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DIY Lighitng from... IKEA.

Sweeney Jet

Sweeney Jet

So... they have a variety of light set ups there... can I utilize some of it to make my own lighting for HDV?

I tried recently with a lamp, of about 40 watts and taped laminated green paper over the hard light to give it a softness for the key light. From the side (fill light), I used either natural lighting or a smaller lamp with about 20 watts. Here's how it looked:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbxd4oA1VMc

I know it's not that great -- but I REALLY wanna improve my lighting. I like the lighting from Collateral and the lighting from Sherlock Holmes... I know that's unrealistic, but I want something suitable for someone who shoots no-budget features, shorts, and web series. Stuff I can pick up from somewhere as common as IKEA or wherever else?

Please help.
 
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Sweeney Jet said:
What is the purpose of this china ball, precisely?
Click to expand...

They make a great, large-looking soft source with not a whole lot of wattage needed to drive them. They are also lightweight. Easy to hollywood on a long piece of pvc or a broom stick or something.

More uses that can be put into a single post. Need even soft fill for a large space? Boom. China Ball. Need a key source someplace where you can't drop any stands, like a dense liquor store? Boom. China Ball on a stick.

And so on.
 
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Hey, Sweeney. Thought I could step in here and share my experiences with DIY lighting.

I'm a big fan of practical motivated lighting. I feel that the lighting should look as though it's coming from actual light sources that are part of the set; fixtures, windows, electronics... And I've found that the best low-budget lighting resources can all be found at your local Home Depot.

I like daylight CFLs. They are cheap. The light is somewhere between harsh and soft. The color temp mixes well with daylight coming in through windows. And my camera (I shot with the JVC GY-HD250) loves daylight color temp. They're low power consumption and low heat. All good things.

I recently finished shooting our second feature film, UE's Blood Rites, in which we shot 80% of the movie in an old warehouse. I built the lighting into the set entirely with 60watt and 100watt equivalent CFLs and cheap clip-on dome reflectors. I also had a couple of 100watt equivalents standing by for fill when I needed it.

The project before, a little movie called Wake the Witch, was shot in a similar way. When we went into a location the first thing I did was change out all the existing lighting with my CFLs to give it a consistent color temp. On this project I was able to supplement with 800watt equivalent HMIs with soft boxes, but ended up using the 100watt equivalent CFLs in a lot of mood lighting situation.

At his point I have quite a CFL kit and it all costs less then one of my 800watt HMIs. And the images are sweet. The proof is in the distribution.

Hope you find this helpful. And remember that in the end no one's going to care what you light with as long as the end result looks good.
 
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Here is the revised CHINA LANTERNS video I referred to, it's now in HD for our new PBS show FRAMELINES.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLhaIMdyf4g

China Lanterns are a great alternative for a pleasing softlight for filmmaking. It's just got a great fill and it's not casting hard shadows, etc. I cannot recommend them enough to amateurs and beginners.
 
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Also, just picked up a 300w dimmer at Ikea for less than $10. For reference, I once got a used 1k dimmer off ebay for ~$35. Always use a dimmer bigger than your light kiddies, but the ikea one is a pretty good deal.
 
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Hey Buddy, what CFLs are you using? I can't seem to find any that are high output, color balanced (at least somewhat), AND dimmable. Seems I can find any combination of two of those, but not all three. Actually, I can find high output dimmable, color balanced high output, but not color balanced and dimmable. Naturally when you dim you change color temp, but still...
 
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David,

I’m not using CFL’s much at the moment, but I'll be doing a round of standard E26 - 55w equiv 240w (And higher) 5100, 5500 and 3200k-- And a few par 38 CFL's soon.

I haven't seen balanced dimmable myself either.


-Thanks-
 
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I didn't think CFLs were dimmable?

Last night on the A&E documentary series "Intervention" I saw a couple of china balls in action. They usually stage the intervention in a hotel room or small conference room. At one point the subject walked out of the room and they cut to a really wide shot, where you could clearly see two china balls strung between two C-stands in the center of the room.
 
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