Film & Digital Times Issues 36-38 - Imago

Lighttools Soft Egg Crates
Airstar Cutter Cloud
How do Soft Egg Crates work? They keep soft light from spilling
onto walls and everywhere else. They also keep soft light out of
the lens. Picture a lot of solids, placed close together, right up
against your soft light diffusion.
Now, most Soft Egg Crates are made with parallel crate fabric (top
left—notice how the light is blocked as you move away from the
center). This is great if your subject is moving. But if you want to
focus all the light in the center, for example, from a 12 x 12 frame,
you wind up losing a lot of light with parallel cells.
Enter Lighttools founder Stephen Pilby (below). In 1994, he
invented Soft Egg Crates with his patented interlocking cloth strips
that form light blocking cells. In 2002, he invented the Stretch
Frame which eliminates sag that can occur with large softboxes.
Lighttools’ newest light control product, the CU Focus, has fabric
strips that are angled to create full source illumination while
tightly blocking soft light around the selected area (left, middle).
How do you find the “sweet spot?” Divide the diagonal of your
frame by the number printed on the Lighttools Soft Egg Crate.
Lighttools Soft Egg Crates are made of flame-retardant material,
come in many cell sizes and angles, and fit any softbox, butterfly
or overhead frame up to 20' x 20'. Lighttools are used on Lowel
Rifa Lights. Lighttools also collaborates with Chimera. Soft
Egg Crates fit most Chimera lightbanks and are available at all
Chimera dealers. (chimera.com lowel.com)
(lighttools.com) See video at: www.tiny.cc/lighttools
Like Airstar’s other balloon-like lights, Cutter Cloud floats above
your set. Unlike the others, the light isn’t inside. Instead, you
bounce light into the unit. The silver reflector surface is nicely “cut”
by the black side panels, keeping spill off your background. This
can save lots of time—no pipes, high rollers, or heavy hardware.
(airstar-light.com)
Dec 2010
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