Simple cylindrical fixture housing a PAR lamp with a fixed beam angle. A standard workhorse in theater and concert lighting.
Technical Details
Standard PAR cans use lamps from 200W to 1000W, with PAR64 (8-inch diameter) at 1000W being the most common film variant. The beam angle varies depending on the lamp type: Very Narrow Spot (VNSP) 6°×12°, Narrow Spot (NSP) 7°×14°, Medium Flood (MFL) 12°×28°, and Wide Flood (WFL) 24°×57°. The aluminum housing for PAR64 typically measures 35cm in length with a diameter of 21cm and weighs approximately 2.8kg without the lamp. The color temperature for tungsten lamps is 3200K, while daylight PAR cans achieve 5600K.
History & Development
PAR lamps were originally developed by the General Electric Company in the 1960s for automotive headlights. The transition to stage and film lighting occurred in the late 1960s when theater technicians discovered the cost-effective, robust lamps. In 1975, the PAR Can established itself as a standard tool in Hollywood, especially for location shoots. The introduction of HMI PAR cans by OSRAM in 1978 expanded the system with daylight-balanced variants. LED PAR cans entered the market starting in 2010 and are increasingly replacing the classic tungsten versions.
Practical Use in Film
Cinematographer Roger Deakins extensively used PAR Cans for the grim prison scenes in "The Shawshank Redemption" (1994) to create hard shadows and dramatic contrasts. During night shoots, PAR Cans often serve as background lighting for buildings or as effect lighting for car headlight simulations. Their shallow depth allows them to be hidden in tight spaces, while their high light output can illuminate larger areas. Disadvantages include limited focusability and a hard light characteristic that may require extensive diffusion.
Comparison & Alternatives
Unlike Fresnel lights, the beam of a PAR Can can only be changed by swapping lamps, not by focusing. LED panels today offer more flexibility and energy efficiency but do not achieve the pinpoint intensity of classic PAR Cans. SkyPanel and similar modern LED systems are increasingly replacing PAR Cans in budget-conscious productions, while traditional cinematographers continue to rely on the characteristic light quality of tungsten PAR Cans for specific lighting effects.