lights most commonly used on the sets where I worked.