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Safety
Cable
A steel cable that has a clip on one end and a loop of the other.
It is intended to be threaded through a piece of hanging equipment
and around a support structure, such as a batten or truss, and then
clipped to its loop. It then acts as a safety support should the
primary support, such as a pipe clamp or hanging arm, fail.
Safety Screen
A metal wire screen, placed at the front of an open face luminaire,
designed to retain large pieces of broken glass should the lamp
break.
Sail
The total surface area of an overhead, butterfly, scrim, flag or
cutter.
Saturation
The aspect of color that determines the difference from white at
a constant hue, i.e. the property of any color that distinguishes
it from a gray of the same brightness. High saturation is one with
little or no white light added to the color, like deep red. Low
saturation is one with a large amount of white light added to the
color, such as light pink.
Scoop
Named for its scoop-like shape, an open face flood light with a
large, diffuse reflector that is essentially the body of the luminaire.
The reflector is parabolic, spherical, or ellipsoidal, and is generally
made from unpainted aluminum.
Screw Base
A threaded, cylindrical shaped lamp base with a single contact on
the bottom. The threaded part of the base holds the lamp into its
socket and acts as the second contact.
Scrim
- In the
theater industry, a thin, gauze-like curtain. When illuminated
from the front, it appears opaque, and when illumination is
present behind it but not on it, the scrim becomes almost transparent.
It can also appear translucent when there is some illumination
directly on it, and some illumination present behind it, in
the proper proportions.
- In the
film and video industries, a fabric panel, used for dimming,
with the light source being a luminaire or sunlight. They are
available in variety of sizes and shapes, and materials of varying
density.
- In the
film and video industries, a round, framed metal screen, available
in various densities, placed on the front of a luminaire to
act as a dimmer. They are also available such that only half
of the frame is screened, therefore allowing for only a portion
of the light to be dimmed. For us, a metal screen used in front
of a light to reduce intensity without Diffusion. But thanks
to the mystery and magic of show biz, other devices which do
diffuse, are also called scrims.
Tip: If you can see a clear image through the material,
there is no diffusion or confusion.
Scrim
Set
A set of metal scrims comprising a full double density, half double
density, full single density and half single density.
Sealed Beam Lamp
A lamp with an integral light source, reflector and lens, all of
which are either sealed within, or are a part of the envelope.
Shutter Blade
A single framing shutter.
Shutters
- An abridged
version of Framing Shutters.
- A rectangular,
metal apparatus that resembles a Venetian blind in form and
function, generally used as a mechanical dimmer or blackout
mechanism on large spotlights.
Side
Light
- Illumination
of a subject from the side to place the subject in depth.
- A luminaire
that provides such illumination.
Silk
- Specifically,
a fabric used for linear diffusion material, i.e. it spreads
the light linearly. It can be natural China silk or nylon.
- Generally,
a scrim used in the film and video industries made from silk.
Single
Ended Lamp
A lamp that has only one base and all of its contacts on the base.
Snoot
A cone-shaped accessory that mounts on the light to confine the
beam to a very small spot.
Soft Edge
A beam pattern edge that is not very clear and distinguishable,
i.e. one with a fuzzy or blurry perimeter.
Soft Light
- Illumination
that produces shadows with a soft edge.
- A luminaire
that provides such illumination.
Solid
An opaque panel, usually made of fabric, placed into the beam of
a luminaire to block a portion of the beam or the whole beam.
SP
A lamp designation that means “spot”.
Specular
A term used to describe a surface that is highly reflective, i.e.
mirror-like.
Specular Light
See definition #1 for Hard Light.
Spot
- An abridged
version of Spot Light.
- The position
of a moveable lamp, lens or pair of lenses on a spotlight that
produces the most narrow field angle.
- To mark
a location to which a luminaire is to be focused.
- A term
used to describe a round light pattern.
Spot
Light
Generally, any of several types of luminaires capable of emitting
a beam pattern that is round, or in some instances, oval in shape,
but more specifically this term refers to fresnel spotlights, ellipsoidal
spotlights, and follow spots.
Spun Glass
A diffusion material made from glass fibers.
Stand Adapter
An apparatus used for converting one type of mounting hardware attached
to a stand, such as a pin to another, such as a receiver.
Striplight
A multi-lamp luminaire with its lamps mounted in a straight row.
Strobe
An abridged version of Strobelight.
Strobe Light (Flash)
A luminaire specifically designed to create a strobe effect, usually
using an arc lamp as its light source.
Stud
- A metal
protrusion, generally 3/8", 1/2", 5/8" or 1 1/8"
in diameter. It is used to mount luminaires and assorted grip
equipment, if so equipped, to a receiver. Studs also have wide,
circular grooves designed to captivate the tip of the tee-handle
or bolt provided with the receiver. This prevents the receiver-stud
combination from unintentionally uncoupling, and can also prevent
the stud from rotating within.
- Any threaded
metal protrusion used to mount luminaires and assorted grip
equipment, if so equipped, via a nut or threaded socket.
Studio
Fresnel
A fresnel spotlight used primarily in studios for the film and video
industries. Because portability is generally not a concern, they
tend to be larger in size when compared to location fresnels of
the same wattage.
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