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question bout lighting
- Thread starter dzz
- Start date
Skaeser.com sells Britek lighting kits.
I currently have this kit.
The stands get a little top-heavy with the softboxes on, and they heat a small room up fast. But they are fairly inexpensive and strike down fast to fit in the handy wheeled bag.
I almost always supplement it with additional rented stuff, but it's convenient & portable.
Since you live in CA, they'll charge CA sales tax. However, each time I've ordered (also in CA) they've knocked that off the cost of the flat shipping rate.
I currently have this kit.
The stands get a little top-heavy with the softboxes on, and they heat a small room up fast. But they are fairly inexpensive and strike down fast to fit in the handy wheeled bag.
I almost always supplement it with additional rented stuff, but it's convenient & portable.
Since you live in CA, they'll charge CA sales tax. However, each time I've ordered (also in CA) they've knocked that off the cost of the flat shipping rate.
That very first bit you're talking about actually is from the '70s.
The trailer's just a concept atm - Someone in my group was trying to describe how our own trailer should go, and plopped a bunch of stuff together, including that. (All the rest is our own footage, though). Real trailer coming soon enough - in theory.
All segments were shot on a Sony hdv (forgot which model), aside from mine which is hdv, super-8 and frame-by-frame claymation.
But enough of that - back to lighting Q's!
The trailer's just a concept atm - Someone in my group was trying to describe how our own trailer should go, and plopped a bunch of stuff together, including that. (All the rest is our own footage, though). Real trailer coming soon enough - in theory.
All segments were shot on a Sony hdv (forgot which model), aside from mine which is hdv, super-8 and frame-by-frame claymation.
But enough of that - back to lighting Q's!
Lowel makes nice kits. Tungsten lights with stands, barndoors and hard case.
Britek makes nice light kits - cheaper than Lowel and not as durable, but very
usable. You can also check Arri lights - more expensive and worth every penny.
I have a Lowel 6 light kit with the Omni’s and Tota’s that I bought new in 1990
and am still using it 18 years later.
For a nice beginning light kit I recommend:
A couple of work lights with stands from any home improvement store.
Five or six “scoop lights” - those clamp on work lights with the silver reflector.
Three or four pieces of Foamcore from any art supply store to use to bounce
the light.
Two or three paper lanterns that you can get at Ikea. I hook each one to a dimmer
(home improvement store again) to get better control.
Some colored gels (check on line or if there is a small theater in your town they often
have extras) and some black wrap. Check Studio Depot
This example kind of puts all the previous links in perspective.
I'll second directorik... I've worked briefly with professional lighting.
I picked up work lights from lowes myself, which is what I'll be using to shoot a feature with. (ones ranging from 250w to 1300w).
So far I've found I can achieve the same exact results with the lights from lowes, which cost under 150 bucks total -- just takes a little bit more time and work to get them the way you want, since there aren't anything like build in light doors or diffusing material on the front.
I picked up work lights from lowes myself, which is what I'll be using to shoot a feature with. (ones ranging from 250w to 1300w).
So far I've found I can achieve the same exact results with the lights from lowes, which cost under 150 bucks total -- just takes a little bit more time and work to get them the way you want, since there aren't anything like build in light doors or diffusing material on the front.
you can build doors for your worklights
http://www.coollights.biz/wordpress/archives/21#more-21
I would recommend cutting 2 of the flaps flaring inward rather than outward though, they don't fold closed very well with all 4 flaps being the same. Here's what I used mine for:
http://yafiunderground.com/Images/Barndoors/barndoors-6.jpg
The black paint is engine paint which is rated up to 500 degrees... grill paint will work too (for the inside of your BBQ Grill). I used pop rivets, I'd recommend using screws and nuts with springs for tensioning them. I will be attaching a set of these to every work light I own ... although slowly, one light at a time, not enough time to do them all at once.
http://www.coollights.biz/wordpress/archives/21#more-21
I would recommend cutting 2 of the flaps flaring inward rather than outward though, they don't fold closed very well with all 4 flaps being the same. Here's what I used mine for:
http://yafiunderground.com/Images/Barndoors/barndoors-6.jpg
The black paint is engine paint which is rated up to 500 degrees... grill paint will work too (for the inside of your BBQ Grill). I used pop rivets, I'd recommend using screws and nuts with springs for tensioning them. I will be attaching a set of these to every work light I own ... although slowly, one light at a time, not enough time to do them all at once.
Thanks Guyz!!
I had some questions about lighting, but it looks like you've answered them all.
This place is AWESOME!!
I had some questions about lighting, but it looks like you've answered them all.
