Samuel Kim (SKIM)

I've had times when the lamp position also affected the gel, or from what I could deduct... My situation wasn't with open faces, but with par cans with medium flood bulbs. There were 2 par cans aimed downward and 1 par can shooting at the ceiling for amb. All had 1/2 CTB. The gels on the 2 par cans aimed down were fine, but the gel with the can shooting upwards had a hole burnt thru. My guess is due to the additional heat coming from the lamp going upwards with the heat of the beam must had burnt the gel. Where as the other 2 cans were positioned in a way for the additional heat to flow away from the gel. Heat dissipates upwards. That's why all hot lights have air flow or holes around the fixture. Hope this helps!

I usually like to diffuse direct light mainly so I can have options with all the diffs I can put in front of and really dial it in. Where as using a 4x bounce you only get a 2 or 3 options (hard side/soft side/ reflector). Of course, you can make a bounce light to a book light, but I tend to like to keep a bounce at the ready in case I need a extra return (which I only have one in my arsenal, should probably get another one...). But it's all about preference! There's no right answer! Try both techniques and see what each setup does. There are certain situations (space/time/gear/etc.) where having direct diffused light is great, but having a bounce source is even greater.