Amateur Photographer - UK (2019-12-14)

38 14 December 2019 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I subscribe 0330 333 1113

W

hatdoCaptain
Phillips(Tom
Hanks)andJames
Bond(Daniel
Craig)haveincommon?Yesthey
arebothheroicgoodguysstriving
forjusticebutthat’snottheanswer
we’relookingfor.Didyouknow
thatonbothfilmsets,theRotolight
RL48wasused?TheRL48alsojust
happenedtobetheproductthat
launchedthecompany.
CEOandco-founderofRotolight
RodAaronGammonsis headofthe
family-runbusiness,andinsucha

2009
Rotolightlaunchesits
firsteverproduct,the
RL48,whichquickly
putsit onthemap.

Here’sasummaryofRotolight’sadvancementthroughoutthedecade

TIMELINE OF ROTOLIGHT’S MAIN PRODUCTS

2015

Industry-first

CineSFXTM introduced,

designed in

conjunction with

Stefan Lange, VFX

veteran.

December 2012

The RL48 is used on

the set of Captain

Phillips which was

later nominated for a

BAFTA for ‘Best

Cinematographer’.

2012

Rotolight launches

the Anova – the first

light to be Wi-Fi

controlled by using

the Magic Eye app.

2 011

The RL48 is used on

the set of the James

Bond movie Skyfall.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

A bit of

light

history

We take a look at the

technology and innovation

behind the company Rotolight

short space of time the company has

flourished from handling business

over the kitchen table to selling

hundreds of thousand of products

in more than 41 countries

worldwide. Rotolight is now based

at Pinewood Studios, and is a

British company that uses British

technology, and British-made

pioneering LED lighting products

for use in the creative industries. All

Rotolight products are made and

assembled in the UK, and then a

massive 70% exported overseas. In

what is a challenging economical

time Rotolight and its growth is an

overwhelmingly positive story of a

thriving British business.

Go back only 10 years to 2009 and

you’ll find that Rotolight seemed to

have almost sprung into the LED

lighting market overnight. The

RL48 was an innovative product

and, although it was primarily used

by filmmakers, it altered the way

photographers could shoot stills and

got noticed for its flexible qualities.

The ‘see what you get’ instant

results were highly appealing, and

that – along with the advancement

of camera technology and features

such as ISO improving – had a

massive impact.

One of the biggest benefits of the

Rotolight products are they are

smaller, lighter, cooler and more

energy-efficient than their

competitors. Not only do you get

instant and consistent results, their

later products launched in the past

two years (NEO 2, AEOS and

Anova PRO 2) all come with High

Speed Sync flash features with zero

recycle time. Now photographers

have complete control, and don’t

need to worry about missing the

moment. The added bonus of

having two lighting techniques in

one portable product has also

opened up many creative

opportunities. Amongst the

photographers and ambassadors

who shoot with Rotolight lights are

editorial photographer Terry

Top left: Benedict

Cumberbatch, shot

by Master of Light

Mark Mann, using

the Rotolight

Anova PRO 2

Top right: Gillian

Anderson, also shot

by Mark Mann with

the Anova PRO 2

Right: Behind the

scenes of a shoot

with Elton John,

taken by Master of

Light Greg Gorman

using the Anova

PRO 2

Left: Rod Aaron

Gammons, CEO

and co-founder