JAY HOLBEN

A few months ago, Shots magazine did a special issue on the technical trades behind-the-scenes in the industry and they chose me to represent expertise in the world of lighting.

During the holiday season you may find me scouring the aisles at my local hardware, home improvement and home superstores—not for holiday gifts, but for holiday lights!

Last month I tried to answer a young cinematographer’s question about how cinematographers improvise lighting.

Last month I discussed the aesthetic side of how cinematographers and lighting directors go about choosing specific fixtures for the job.

The lumen is a consistent form of intensity measurement, regardless of the source or power consumption.

It is the first time in history a photograph has been taken of light simultaneously behaving as a wave and as a particle.

Recently on Instagram I posed a question to my followers: What would you like to learn?

Rarely, if ever used as a single fixture, a Space Light is designed to be used in concert with multiple other Space Lights to provide an ambient soft source from above.

I wanted to share a technique I developed over the years utilizing a reflected light meter to maintain a consistency of fog or atmosphere in a location over time.

The world of lighting hardware can be confusing waters to navigate.

This month, let’s take a deeper look at one of the most ubiquitous forms of illumination in our world: tungsten or incandescent bulbs.

I was recently invited to give a guest lecture on narrative lighting for the Bay Area Professional Videographer’s Association in San Jose, Calif.

In the world of luminaries the carbon arc used to be the king, but his time has faded and left room for the HMI to be king of the power and utility.

The next in line on our examination of lighting fixtures is the PAR, which is an acronym for Parabolic Aluminum Reflector.

There are some great apps that can help the cinematographer and/or gaffer in their daily efforts.

I was asked to give a short talk at this year’s NAB Show on new technology for studio lighting.

It used to irritate the hell out of me that Chris would always start lighting from the smallest detail in the room.

When I first made the move to Los Angeles to pursue my career in film, my two roommates were huge fans of “The X-Files.”

I was reminded of this particular project recently while posting some tips on Instagram.

In a recent lecture on lighting, I had a student ask me about mireds and I saw the blank and quizzical faces of his fellow students at the mere mention of the word.

Recently I was asked to lecture at a college for a course in advanced cinematography.