Very heavy problem

[Todd Terry]

I’m always for going down-and-dirty cheap, when possible, so here is my idea….

I like the idea of hanging the fixture, if that gets you in the position that you want it. If it is mounted on a stand there is always the danger that someone might hit it or bump it and slightly change its position… which could be disasterous for stop motion work where your lighting setup must be perfectly locked down for the duration of shooting the scene.

You might consider taking a piece of plywood (like maybe 3/4″ CDX) and simply screwing it right up on the ceiling… into the joists of course, with longish wood screws. Then you would have a big flat mounting surface that would definitely support the weight of the fixture and you could hang the instrument wherever you want.

T2

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

[Ricardo Werdesheim]

Hi Todd,

Thanks a lot for the reply, and i wish that could be done…It was the first thing that checked. I have a terrible gypsum ceiling mounted on aluminum bars. I merely tried to apply some wight to the bars and they bent like crazy, the whole thing almost came down. for now i think its going to have to be from the wall or from a boom, either that of move to another place…(its looking better and better by the second)
Thanks again for the help…

Ricardo Werdesheim
Stop Motion Director

[Thompson Coles]

I guess my question is “does the source absolutely need to come from above.” I would suggest a small or midget senior stand and place the para-beam above the setup at a 45 degree angle or less and use foam-core to bounce on the opposite angle. almost making a wedge shape above the scene. the opposite side will have a little less light but that might come in handy, who knows. I have only been able to table a Para-Beam 400 in a studio setting. partly because of the weight, mostly because they carry a Senior Spud on the end and a sturdy lighting boom with a Senior receptacle is hard to find.

i hope this can help
Thompson

[Bill Davis]

Sounds like the ideal circumstance for a RedWing boom w/ 48″ extension.

If that’s not enough, a Matthews MiniMax might give you more reach – but less payload.

If those don’t cut it, you’ve got to rig a “menace arm.” Search that term and it’ll take you to a cool YouTube video that will likely cause you to consider running out to buy more production insurance.

Good luck.

[Dennis Size]

The standard method …which also happens to be the cheapest and probably the safest …. is to build a “goalpost”.
Erect two upright booms at whatever height your ceiling will allow. Since you gave no measurements I would suggest 10′-0″ to 12′- 0″ to allow plenty of clearance under the Parabeam. A boom is basically an 1 1/2″ schedule 40 black iron threaded pipe with a 50 pound iron base — upon which you could add sandbags for stability if you’re the nervous type.
Mount another 10′-0″ schedule 40 pipe horizontally, at whatever height works for you, using chesboros or any other pipe to pipe hardware(of the correct diameter, obviously). Hang your fixture from the cross pipe by whatever means you choose.

Do not forget to use safeties.

DS