Pole Operating a Light

This section takes you through how to safely reposition and focus a light on the hoist with the aid of a lighting pole.

Topics covered include:

Lighting Pole
Position of light on hoist
Panning a light
Tilting a light
Focusing (flood/spot light)
Barn doors

When you rig a light onto a hoist you should try to position it approximately in the right place to shine the light onto the correct part of the set, at the correct angle and decide how much of a flood or spot light you need.

It is likely that you will need to refine these positions once the hoist has been raised and the light is at the correct height. In order to safely adjust the light we use a lighting pole which provides us with the ability to work with the light from the floor (rather than having to use ladders etc).

Lighting Poles

Lighting poles are kept at the side of the Studio space, hanging on the walls.

Always make sure that the area around the light/hoist you are working on is clear of any other people.

The lights and hoists have fixtures called 'yokes' which are used to reposition the light.

In order to unwind or tighten the yoke you need to use a lighting pole and position it under the yoke, with the hook positioned flush to the bar. Then twist the pole so that the hook goes over the bar and then bring the pole back towards the floor so that the hook is secured over the bar.

Positioning on Hoist

Once the light is attached to the hoist, you are still able to move it along the length of the hoist to reposition it.

Be aware of other lighting fixtures on the hoist and cables, especially cables on the light you are moving and that they do not become stretched.

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Panning

Each light has 3 fixtures for adjusting pan, tilt and focus. These are identified by colour. The fixture for panning is Blue. If you have enough slack cable, you can turn the light 360 degrees!

Tilting

The fixture for adjusting the tilt and angle on the light is White

Focus

The fixture for adjusting the focus is Yellow. By turning the fixture you can change the focus from flood to a spot.

Positioning Barn Doors

The pole can also be used to adjust the barn doors on the front of the light to direct the light for the area being lit.

This gives you the ability to adjust the barn doors whilst the light is at raised on the hoist. The pole can be used to tap the barn doors closed or use the hook to pull the barn doors open.

Removing barn doors

You may want to remove the barn doors from the front of the light in order to maximise the area the light can reach.

In order to do this, there is a latch at the front of the light which needs unscrewing and a safety cable needs removing before the barn doors can come away.

Unscrew the latch and turn towards the rear of the light to release the barn door.

At this point the barn door should still not be able to be removed until the safety bond is undone.

Once the safety bond is removed and the latch twisted out of the way, the barn door can be lifted up and out of the unit.

Follow these instructions in reverse to re-fit the barn doors.

Written by LA

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