Book Review:
"Harry Box's Set Lighting Technician's Handbook is a gold mine of information about safety, lighting and studio procedures."
-Ron Dexter, ASC
Set Lighting Technician's Handbook Film
Lighting Equipment, Practice, and Electrical Distribution
5th Edition
By Harry C. Box
- Paperback, ISBN 9781138391727
- eBook, ISBN 9780429422560
A friendly, hands-on training manual and reference for lighting technicians in motion picture and television production, this handbook is the most comprehensive guide to set lighting available. It provides a unique combination of practical detail with a big-picture understanding of lighting, technology, safety, and professionalism, essential to anyone doing motion picture lighting.
The fifth edition delves into every aspect of lighting and features vastly expanded sections on controlling LED lights, color science, lighting control systems, wireless systems, Ethernet-based control systems, battery power, and modern set protocol for productions small and large. With a generous number of original images, the book illustrates the use of soft light, the effect of lighting angles, and how the gaffer and DP build an effective lighting plan around the blocking of the actors. This encyclopedic volume of technical know-how is tempered with years of practical experience and a much-needed sense of humor.
This is the ideal text for professional lighting technicians across film and television including lighting directors, gaffers, DOPs, and rigging crews, as well as film and television production students studying lighting, camera techniques, film production, and cinematography.
It includes a revamped Companion Website with supplementary resources, forms, checklists, and images.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Set Basics: Your First Barbecue
Chapter 2 Preproduction Planning: the Package, Expendables, Personal Tools
Chapter 3 Lighting Objectives
Chapter 4 Lighting Strategies
Chapter 5 Manipulating Light
Chapter 6 Color
Chapter 7 LED Lights
Chapter 8 Established Lighting Instruments
Chapter 9 Operating HMI Lights
Chapter 10 Stands and Rigging
Chapter 11 Set Protocol
Chapter 12 Lighting Control Networks
Chapter 13 Electricity
Chapter 14 Power Distribution Equipment
Chapter 15 Dimming Equipment
Chapter 16 Electrical Rigging
Chapter 17 Working With Power
Chapter 18 Power Sources
Chapter 19 Special Circumstances and Practices
Chapter 20 Specialty Lighting Equipment
Chapter 21 LED Color Science and Technology
Appendix A Photometric Calculation Tables
Appendix B Lamp Tables
Appendix C Flicker-free Frame Rates
Appendix D Electrical Tables
Appendix E IP and NEMA Equipment Ratings
Appendix F Equipment Suppliers and Manufacturers
Appendix G Gels and Diffusion
Appendix H LED Lights
Glossary
About the Author
Harry C. Box has worked in the motion picture and television industry since 1987 with significant experience as a lighting technician and gaffer and later as a camera operator. Harry also works for the industry trade association ESTA focussing on issues relevant to the motion picture/television market. His credits include major motion pictures, independent feature films, commercials, and network and cable television series, such as Heroes (NBC), Brothers and Sisters (ABC), and Everybody Hates Chris (CW).
