1. Field of the Invention
This invention is in the field of lighting systems and, more particularly, directed to a moveable, adjustable lighting system used in conjunction with television and movie sets and locations, as well as other similar indoor and outdoor applications, wherein the horizontal and vertical dimensions of the system, as well as the individual lights and fixtures within the system can be adapted to the requirements of a specific set, and the system as a whole can be moved so as to be used in multiple sets.
2. Art Background
Traditionally, a dramatic television program or movie is made by shooting various shots and scenes, often out of sequence, and then arranging the shots and scenes according to the script for the program or movie. Depending on the program or movie, each scene may be filmed either indoors or outdoors. In either case, a scene may be filmed either “on location” and/or on a “set”. As the name implies, shooting on location involves filming that takes place away from a studio, or similar facility, and often may be carried out without significant modification to the environment, although a significant amount of professional lighting equipment is still required. In contrast, for each scene that is not filmed on location, a physically distinct set must be created from scratch to replicate reality or embody a chosen visual style as faithfully as possible. The lighting of a set contributes significantly to the degree to which reality, or a chosen visual style, can be captured by each set.
On average, a dramatic television series uses between fifteen and twenty sets located in one or two studio buildings. Each set has three walls, the fourth wall being open to accommodate the cameras. The sets are generally built in clusters of two to four sets that share back walls. Because of sound considerations, the cast and crew shoot in only one set at a time. Conventionally, each set is equipped with heavy stationary overhead rods, suspended from the ceiling, that support an assemblage of lights and fixtures that are customized for that particular set. These rods may take the form of a grid of horizontal trusses hanging from a number of vertical trusses that are welded or otherwise fixed to a heavy-load-bearing roof. This grid may extend over a plurality of sets. These lights and fixtures typically remain on the grid, even though only one set is in use at any one time.
It is noted that, in this description, the term “light” is used to refer generally to the light source, i.e., the bulb or lamp, such as tungsten/incandescent bulb, quartz/halogen bulb, carbon arc lamp, and the like. The term “fixture”, on the other hand, is used to refer generally to the housing of the light, including lenses and shutters, as well as to some of the backdrops and other items described infra.
Thus, for example, for a dramatic television series, where a single episode may include scenes from a living room, a bedroom, and a kitchen, each of the “living room”, “bedroom”, and “kitchen” sets is built separately, and each must have its own lights and lighting fixtures attached to overhead rods. The “living room” lights are coordinated for the living room set only. The crew cannot simply move the “living room” lights for use in the “bedroom” or “kitchen” sets, except by painstakingly disconnecting them one by one from the overhead rods. In this way, the prior art creates very high labor and material costs because a fixed lighting assemblage must be custom-built for each set. Because the crew shoots in only one set at a time, vast amounts of lighting and rigging hang dormant most of the time, even during production. Each assemblage must be discarded (or, at the very best, disassembled) once the set is of no more use. In addition, even within the same set, the lights and fixtures cannot be rearranged without the investment of a considerable amount of time and labor.
Moreover, in prior-art stationary rigging systems, such as shown in FIG. 1, the lights and fixtures are fixed to the overhead rods. FIG. 1 shows a depiction of prior-art stationary overhead rigging 101 mounted over (i.e., suspended from the ceiling above) prior-art cluster sets 102, 103 and 104. The crew cannot easily move the lights and fixtures horizontally or vertically to accommodate the requirements of a scene. This is significant because the size of sets for films, television series and other entertainment varies among and within productions. For instance, the size of sets constructed to resemble interiors for a legal drama may be far smaller than the size of sets constructed to resemble exteriors for a science fiction series. Furthermore, within the legal drama, the set for a junior attorney's office may be far smaller than the set for the courtroom.
Thus, the use of prior art rigs, such as that depicted in FIG. 1, is expensive and inefficient because the use of each light and fixture is limited. The present invention, because of its greater versatility, requires fewer lights and fixtures to achieve the same range of effects, even within a single set, than the prior art requires.
It is known in the art to provide compact, folding truss units that may be readily transported and used, for example, with touring stage shows. While such compact units may be readily transported, assembled and disassembled, their use is very limited. Since they are primarily designed for ease of assembly and transportation, they cannot accommodate the range of lighting and other equipment that is necessary for studio production, indoor/outdoor shows or performances, etc.
The features and advantages of the present invention will be explored through the following description and drawings. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating particular embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, and various modifications may naturally be performed without deviating from the spirit of the present invention.