British Kinematography (1952)

June, 1952 STRANGB : DIMMING OF FLUORESCENT LAMPS 189 record that the expenditure on power over a period of a year went down to one third, and the additional cost of the equipment was paid for in three years. Applications Stage Lighting Since their first use during 1949 the methods of control described have found wide and very varied application. The most interesting applications have been in many ways to the problems of stage lighting because the requirements are the most stringent. The commercial kinema with its stage shows as part of the programme comes within this group but for 1800 1200 LUMENS. Fig. 8.' Comparison of efficiency of lamps during dimming. most purposes the kinema is only a particular case of auditorium lighting. In the early days, fluorescent lighting was condemned out-of-hand for a variety of reasons. A number were directly due to misunderstanding of the nature of the fluorescent lamp. It was never claimed to be, and never will in fact be, a substitute for the concentrated directional lighting provided by incandescent units. Used with intelligence and understanding it has undoubtedly made a place for itself in stage lighting and particularly to cyclorama and backcloth lighting. For variety work where many changes of scene occur it is also popular. In order to indicate the position it has won in less than three years it is sufficient to report that eight theatres have been equipped, ranging in size from the Watergate, London, to the Garrick, Southport. Portable equipment has also been used by producers such as Sir Laurence Olivier in " Venus Observed" " Damascus Blade,"" and " Captain Cavallo" and by Robert Nesbit in " Latin Quarter" Auditorium and Kinema Lighting The possible field of application to auditorium lighting, and the kinema should be included, is very large. The long diffuse source, the cool running lamp, the choice of colour, and now the control of brightness, are points which recommend the fluorescent lamp for the lighting of arches, coves, and curtains and the other requirements of the architect. The Prize at Gretna was described recently,3 and the Ambassadors at Pendleton is another example. Q Exterior Use tt Sodium and high pressure mercury lamps have a well established place in the lighting of buildings but for natural scenes including foliage their colour distribution gives a very harsh result. Fluorescent lamps on the other hand produce lovely effects. There is a wide range of colours and the broad emission bands of the phosphors give good colour rendering. The Pleasure Gardens at Battersea and the Jephson Gardens at Leamington Spa are two sites where they have been used and have been seen by many. A further development has been the use of units for under-water lighting. A beautiful example of this was the lighting of the Steine Fountain at Brighton. 24 three colour units were used mounted in the different basins. Installed originally for the British Electrical Power Convention in July, 1951, it was retained by the Corporation as a permanent feature. Special Kinema Applications Ultra-violet Sources A field that has so far been little explored is that of low pressure ultra-violet sources.