Cinematographer Dante Spinotti is a master craftsman whose work on such films as Blink, L.A. Confidential, Heat, The Mirror has Two Faces, Crimes of the Heart and The Last of the Mohicans, has earned him a formidable reputation. He was introduced to Lighttools® Soft Egg Crates® by is key grip on a commercial. "I found that they were a stunning idea," he recalls. "The prospect of controlling softlight with such a simple and ingenious solution was great." Since then, Spinotti has used them in virtually every feature film and commercial he has shot. Spinotti's style requires very exact control over his light sources: "Soft Egg Crates® allow me to use a very big source that outputs a beautiful soft light, which never-the-less remains very controlled and directional. The fact that I can light a situation with actors in the foreground without actually disturbing the lighting on the immediate background, is very useful to me."

He has recently begun to experiment with some of the exposure effects of the Soft Egg Crate®'s cloth grid: "When I was shooting Bandits for Barry Levinson, there was a scene on the soundstage, set in a small hotel room, where Bruce Willis is working out on a punching ball, while awaiting a telephone call. I put a Soft Egg Crate® over the top of the entire set and lit directly down through double diffusion material. I was amazed to find that the exposure at the top of the side walls was exactly the same as at the bottom. It was so even that it was like not having a light there at all."

Spinotti's Soft Egg Crates® don't get to spend much time in their carry bags. "I also use them for window light, the keylight on an actor's face, skylight in a daytime exterior, the complementary light to my key, or even as a starlight effect."