What is SOFTLIGHTS FLAME and how is it used on set?

Updated

SOFTLIGHTS FLAME is a lighting fixture from SOFTLIGHTS, a company that describes itself as crafting custom lighting tools for cinematographers and gaffers. According to the company's own site, FLAME is used as both a key-light and a fill-light, and it has appeared in productions including The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 3 (2023, Netflix), Le Rouge et le Noir (TV series, 2026, Siècle Production and France TV), and SULIS 1907 (2023, STORYLINE production). If you need exact specifications or pricing, SOFTLIGHTS directs you to contact them directly — the site lists price on request.

What SOFTLIGHTS says about FLAME

The available product information is deliberately brief. From the SOFTLIGHTS homepage:

  • Dual role: FLAME is positioned as usable for both key-light and fill-light duties.
  • Production credits: The site names specific titles and crew, including DOP Tommaso Fiorilli on The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon 3, gaffer Guillaume Ader on Le Rouge et le Noir, and DOP Anders Bohman on SULIS 1907.
  • Company background: SOFTLIGHTS states it has worked "from fluorescent to LED" and stays close to creative people and their needs, with a focus on wireless lighting and custom solutions.

That is the extent of what the site publishes. There are no listed beam angles, power draw, color temperature ranges, or dimensions in the source material.

How a key-and-fill fixture is used on set

The key light is the primary light source shaping a subject — it establishes the direction, intensity, and quality of the main illumination. The fill light softens the shadows the key creates, reducing contrast. A single fixture marketed for both roles suggests a unit intended to be flexible enough to serve either position depending on how it is placed, diffused, or dimmed.

For example, a gaffer shooting an interior dialogue scene might place FLAME as the key through a diffusion frame to shape a face, then reposition or re-rig the same unit type as a broader, softer fill from the opposite side. Because SOFTLIGHTS also emphasizes wireless lighting and custom solutions, the practical appeal for crews is likely in adapting the fixture to a specific set rather than buying a fixed, catalog-standard unit.

What the production credits tell you

The three named productions span different formats and years:

Production Year Format Crew named
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon 3 2023 Netflix series Tommaso Fiorilli, DOP
Le Rouge et le Noir 2026 TV series (Siècle Production, France TV) Guillaume Ader, gaffer
SULIS 1907 2023 STORYLINE production Anders Bohman, DOP

These credits are useful as a signal that the fixture has been used in professional episodic and film work, but they do not tell you how it performed, what conditions it was used in, or how it compares to alternatives. The site also links to a Vimeo clip featuring FLAME in SULIS 1907.

How to get actual specifications or pricing

SOFTLIGHTS does not publish a spec sheet or price list on the page reviewed here. The site's stated path is:

  1. Go to softlights.com.
  2. Use the "contact us for details / price on request" route.
  3. Ask directly about FLAME's technical specifications, availability, and pricing for your production.

If you are evaluating FLAME for a shoot, prepare specific questions before contacting them — power requirements, mounting, control protocol, color accuracy, and lead time are the details you will need and that the public site does not provide.

What is not established here

  • No pricing is published; "price on request" is the only signal.
  • No technical specifications (output, color temperature, dimensions, weight) appear in the source material.
  • No independent reviews or third-party test data are included.
  • The production credits are self-reported by SOFTLIGHTS.

Treat the site as a starting point for a direct inquiry rather than a complete product reference.