Three Scattergels and four Croc Clips are included in the set and are packaged in a cardboard tube for safe shipping and easy storage.

Scatter the light to create some magic

Are you ready to elevate your lighting game? Click the button below to visit our product page, where you’ll find up-to-date stock availability. Free shipping on all orders. The price shown excludes VAT this will be calculated at the checkout based on your shipping address.

The coming of age

Decent, open faced, LED spotlights are here and many incorporate the Bowens S bayonet mount often used in Flash systems. This near-universal fitting has led to a plethora of well-thought-out accessories and modifiers.

It’s easy to soften hard light but it’s a one-way process. That is one reason that spotlights have been the mainstay of the film and TV industry for so long.

Compatibility

For Scattergels to work effectively, the light source has to be a small single point for shadow patterns to be created. In practice, 20mm to 40mm LEDs are ideal, both in Fresnel lamps and open-faced spotlights. The latter needs to be fitted with a black, non-reflecting barn door holder to keep the light source small. Silvered reflectors need to be avoided.

These gels are designed to be clipped to the barn doors of cool running light sources and are not suitable for use with hot lights.

If you have an LED spotlight with a Bowens S mount you can use this barn door and black non-reflector set with your Scattergels. It is marketed as Aputure Light Storm Barn Doors.

The Aputure set is really well made, the barn doors have a black velvet/ flock lining to stop reflections and the holder is shaped to avoid reflecting the LED, thus keeping the size of the light source perfectly small. The Aputure set also usually comes with a gel frame and a honeycomb grid. The size of the central opening is 90mm in diameter.

Here is a handy Amazon link.

This barn door set will fit hard LED spotlights from Godox, Aputure, Amaran, Nanlite, SmallRig and others that use the Bowens S-Type mount.

The barn doors can be rotated and set as needed to place the highlights and shadows in the perfect spots.

If you have any questions regarding compatability please feel free to message me here and I’ll endeavour to answer them.

Size: 457mm x 406mm
Thickness: 220 Micron
Material: Polyester sheet
Print process: Screen printed
Origin: United Kingdom

Each Scattergel pattern is a product of extensive testing and tweaking. They have proved themselves over the years to be great at producing the out-of-focus dappled lighting patterns that image makers have come to love. They are also incredibly tough. The set includes four Croc Clips.

Shard

is inspired by palm fronds and creates a tropical beach feel with a subtle vignette effect highlighting your subject within its hot-spot area.

Alto

named after Altocumulus clouds delivers smoother tonal transitions because of its delicate half tones and creates a subtle effect.

The Birth of an Idea: It was back in 2010 when the concept of Scattergels first flickered into existence. My dedicated team at Lovegrove Photography and I envisioned these innovative pattern modifiers specifically for Fresnel HMI continuous lights, a mainstay in the realms of film and television.

The BBC Years: Laying the Foundation During my years as a lighting cameraman with the BBC throughout the 1980s and 90s, I fine-tuned the art of sculpting patterned light. Armed with gobos and dingles, I mastered the technique both in-studio and on location. The introduction of cooler-running HMI and LED lights paved the way for fresh creative horizons. In 2010, Scattergels were born. These screen-printed, polyester gels affix to barn doors, granting artists the tools to craft entrancing visual effects.

Mastering the nuances of using LED lighting

Through years of hands-on experience with Scattergels and LED lighting, I’ve gained invaluable insights into the fine art of light shaping and the unique traits of diverse light sources. For instance, did you know that the LEDs in today’s open-faced spotlights often feature dual-colour light emitters arranged in alternate rows? This seemingly innocuous detail can actually result in fine, stepped shadows on flat surfaces, such as a studio wall.

Two Simple Fixes If you’ve noticed these lines, don’t fret. A slight rotation of the barn doors can eliminate them. Alternatively, if your scene allows for it, setting your LED spotlight to 4300K will make the lines vanish. This is because, at this colour temperature, all the LED emitters are used uniformly, negating the stepped-shadow effect.

Good to Know Importantly, this phenomenon is not observable when using Fresnel spotlights or when illuminating a three-dimensional scene.

With these pearls of wisdom, you’re well on your way to mastering the subtleties of light shaping, enhancing both your skill set and your artistic vision.

Damien Lovegrove