A stage and film fixture using a lens cut into concentric stepped rings, which makes it thinner and lighter than an ordinary lens of the same power and gives a soft beam edge. Moving the lamp toward or away from the lens changes the beam from spot to flood. Fresnels blend smoothly into each other for washes and are fitted with barn doors to control spill.
Use the 6 inch Fresnels on the second electric for the downstage wash, the edges will blend better than the lekos.
Also heard as
- Fresnel spot
- Fresnel lantern
Do not mix it up with
- Leko: An ellipsoidal throws a hard-edged, shaped beam with shutters; a Fresnel gives a soft edge and adjustable spread.
Related terms
Leko
Theater slang for an ellipsoidal reflector spotlight, the hard-edged fixture with shutters and a gobo slot.
Wash
Broad, even light covering a whole stage area or surface, built from overlapping soft-edged fixtures.
Spill
Light that falls outside the area it is aimed at, onto walls, ceilings, audiences or neighbors.
Throw
The distance from a lighting fixture to the surface or subject it lights, which sets beam size and intensity.