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| Kino Flo | |
|---|---|
| Name | Kino Flo |
| Founded | 1987 |
| Founders | Roberto Marcello; Giovanni "Gio" Rossi |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles |
| Industry | Film production |
| Products | Fluorescent lights; LED fixtures; soft lights |
Kino Flo
Kino Flo is a motion picture lighting company known for pioneering compact fluorescent and later LED soft lights used on film, television, and still photography sets. Originating in the late 1980s, the company produced fixtures that addressed color-rendering, heat management, and portability challenges encountered on studio stages and location shoots. Its products influenced cinematographers, gaffers, and lighting designers working on feature films, television series, commercials, and photo shoots worldwide.
Kino Flo emerged during an era shaped by innovations from figures and firms such as Roger Deakins, ASC members, and manufacturers like Arri and Mole-Richardson. The genesis involved collaborations with crews from productions including Alien 3 and The Last Emperor as set technicians sought low-heat, soft sources compatible with practicals and period sets. Early adoption on projects by directors like David Fincher and Steven Spielberg helped introduce the fixtures to mainstream cinematography. Industry events such as the Cannes Film Festival and awards from organizations like the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and Emmy Awards amplified recognition as cinematographers showcased looks achievable with the fixtures. Partnerships with rental houses in Los Angeles, New York City, and London accelerated distribution across television studios including CBS, NBC, and HBO.
Kino Flo’s technical lineage reflects developments in lamp technology pioneered by companies such as General Electric and Philips and color science advanced by laboratories like Technicolor. Early fixtures used compact fluorescent tubes with phosphor coatings calibrated for color temperatures commonly used on film—variants approximating Daylight and Tungsten balances. Ballasts incorporated dimming modules inspired by broadcast workflows at networks like BBC and CNN. Housing design borrowed from practical lighting units used in studios managed by Sony Pictures Studios and Warner Bros. Studios, emphasizing heat dissipation and lightweight construction for grip crews from unions such as IATSE. Later generations integrated LED arrays leveraging driver electronics and color-mixing algorithms similar to systems from ETC and Philips Color Kinetics, enabling variable correlated color temperature (CCT) and high CRI performance sought by cinematographers affiliated with societies like the British Society of Cinematographers and the American Society of Cinematographers.
Product lines evolved to address diverse production needs, inspired by competitors such as Arri Skypanel and rental staples from Litepanels. Flagship form factors include two-tube and four-tube soft fixtures, panel-style units, and dedicated LED versions designed for studio grids and location use. Kino Flo variations offered accessories—including softboxes, egg crates, and diffusion frames—compatible with mounting hardware produced by manufacturers like Matthews Studio Equipment and Avenger. Specialized products targeted genres and formats used by crews on sets for IMAX sequences, high-definition productions for HBO dramas, and digital cinema cameras from ARRI Alexa and RED Digital Cinema.
Cinematographers deployed Kino Flo fixtures on feature films, television dramas, and commercials where soft, wraparound light and low heat were required. Productions ranging from independent films screened at the Sundance Film Festival to studio releases at the Academy Awards ceremonies used the fixtures alongside tungsten, HMIs, and LEDs. Television series on networks like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and HBO adopted Kino Flo panels for interviews, sitcoms, and single-camera dramas. Photographers in editorial shoots for publications such as Vogue and GQ also used the soft, shadowless qualities for portraiture and beauty work.
Gaffers and key grips integrated Kino Flo units into lighting plans emphasizing motivated lighting approaches demonstrated by practitioners including Vilmos Zsigmond and Gordon Willis. Common techniques include using fluorescent tubes behind diffusion to simulate bounced daylight from locations such as Los Angeles International Airport interiors, cross-lighting actors for three-point setups on stages at Pinewood Studios, and matching color temperature to practicals like practical lamps from Swarovski Optik-style fixtures. Dimming protocols and gel use were informed by colorists and digital imaging technicians working with camera original workflows for ARRI Alexa and RED ONE systems to preserve skin tones and minimize flicker in frame rates used for television and film.
The introduction of Kino Flo fixtures changed production practices by reducing on-set heat and enabling new soft-light aesthetics championed by cinematographers affiliated with festivals such as Venice Film Festival and awarding bodies like the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Critics and industry periodicals including Variety and The Hollywood Reporter documented the adoption curve as film and television lighting embraced fluorescent and LED technology. Some professionals debated the aesthetic differences compared with classic tungsten-lit cinematography championed by figures like John Alcott, while others credited Kino Flo with democratizing high-quality soft light for independent filmmakers associated with movements like Dogme 95.
Safe operation draws on standards from organizations such as Underwriters Laboratories and workplace guidelines enforced by unions including IATSE. Maintenance routines parallel those used for fixtures by rental houses like Sunbelt Rentals and include ballast checks, tube replacement, and cleaning diffusion to prevent color shifts documented by laboratories such as X-Rite. When integrated into permanent installs at studios like Universal Studios, electrical compliance with local codes and periodic inspections by certified electricians ensure longevity and crew safety.
Category:Lighting