John Rickus (Eclectric Oil & Light)

"A common practice of theatrical lighting designers was to look into the beams of light coming out of lighting instruments to determine the “hot spot”.  Incandescent lighting fixtures could be focused and adjusted to create a flat field of light, but due to the nature of the intense light source and the combinations of reflectors and lenses, the thrown light was never truly flat.  Designers would stand on stage squinting into bright apertures giving directions to workers on the dark side of the job. “Run the barrel…down a touch…flag it…hot spot on me…lock it, hands off, moving on…next light!” — John Rickus