Fine Tuning Light with Direction Turning Film

There are not many lighting scenarios veteran designer Read Hunker hasn’t seen. The owner and founder of Colorado-based Light Notes has been “painting” with light for over 25 years and his portfolio includes mystical spiritual gardens, custom wine cellars, and enhancing light-sensitive works of art and native artifacts. Like most skilled lighting designers, Hunker relies on experience to create the most dramatic scenes; however, he has picked up a few tricks of the trade along the way, including using Luminit’s Direction Turning Film (DTF). “I love this stuff,” expresses Hunker. “Between the DTF and other products Luminit offers, it really opens up a whole host of opportunities for the lighting designer.” 

Hunker discovered Luminit back in 2015 while designing lighting for a wellness center and spa. The lighting had to complement the luxurious and sophisticated aesthetic and softly wash the architectural surfaces while providing adequate safety for guests roaming the property. Recessed can lights lined the interior ceiling but Hunker wanted to perfect the direction of the beam and added Direction Turning Film to kick the light 20 degrees off center without having to move a single fixture. “The thin profile of Luminit films easily retrofits into cans,” he notes. “I’ve used Direction Turning Film and Light Shaping Diffusers to achieve more wall washing and manipulate the lighting scallop without having move or add any more cans.”

example of turning an LED light beam spread
Example of how Direction Turning Film was used in the spa’s interior to shift the light and create a more aesthetic feel. Photo courtesy of Read Hunker.

Hunker points out that Luminit Direction Turning Film combined with Light Shaping Diffusers solve a number of lighting challenges in both interior and exterior spaces.  “I also used the film on a landscape lighting job to increase the garden lighting from 40° to 90° which softens the light while providing more even low-level coverage.” Another area where Hunker actively incorporates Luminit films is artwork illumination, a specialty of Light Notes. “The films especially come in handy when aiming art and adjusting recessed lights that are in the same line but need to do different things.”

About Luminit DTF

Direction Turning Film is a non-symmetrical linear micro-prismatic that imparts a 20° shift in the angle of a semi-collimated light source. When incorporated into recessed can lights, DTF allow for more wall washing, reduced glare in pathway/stair lighting, increase ground illumination and can be combined with a Light Shaping Diffuser to shape and homogenize the beam in circular or elliptical patterns. Learn more about Direction Turning Film