AURASOFT, the first truly natural and controllable softlight

Of all the crafts in television and film, lighting is the one craft which most significantly determines creative picture quality. The art of lighting is often a matter of keeping light off the scene, particularly the background, rather than putting it on. What has always been required of a contrast control light is one having controllable distribution and shadowless light qualities comparable to natural skylight, an apparent contradiction in design terms. Such a light source has been singularly lacking, proving a drawback to lighting for both film and television. Thus, AURASOFT, the first truly natural and controllable softlight was conceived. The author discusses design criteria and operational criteria for AURASOFT. The principle of omni-directional light creation and its technical realisation are considered.<>