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Buying ARRI lights - NEED HELP!

R

RealJasonBourne

Which combination of lights should I buy for short films and feature:

2x 650w
3x 1000w
1x 2000w
=$5500


or

2x 300w
2x 650w
2x 1000w
1x 2000w
= $5500


Do you think a 2k is necessary if i have 3 1ks? Would I ever need a 5K and tell me your custom combo that you would get
 
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Out of the 2 options I would go with:

2x350w
2x650w
2x1000w
1x2000w

The important thing is to have the necessary accessories such as scrims, barndoors, sandbags, softboxes, reflectors, stands, extra bulbs, etc. They will take your lighting kit to the next level.
 
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DeJager said:
Out of the 2 options I would go with:

2x350w
2x650w
2x1000w
1x2000w

The important thing is to have the necessary accessories such as scrims, barndoors, sandbags, softboxes, reflectors, stands, extra bulbs, etc. They will take your lighting kit to the next level.
Click to expand...

do you think I would ever need a 5K? im probably going to film outside at night sooner or later.

thanks
 
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5k is a lot of power. If you're at the place where you're new enough to need to ask about what lights to get you probably aren't at the place to know what to do with a 5K or plan for power for it or anything.

I agree with knightly, second option for sure.
 
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I've used 2Ks, 5Ks, 10Ks, and even 18Ks in different projects in different locations for different effects.

I've had a 10k fresnel with CTB, a silk and shooting through a window metering at f/2.8. I've had the same 10k shooting hard at a wall I wanted to blow out metering at f/22.

The answer to the 'best' lighting kit is: What is the film, and what are it's lighting needs.

The other thing you have to think about is: How the hell are you going to power these things? You want a 5K for something? Cool, how you going to run power to it if you're not on a soundstage with 3-phase power? You going to buy/rent a big enough generator, and a Gaffer who knows how to run distro long enough so that you can get sound?

I'd probably go with the second option for it's versatility, along with scrims, silks, barn doors, diffusion and a collection of gels. But keep in mind that if you plug a 2k into your home circuit, you better not have anything on that circuit drawing power or you'll blow it.
It's somewhat of a catch 22 when balancing to daylight - CTB has a transmission factor of 0.3, so if you use a 2k with a CTB, you're losing 70% of your light, but you also can't use any other lights on that circuit to push up the level. That's why HMIs are so popular.
 
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My 2 cents unasked . . . that $5500 would be about half of the money I'd need for my 2nd feature. But then if you're flush with cash, you'd be wise to price gensets, too, as you're not likely to find very many places you can "plug in" those lamps and be issue-free.

Good luck.
 
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GuerrillaAngel said:
My 2 cents unasked . . . that $5500 would be about half of the money I'd need for my 2nd feature. But then if you're flush with cash, you'd be wise to price gensets, too, as you're not likely to find very many places you can "plug in" those lamps and be issue-free.

Good luck.
Click to expand...
my friend is funding the cam and mic, and im funding the lights. can you tell me what you would get if you were just starting out and had $6000 for lights plz
 
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If your total budget is $6000, you shouldn't spend it all on fixtures. You'll
Need some grip and electrical equipment to go with it. C-Stands, stingers, clamps, flags, scrims, reflectors, gels, diffusion, sand bags, apple crates, cases for everything etc... Lighting a shot is as much about adding light as it is modifying it.
 
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What you're shooting on makes a difference as well. The DSLRs and other cameras that shoot ridiculous high ISO (5d2, 5d3, C300, as well as higher end like Alexa...) don't require nearly as much VOLUME of light. They still follow the same rules of lighting, but what was a 5K for film or last generation video (DVX100 for example) might now be a 2K or a 1K. So I have focused my buying in having a good selection of quality fixtures in the lower wattages (200, 300, 650, 750, etc...) with a couple of 1K big guns for large spaces.
 
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RealJasonBourne said:
can you tell me what you would get if you were just starting out and had $6000 for lights plz
Click to expand...
c-stands (at least 6)
flags (assorted sizes - at least 8)
scrims (at least 6)
silks (at least 2)
cookies (at least 1)
sandbags (one for every light/c-stand and then 6 more)

3 - 300 Watt Inky
4 - 650 Watt Baby
2 - 1000 Watt Baby
1 - 2000 Watt Baby
4 chinaballs
 
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Though I am adding competition on the used market, Mole is the way to go. Not as sexy as Arri, but more durable and much cheaper. I built a kit of

2 X 200 Fresnel
1 X 650 Open Face
1 X 750 Fresnel
1 X 1K Fresnel

For less than $750 by buying used. I'd like a couple of Tweenies (650 Fresnel) and maybe a 2K, but other than that I can shoot pretty much anything I need to do with that kit (plus stands, scrims, flags, etc... of course).
 
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RealJasonBourne said:
my friend is funding the cam and mic, and im funding the lights. can you tell me what you would get if you were just starting out and had $6000 for lights plz
Click to expand...

Refer to others if you're fixed on spending $6,000 on lights.

When I started out I wouldn't and didn't spend $6k on lights. My feature film got in festivals and won awards with less than $500 spent on lights. (Hint: it's HOW you light your set, not WHAT you light your set with.)

Good luck.
 
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You can do almost anything you can do with Pro lights with DIY lights, BUT it's all about setup time and repeatability. To some people 30 extra minutes in the setup or a couple hours crafting a DIY fixture is no big deal. To others it's a huge deal.
 
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