"on the pin" lighting

chris marte · February 26, 2008

Hey everyone. I was reading an article from the March 2000 issue of American Cinematographer that interviewed Conrad Hall on his lighting techniques in "American Beauty". There's a part of the article i'd like to quote, because i don't understand what he means by the terms he's using. He's describing the scene at the end of the film where Kevin Spacey kisses Mena Suvari in front of the living room french doors, as the rain falls. Here's the quote:

" The light above their heads was a porchlight. I had several lights outside that were either lighting the greens so that we could JUST see them, as well as several focused lights - usually spotted ' on the pin' - coming through the windows. I like to have those units on the pin so that the light doesn't stray all over the place. I want to be able to pick out the certain areas that i want to light."

What did he mean by "on the pin"? Is this a lighting technique, slang, a tool? I'm a film student, so i'm still not aware of every term out there. If anyone could let me know, i'd really appreciate it.