John’s advice is almost always exactly right, and yes an ETC Source Four is precisely what you need, it was made just for that.
BUT… I honestly think you just need a Source Four, that you probably don’t need the Joker Bug adapter (what that does is let you use the Source Four housing and lenses with a daylight-balanced Joker Bug HMI instrument).
Here’s why you might want to skip that…
For one, a Source Four is a very affordable instrument… you can buy one for a couple of hundred bucks on eBay, if you want to go that route. Adding the Joker Bug to it is going to add to the cost. A LOT. I’m talking thousands (I haven’t looked in ages but I think a 800w Joker is about six grand).
Secondly, you probably don’t actually need for it to be daylight balanced. Well, you do if you are photographing or shooting video of this whole thing, but I got the impression that this was just for a live audience’s benefit. If that’s the case, don’t bother with daylight balancing. Unlike film or camera sensors, people’s eyeballs adapt easily and mix light temperatures with no problem. In your living room at home right now is probably a television set (daylight) in a room full of tungsten lighting. You never think “Wow the TV is so blue” or look at your spouse and think “Wow they are so orange,” because in a live situation like that your brain instantly adapts. If the difference is just too stark, add some CTB gel to the source four (you might only need a little to make it pleasant looking, say 1/4), and save yourself enough money to buy a fairly nice motorcycle.
Thirdly, you said you need “dimmability,” but you won’t be able to appreciably dim the Joker, what you get is (mostly) what you get. With a tungsten Source Four you can put it on a dimmer and dial in exactly how much you need, even low levels.
But yep, a Source Four is what you need. Since you said you needed low light levels, even a Source Four Mini might be more than enough. Tiny and cheap.
T2
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Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
