-
1st time HMI user
-
Yes, two would probably be better than one. If I had two in that scenario, I’d probably try putting one outside and letting it stream through the windows from the rear (a back/side hardlight that would nicely emulate sunlight), and use the other one in the room with a bounce card.
You WILL have to put them both on different circuits… and make sure you know what circuit goes where (and it’s sometimes difficult to find someone in the building who knows). We did a political commercial shoot in an old church one time where we had five HMIs going… we had miles of cables throughout the place because the wiring was so screwed up (and re-done many times through the years) that we had to go great distances in order to get each instrument on a different circuit.
If you have the budget to rent two lights, you might consider getting one 1200 Arri Compact and one 800w Joker-Bug, if they have one. Unlike the Arri fresnel, the Joker is a PAR head but is a much smaller and easier instrument (and has a small lightweight ballast), but it has almost the same punch as a 1200w fresnel. You can use it with a softbox so you don’t have to set up a bounce card. In fact, most of the rental Joker-Bug 800s come with a Chimera kit, so you’ve already got the softbox there.
T2
__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
-
I forgot, I meant to give you an example of the “look”…
Take a look at this commercial spot I directed for a hospital…
https://fantasticplastic.com/portfolio/portfolio06.html
About halfway in (around the :15 mark) there is a brief classroom shot… a kid lifting his shirt to show his belly where he supposedly had an appendectomy. That scene was lit with one 1200w HMI fresnel and one white 4×4 bounce. There was a little available light from outside, but we closed most of the blinds except in the windows that show.
T2
__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
-
Nice. Was that method 1 or 2. Looks like a nice backlight effect.
Also, one rental house (cheaper) has DeSisti Rembrandt 2510 1.2K FRESNEL HMI Light. Is that going to be roughly the same as the ARRI HMI compact Fresnel or should I stay with the ARRI?
Dan S.
-
More or less the same. You’d be fine going with the best deal or most convenient location or whatever. The instruments are comparable… it’s probably just a little bit bigger than the Compact. One thing to ask the rental house about is the ballast… a rental that has an average expected price probably has an electronic ballast. One that has a really super-low bargain basement price probably has an old-fashioned magnetic ballast. There’s nothing wrong with a magnetic ballast, they work fine (and are sometimes more reliable than an electronic one, frankly). But… they are heavy. Especially with bigger instruments, they are like carting around an anvil or an engine block all day. Now, with a 1200 it won’t be TOO bad (one person can still relatively easily lift a 1200w magnetic ballast), but an electronic one will definitely make your life easier if you plan to be moving around a lot, or different locations.
As for the previous scene…. if I recall, that shot was more or less like “Method 1,” the HMI into the bounce card was the single source of illumination, with no direct spill onto the talent… although the card was fairly close to the kid (just out of frame) so it was pretty big in comparison to him (he was a really little guy)… ergo the light sort of wrapped around him a bit more than if it had been farther away.
T2
__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
-
Todd, thanks to you, I’m much more excited (than scared) of my first HMI experience. I think I remember you saying in a former post a while ago how using HMI for the first time marked a significant change in your potential to get results you’re happier with. Looking forward to working with more light than I ever have–and that great, daylight-balanced light, that will mesh with the window light so nicely.
Thanks again!
Dan S.
-
Nuthin’ to be scared of. Have fun, and check back in after the shoot to let us know how it goes.
T2
__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
-
OK….so I rented the joker bug as well. Shoot’s monday. If I can’t get it outside, can I do the same thing with the joker just inside the windows? Any other suggestions for the joker if I use method 1? General fill bounced off ceiling?
Dan S.
-
Hey Todd,
Is playing clips like this back on a computer monitor an accurate representation of what the shots look like on a TV monitor?
OSX 10.5.8; MacBookPro4,1 Intel Core 2 Duo 2.5 GHz
; Camcorders: Sony Z7U, Canon HV30/40, Sony vx2000/PD170; FCP certified; write professionally for a variety of media; teach video production in L.A. -
Well Daniel, that’s not exactly the setup I had in mind, although there are many ways you could do it.
I envisioned putting the 1200w fresnel outside, not the Joker-Bug. I’d put the bigger instrument outside the windows, to the rear shooting in… to simulate sunlight coming in and creating a bit of back/side lighting as it splashed across the talent. I’m guessing (or hoping) the Joker-Bug you got (the 800?) came with the Chimera kit for it (or other softbox kit). In that case I would use the Joker-Bug inside as the key light, at about a 45° angle to the talent. If needed, I’d use a white bounce card to fill in the other side of the talent.
To use the Joker-Bug with a Chimera, you have to take off the front PAR lens assembly thingy off the instrument (which K5600 calls the “Beamer”). If you DIDN’T get the Chimera or other softbox, I’d use the Joker-Bug with a bounce card as in “Method 1″… but you would put the “Beamer” back on the instrument.
Just play with it… you have plenty to work with and I’m sure you’ll find a good combination that gives you a look that you will like.
T2
__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
-
[Craig Alan] “Is playing clips like this back on a computer monitor an accurate representation of what the shots look like on a TV monitor?”
sorry Craig… I’m not really sure I understand your question or what it is in reference to….
But… no, clips on a computer monitor are rarely if ever an accurate representation of what something will look like on a “real” TV monitor.
T2
__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up