Dan Brockett
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Hi Ty:
Good, so you at least have a clue about lighting and gripology.
I am sure you will get a million different suggestions on what lights/kit to buy but here is my recommendation. I will substantiate the rational behind each instrument.
1. Soft Key
Buy a Chimera kit as described here. https://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=257304&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation It’s a 500 watt mogul base lamp and includes a small Chimera, 40 degree egg crate, stand, cases, bulb, the wole works. Just add water, makes it’s own sauce.The reason you want this is because for $539.00, it is a the best, most efficient soft key available that is of professional grade material. You can and will use and own this setup for years, if not decades, it will grow with you as your needs expand. For single talking heads, cannot be beat. If you fly, it is also a very small piece of kit that does a lot. I own four small Chimeras and they are one of my most valued pieces of gear.
2. Add a hairlight/rim light.
Buy a Lowel I-Light. This is a small, $109.00 light that includes barndoors and can be powered by a variety of different small output bulbs, 100, 150 and 250 watt. It’s cheap and for a hairlight/rimlight, you don’t have to have a fresnel. Add a small Impact or Manfrotto stand for $80.00 and you have your rim light and stand for under $200.00.3. Add a BG light.
Buy an Arri 300 watt fresnel or if you want to save some money, an Altman. With barndoors and a set of scrims, will set you back about $320.00, figure $400.00 with a stand.So now you have a soft key source, a hair/rim light and a BG light. You have spent about $1,130.00 of your $1,500.00 budget. Spend another $50.00 on a 36″ white and gold Flexfill. Great as a fill source when used opposite your Chimera, can also be used outdoors and that Gold side is nice for giving pale subjects a nice tan. Now you have spent $1,180.00. How about another $50.00 for a plastic Contico box from Home Depot to carry your three lights, stands, some Duvetyne, some stingers. Now you are at about $1,250.00. Find a used C-Stand with 40″ grip arms, should be able to locate for about $80.00 ea. Now you are at $1,410.00. Spend the rest on some Cinefoil, stingers, gels, C-47s and a few scissor clips and grip clips and you are in business for right around $1,500.00.
You have assembled a basic lighting kit for $1,500.00 that is all professional quality gear that you will never outgrow, you can just add to it as your lighting needs expand. You will have a kit that functionally blows away any stupid Lowel or Britek kit or anything you assemble from Home Depot worklights.
This is very close to what I use as my solo travel interview kit except that I don’t have the mogul base Chimera lamp, I use one of my old Lowel V-Lights in my small Chimera, which is also a 500 watt open faced light like the mogul light. And I used an Arri 150 fresnel instead of the Lowel i-Light as a hairlight but that’s just because I already owned a couple of Arri 150s from a kit, the i-Light works just as well for this purpose and costs almost 1/3 as much as the Arri.
Enjoy and let me know what you think!
Dan
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Hi Ty:
Three point lighting is more of a concept than a lighting kit configuration. What are you planning on shooting? Lighting a roundtable narrative scene is very different than lighting a single talking head interview.
It would be helpful to know what you are attempting to shoot and light, your maximum budget, do you work alone or with a crew. If by yourself, do you have any lighting experience? If with a crew, do you work with professional grips and gaffers? Do you need to fly with this gear? There are so many ways to go from Home Depot worklights to a full 3 ton grip and lighting truck and everything in-between. Fluorescent, LED, HMI, Tungsten, etc., etc.
Do you own any grip gear? Grip equipment to make all of this lighting workable and controllable is at least as important as the lighting itself.
Not trying to sound vague but you need to provide a LOT more specific information in order for us to make any intelligent recommendations.
Best,
Dan
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$2,849.00 for the camera and $2,500.00 insurance and shipping. Great deal! 😉
Dan
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Hi:
I have hired them a few times for projects, both film and video. They are not cheap, with all of the extras and options you will end up closer to $10,000.00 per day but they can fly in areas that real copters cant, even indoors.
If you need the kinds of shots they can get you, you need them and it costs what it costs. If you think they are expensive, you should hire real camera copters and Lear Jets. Then you are talking real money. 😉 I have done that too and it gets really expensive really quickly, especially with fuel costs being what they are.
Dan
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Hi Chris:
Man, I gotta say, the Hype Williams shiny floor fisheye music video is so played out, this stuff was old in the late 90s. This style has already come and gone numerous times. But I guess if you really must…but why not do something original in your own style? (unless you are doing a parody of lame music videos?)
I suspect that this could have bee done practically, not as green screen but I could be wrong. I have read articles in American Cinematographer and Film and Video and some of his usual DPs like Malik Sayeed describe how they do these sorts of shoots. It’s a lot of Mylar, high key lighting, ringlights.
Here are some interesting discussions about Hype and his music video style https://videos.antville.org/stories/1466663/
Good luck, do something original please
Dan
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Hi Malcom:
Okay, good. Sound is not an issue. Based upon what you say, your solution is simple. You hire a DP, gaffer and grip and you bring in a 3 ton or 5 ton grip and lighting truck. If I were to light this for you, assuming you have one big set and not more than one set, I would be using a minimum of 10-15 fairly large instruments. Forget trying to buy lights to make this work, you are correct, $3,000.00 would not so it. But for $3,000.00, you can hire a professional crew.
I would try to find a gaffer or DP that owns his own truck, you can make some very good package deals, especially if the guy is hungry. I did a shoot at Disneyland yesterday. I was planning on bringing my own grip and lighting, which is all small stuff. When I showed up, our contact at Disneyland had ordered their 3 ton grip and lighting truck. They had all of the right tools (HMIs, 8×8, 4×4 floppies, etc.) that I don’t own. Nothing like having the right tools to do the job, it worked out so much better than if I had tried to make my stuff work.
All the best,
Dan
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Hi:
Most warehouses are a sound nightmare. Are you shooting sync sound?
Dan
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Hi:
Sounds like the LH will do what you need as long as you are using all of those individual formats in their own projects. If you need to used SD footage in an HD project, you need the Kona 2 or 3, not the LH.
I have the Kona 3 and it is heaven, a great tool that is intuitive, flexible and easy to use. Aja rocks!
Dan
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Hi Bob:
Yes, I remember those days of Barco and Ikegamis. Kind of strange, Sonys PVM/BVMs were hands down the best monitors available for the buck. Panasonic CRTs were dogs. Now the tables have turned, Sonys are basically useless and Panasonic has come to rule the roost.
Boy, things sure have changed.
Dan
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