ABSTRACT
Tungsten lights remain a great choice for learning the craft of lighting, and are still used on many professional stage shoots. Defining the light for any given film often starts with negotiating the budget for equipment and for crew. There may be some back and forth to figure out what is needed, what is possible, and what the production can afford. The DP is one of the main drivers in the budget discussion. Gaffers owning gear can make more money than just their day-rate. Mole-Richardson has been making tungsten Fresnel lights for a long time and has a gigantic selection. Junior lights use a 1⅛” junior pin vs. the 5/8” receiver of baby lights. ARRI has many HMI lights and competes with Mole in the tungsten category. There are many tungsten types of lights including: open-face, ellipsoidal, PAR cans, Maxi-brutes, and softlights such as the Mole 2k Ziplight. Kino Flo fluorescent bulb lights were go-to lights for many years, featuring tungsten and daylight bulbs. Other specialty tungsten instruments include Dedolights, 2K spacelights, Skypans, the Barger Baglite, FAY lights, Nook lights, and Rifa lights. Chimera banks are great accessories for all lights, but were particularly popular with tungsten lights to soften them. There are many dimming options for tungsten. Tungsten is a viable option for high-speed shooting.
