Lighting question

[Rick Wise]

Probably most of your interviews are going to be shot where there is ambient daylight, not tungsten. So you might want to get some daylight bulbs.

Raw Kino is sort of soft, but not very. To really soften the light you’ll want to fly some diffusion off a C-stand out in front of it, though the slip-on flozier will help. Yes, it cuts down intensity.

The grids are to make the light more directional, block spillage.

If you want to sell the kit, post where you are.

Enjoy! Play!

Rick Wise
Cinematographer
MFA/BFA Lighting and Camera Instructor Academy of Art University
San Francisco Bay Area
https://www.RickWiseDP.com

[Todd Terry]

Rick is right as always about diffusing the Kinos, listen to him (I usually do).

Don’t worry about lighting temperature based on the skin tone of your subjects… either bulbs will be fine. Instead be concerned about matching the ambient light, or whatever other instruments you are using. If you are in a situation were there is also daylight light (a house with windows, etc.), then go for the daylight bulbs and use other daylight instruments. If you are in a studio setting, it doesn’t matter… match it to whatever other fixtures are being used in the scene.

I have totally given up using Kinos or any other similar instruments. They were absolutely GREAT in their day, but I think the day is passing. They are just too heavy, clunky, fragile, and I never ever use any instruments anymore that are dependent on AC power (with the rare exception of the occasional HMI).

My go-to lights of late for talking heads, interview-type setups, and narrative scenes where I need soft pretty light on people are the round bi-color “flapjack” instruments made by FotoDiox. I started using these a couple of years ago, and have several sizes. To be honest I’ve never seen anyone else using these (except online, not in person), but they give the most natural and beautiful light. Plus they are very thin, very lightweight, very robust, and not very power hungry. They are also very very reasonably-priced. Cheap, actually.

They are also a good company. I had one instrument that had a switch get broken. I had bought it off eBay. I emailed the company about getting it repaired (fully expecting to pay for it). They wrote me back that since I had bought it from an individual not from them or a re-seller that it was not under warranty (which I knew)… but said to send it to them and that they would go ahead and fix it. I thought “wow,” and sent them just the head…I wasn’t asking for a freebie, just to pay for a repair. They sent me back a full and brand-new identical kit… head, power supply, batteries, case… everything. Good company.

https://fotodioxpro.com/collections/flapjack-led-edgelights

T2

__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com

[Suzin Daly]

thanks for the information….[I was being flippant about sell, I would do it locally, maybe even donate] Thanks for taking the time it is a learning process for me. Best Sz

[Suzin Daly]

Thank you for your input as well. It’s a great learning process and all these suggestions a very helpful
Thanks for the links, and investigations that I can pursue.
Best
Sz

[Mark Suszko]

Where those kinos might still be useful would be on a standing set for someone doing a podcast. We use flo type lights on our standing talk show and webcasting sets and they have saved a ton of money and continue to give reliable service.

I’m going to be heretical and say I don’t always mind when color temps get mixed in a shot. In some cases, it can enhance the aesthetic you’re going for. But that’s very situational, and you need it to be intentional.

The whole wave of Kino users basically washed right past me in my work. Saw them on the rise and lusted for some of my own, but never got a chance to afford them…. We’re still only slowly transitioning from Lowel tungsten kits to LED instruments here, but for my kind of jobs, I’m still pretty happy using the old blowtorches and my Rifas.

[Todd Terry]

[Mark Suszko] “I’m going to be heretical and say I don’t always mind when color temps get mixed “

I don’t find that heretical at all, not a bit.

I’ll frequently mix color temps, especially for things like back/rim/hair lighting. I’ll often use either a warmer or cooler light for that than the key… either by the type/native color of the fixture, or with gels. Nothing wrong with that, sometimes it looks great. Many other times, too, mixed color temps can look good.

Mark is still a heretic of course, but for entirely different reasons… not for that. 🙂

T2

__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com

[Rick Wise]

Speaking of “right,” Terry usually is too. The Kinos were amazing when they came out 40 years ago or such. LEDs appear to be the immediate future, though no doubt some day they too will be replaced. For now, I suspect the fotodiox’s are terrific. Shop around for prices…. (And sell your Kino kit when you can….)

Rick Wise
Cinematographer
MFA/BFA Lighting and Camera Instructor Academy of Art University
San Francisco Bay Area
https://www.RickWiseDP.com

[Suzin Daly]

I appreciate your impute, they were very affordable. If I had a studio I would probably not give the choice a second thought. The price was very affordable, it was one of those impulsive moves. It’s all a learning process. I probably [I usually do] come to this forum for ideas, with experienced people, than see which works for me. You have some good points. Thanks for taking the time for respond, which is why I love this forum – Best Sz