Equipment: A look at Fresnels and versatile lighting

Arri 300W Fresnel

The Lowel Tota with an umbrella mentioned in my previous post makes for a highly portable and inexpensive one-light kit that's good for travel, but when it comes time to expand the kit, what's the next stop on this journey? I would suggest adding one or two Fresnel instruments to your kit. For use as a back light or accent light as part of a small "one case" kit that's easy to travel with, I'm very fond of the Arri 300W and 150W Fresnel units. A Fresnel is more versatile than open faced instruments like the Lowel Tota and Omin because in flood mode the Fresnel gives you a very hard, clean light that has the quality of sunlight and is easy to cut (i.e. casts clean shadows).

Fresnels get their name from a special scalloped glass lens that bends divergent beams of light into a controlled beam that is easy to control in Flood mode with clean, sharp shadows. They also feature an adjustable beam pattern (Flood to Spot) which is accomplished by moving the light source closer to or farther from the lens. Fresnels are more efficient than open face units. The lens is named after Augustin Fresnel (1788-1827) who did important work on optics and was one of the founders of the wave theory of light. He became a member of the French Lighthouse Commission in 1819 and in 1822 developed a multi-prism lens that produced a beam five times more powerful than the reflector system used previously in lighthouses. We now use the term Fresnel to describe both the lens and light fixtures that use the lens in their design. These instruments are available using either Quartz Halogen or HMI technology for the light source.

Barn doors work especially well on Fresnels, they are much less effective on open-faced lights. I find the Fresnels the most versatile members of my lighting kit because I can throw different amounts of diffusion on a Fresnel to adjust the quality of the beam, but with an open faced light you're stuck with their harsh, dirty quality without diffusion. If you work with both types side by side and you'll see what I'm talking about. I've made converts to the Fresnel camp when I've done side-by-side demonstrations in classes—it's the kind of thing you have to see for yourself, especially since open face units are so tempting to buy because they are less expensive and lighter in weight.

Because they offer more control and a narrower beam, Fresnels are especially good for accenting specific objects in the background and for use as a back light. What might require a 600W open face and lots of spill management can usually be done with a 300W Fresnel with a simple aim, flood/spot adjustment, and a tweak of the barn doors. No doubt about it, if you want soft fill off a bounce card, wall, or ceiling, a bank of open face work lights from your local hardware store is cheap and effective. But if you want finesse and control, Fresnels are the way to go. They are the perfect compliment to a soft key light in any kit. Really large Fresnels provide the equivalent quality of moonlight at night or sunlight streaming through a window, you've probably seen these at work if you've ever been on or near a big-budget movie set.

The Tota light and umbrella I suggested in the previous post is a fine starter light when size and weight are the primary criteria and you want to pack lots of punch in a tiny package, the quality of light bouncing off the umbrella is quite nice as a soft key. Open faced lights are perfect for diffusing or bouncing or using as the basis for a soft box. But if you want the most versatile kit, you'll want to have some Fresnel in the mix.

As far as my preference for the Arri Fresnels, I like them because they are well designed, quality instruments, and available from most rental houses when I want to expand my kit. Other quality Fresnel instruments are available from LTM and Mole-Richardson. Lighting instruments are a lot like musical instruments, there are lots of them because each one plays in a unique way in the hands of the individual artist.

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