This place is AWESOME!!
These are great lights for a great price! I love the results you get with soft dome hot lights. I have 2 Photoflex Starlight Silver Domes 1000w and they cost 4 times the price of these! I could have saved a lot of money. I did a testimonial for Photoflex's marketing brochure to boot. They should have refunded me some money lol.
You can always use Home Depot shop light kits and shoot them through white silk umbrellas. You lose some light on the backside without the domes... but they are a cheap workable solution. I have done this myself.
So, I'm still learning a lot about lighting; and am currently reading 'Cinematrography - 3rd Edition' which was recommended to me by a DOP on a Tv series I worked on. I'm currently reading about how room temperature lighting should sit around 3,200k. Where as outdoor sunny sky lighting is more around 5,000-5,500k. I'm using cheap $10 lights I bought from Canadian tire. They're 500W Halogen Work lights. They seem to work pretty nicely if bounced, with the exception to the heat they build up. So now here's my question; If im using 1 light (which research on my light says gives off between 2,800-3,200k), if I place two of the same lights next to each other does that give off two times as much? 5,600-6,400k? Or do these values not stack? It's a newb question, but you gotta ask to find out right 
My guess is; they do not stack because the temperature of each bulb is the same? 3.2 burns less as brightly as 5.5??? Am I close?
Cheers.
Also, anyone know the CRI (Color Rendering Index) of a 500W Halogen work light?
My guess is; they do not stack because the temperature of each bulb is the same? 3.2 burns less as brightly as 5.5??? Am I close?
Cheers.
Also, anyone know the CRI (Color Rendering Index) of a 500W Halogen work light?
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I also use the Britek lights/softboxes, in conjunction with worklights. A couple of things to add are dimmers and flags. With dimmers, you can quickly put strong and fill light where needed, without moving everything. Not only that, you can see your changes in real time.
You can add shadows to a scene with flags and gobos. Flags are just pieces of plastic, wood or metal that you can put in front of a light to block off certain portions. For instance, you can flag the top and lower halves of a light, to create an "eyelight". I've actually done this with a scoop/clamp light.
Remember that a lot of sound stages have light riggings on the ceiling. These create "hair light", which will create a nice outline of your actor's head. It's easy to think in terms of natural, motivated light, like a lamp on a dresser, but hairlight only happens from above or behind. I think it is one of the most important angles to light. Steve Kaeser sells some nice, tall, telescoping boom stands to mount such lights on.
"Backlight" is like "hair light", but from a lower angle. Sometimes the lights are shined up from the floor and they can outline a subject's body. Just think of all the shadow work you can do with just those two kinds of lighting.
Adding just a little bit of fog will catch light rays, especially if you are using flashlights, car headlights, etc. It is only recently that I've been thinking about creative lighting. I was notorious for just shining bright lights, which were often mounted right on the tripod, along with my Super 8 camera!
I asked the producers of WITCHES' NIGHT how they lit their outdoor night shots. They put a 2000 watt light on a cherry picker (rental crane/genie) and used blue gel sheet for an overall moonlight effect, then they placed fill lights in key spots. It worked very well and is a cheaper option to the 20,000 - 50,000 watt lighting cranes that Hollywood shoots use for moonlight.
You can add shadows to a scene with flags and gobos. Flags are just pieces of plastic, wood or metal that you can put in front of a light to block off certain portions. For instance, you can flag the top and lower halves of a light, to create an "eyelight". I've actually done this with a scoop/clamp light.
Remember that a lot of sound stages have light riggings on the ceiling. These create "hair light", which will create a nice outline of your actor's head. It's easy to think in terms of natural, motivated light, like a lamp on a dresser, but hairlight only happens from above or behind. I think it is one of the most important angles to light. Steve Kaeser sells some nice, tall, telescoping boom stands to mount such lights on.
"Backlight" is like "hair light", but from a lower angle. Sometimes the lights are shined up from the floor and they can outline a subject's body. Just think of all the shadow work you can do with just those two kinds of lighting.
Adding just a little bit of fog will catch light rays, especially if you are using flashlights, car headlights, etc. It is only recently that I've been thinking about creative lighting. I was notorious for just shining bright lights, which were often mounted right on the tripod, along with my Super 8 camera!
I asked the producers of WITCHES' NIGHT how they lit their outdoor night shots. They put a 2000 watt light on a cherry picker (rental crane/genie) and used blue gel sheet for an overall moonlight effect, then they placed fill lights in key spots. It worked very well and is a cheaper option to the 20,000 - 50,000 watt lighting cranes that Hollywood shoots use for moonlight.