Beam Shaping Accessories
– Barn doors are attachments fitted to the front of a Fresnel lantern.
– They have four leaves, two larger and widening on the outside, two smaller and getting narrower towards the outside.
– Barn doors shape the beam of light and prevent scatter from the Fresnel lens.
– They have a gel slot built into them for coloring the light.
– Barn doors are not used with profile or ellipsoidal reflector spotlights.
Glare Reduction Accessories
– A top hat is a device used in theatrical lighting to shield the audience’s eyes from the direct source of light.
– It is shaped like a top hat with a hole in the top and is inserted into the gel frame holder.
– Top hats reduce glint halation and flare created by the light.
– There are also half-hats or eyelashes that have only half the cylinder and short hats that are shorter in length.
– Top hats are mainly used in theatrical performance venues.
Color Gel Accessories
– Gel extenders are tubes placed over the end of a lighting fixture.
– They have a color frame holder built into the end for mounting color gel.
– Gel extenders come in a conical shape that does not constrict the beam of light output.
– Gel extenders are similar in appearance to top hats but serve a different purpose.
– They are used to extend the reach of color gel on a lighting instrument.
– A color frame or gel frame is a piece of folded material made from metal or cardboard.
– It is designed to hold color media (gel) and is placed outside the fixture, in front of the lens assembly.
– Most fixtures include an integrated holder for the color frame.
– Color frames come in different sizes for various types of lanterns.
– Accessories like barn doors may include an integrated replacement slot for color frames.
– A doughnut is a thin metal or cardboard panel similar to a color frame.
– It has a small diameter hole intended to reduce off-axis rays of light.
– Doughnuts are placed in the color frame holder, in front of the lens assembly.
– They sharpen the beam when a template is in place.
– Doughnuts can often be placed in the same slot as a gel frame.
Special Effects Accessories
– Gam Products Inc. manufactures two models of effects loops: Film/FX and SX4.
– Both models use a ribbon with a pattern for continuous scrolling.
– Film/FX is designed for the accessory slot, while SX4 is installed between the lamp assembly and barrel.
– Effects loop creates visual effects by projecting scrolling patterns.
– Gam Products Inc. is a manufacturer of stage lighting accessories.
– Colormerge is a color mixing unit made by High End Systems.
– Colormerge is installed inside the ETC Source Four ellipsoidal fixture.
– It provides CMY color mixing using dichroic glass plates.
– Colormerge is controlled through DMX512 protocol.
– The Colormerge unit was discontinued in 2004.
Fixture Components and Control
– External chassis refers to the outer structure of a lighting fixture.
– It provides support and protection for the internal components.
– The external chassis is an essential part of a stage lighting fixture.
– It can be made of various materials such as metal or plastic.
– The design of the external chassis may vary depending on the fixture type.
– Followspot yoke is an oversized replacement yoke for ellipsoidal reflector spots.
– It allows the fixture to be installed into a followspot stand.
– Followspot yoke provides a wider range of tilt compared to a conventional yoke.
– The yoke has a spigot for a spot stand instead of a c-clamp bolt.
– Followspot yoke is used for short throw followspot applications.
– City Theatrical AutoYoke turns a conventional fixture into an automated fixture.
– AutoYoke is operated through DMX512 protocol.
– It provides remote pan and tilt control of the fixture.
– AutoYoke can also control other accessories like color changers and iris units.
– Automated fixtures offer enhanced flexibility and control in lighting setups. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barn_doors
Stage lighting accessories are components manufactured for conventional (non-automated) stage lighting instruments. Most conventional fixtures are designed to accept a number of different accessories designed to assist in the modification of the output. These accessories are intended to either provide relatively common functionality not originally provided in a fixture (such as beam shaping through barn doors), or to extend the versatility of a lighting instrument by introducing features. Other accessories have been designed to overcome limitations or difficulties some fixtures present in specific applications.
All stage lighting accessories fall into one of three distinct categories: components installed inside the fixture, components affixed to the front of the fixture (in front of the lens), or components mounted elsewhere on the exterior of a fixture (to the side, top or bottom).
