What is a book light?

[Finnegan]

I was talking with another cinematographer about lighting, and he mentioned he loves using "book lights" and I didn't ask him what that actually is. Does anyone know?

 

[Ryan Patrick O'Hara]

You bounce a powerful light into foam core and then that goes through a diffusion frame. The foam core and diffusion frame are "hinged" like an open book, the light being slightly inside. It's just to angle it in better.


It's basically bouncing light through diffusion for extra softness. You need a powerful light to start with because intensity is really diminished with the setup