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What’s the best simple lighting gear for a single person doing run n’ gun filming?
I’m starting a project next year where I’ll often be by myself, doing sound and image. I want a few simple lights to carry around. Given space concerns, I’d want them to be versatile and smallish.
I have no idea where to start about a basic traveling kit. I realize this is somewhat vague but I’m just trying to get some ideas at this point. So, any thoughts here are appreciated.
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4 Replies
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Presuming the light would be used mostly for interviews . traditionally you would need a soft light for the face.. if its the style you want..
I would recommend a Kinoflo diva 200.. or one of the LED light panels.. if its only you hauling about all the gear I,d say just take that,and maybe an on camera LED light if you need it..(not for interviews though or you,ll have a very flat image if its camera mounted).
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Besides an on-camera light, if I could only have one light for interviews, it would be (big surprise) a Lowel Rifa, probably the xchange head version that can alternate between tungsten bulbs and fluorescent ones. The reason we got the Rifas in the first place was when we had to chase the governor around fast-breaking news events, and make him look good,while shooting ENG style, with less than 5 minutes to set up a shot and start rolling. The Rifa deploys and strikes as fast as an umbrella, and gives a beautiful quality of face-wrapping light that flatters women and the elderly. The tungsten version eeds soem time to cool before you take it down, the flo-powered version is ready to close in about a minute. It is not highly critical in terms of placement, so you really can just throw it down and start shooting… if you have AC power available nearby. When you want to get a little more “arty” and have an extra five minutes, a spare stand and reflector, packed in the same bag, enables a bounce light fill to work off the Rifa as your key.
For something using battery power, one of the LED-based panel solutions, running off a camera battery brick, would seem to be the thing to use, but that’s going to be costly, getting the panel in a large enough size to be as good as the Rifa. My battery-powered answer might be a fluorescent tube-based softlight with an inverter and marine battery for power, on a wheeled stand I could tow along behind me, because that power system will be HEAVY.
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Kino Flo Barfly 200D kit
super small, super light. Has gel/diffusion slides so you can have the lights pre-gelled or defused.
Use one for backlight, so the other for side/frontal lighting and then use a reflector to fill.
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The lighting gear I want is going to be used mostly for lighting interviews for documentary film when I’m in a pinch. That being the case, I think what I want to do is get two LED lights, something like the Switronix 200w or a Vidpro, to go along with the Comer 1800 I have. I feel like this gives me a chance to have something portable that can give me some lighting options for dark interviews.
Thoughts on this?
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