Dennis Size
Forum Replies Created
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I second that p.s. !!
DS
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WOW! An hour??? I must be slower than I thought!
DS
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There are so many great books available ….. Blain Brown’s is also one of my fav’s — despite errors, which makes it even more “fun” 🙂
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It’s too bad you can’t afford to hire a “teacher”; you’ve purchased an excellent lighting kit and it’d be a shame not to use it effectively.
You should contact area TV studios, especially with location ENG news crews who are “running and gunning” lighting all the time. If you can convince someone to allow you to “tag along” you’ll learn a wealth of tricks and techniques — especially in handling your great gear. (Most lighting cameramen and shooters will be jealous when you tell them what you own!)
Perhaps you can convice a local commercial shooter to provide some “lessons” in return for allowing him to use your gear “free” of rental.
You could also buy a book or two — but that’s that same as listening to me or anyone else bullshit about gear in this forum. You’re never going to learn how to swim if you only read about water.
If you do want some books, check out https://www.focalpress.com.
LIGHTING FOR DIGITAL VIDEO & TELEVISION by John Jackman, LOCATION LIGHTING FOR TELEVISION by Alan Bermingham, or LIGHTING FOR TV & FILM by Gerald Millerson (way above your level, but the “bible” for lighting)
are some good choices.DS
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Historically the Altman 360Q — one of the more “economical” lekos on the market — has always emitted a beam of light that was slightly “greenish” due to the glass used.
As I said before, you’re using the wrong lens. I assumed for such a short distance you erred on the wide angle side. The 6″ x 16″ lens is made for throw distances of about 40′-0″ (also useful at 30 feet if you don’t mind the small beam spread), and will never achieve a sharp focus at 20 feet.
As I said, for your distance you need a 6″ x 12″ lens tube (or even a 6″ x 9″ if you need a bigger beam spread).
Your best bet if you’re never projecting at the same distance is to purchase a zoom leko (ellipsoidal).
ETC makes an excellent 25 degree to 50 degree zoom ellipsoidal which would be ideal for your range. If intensity is not as important, but size and weight is, the Source 4 Junior zoom would be your “best friend”.DS
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I’m sorry you ended up with a 360Q (How’s that “green” beam of light working for you?)
You’re using the wrong lens for the distance you’re trying to project your gobo at. You will never get a sharp image with an inappropriate focal length lens.
I would guess you have a 4 1/2″ x 6 1/2″ fixture (maybe even a 6″ x 9″).
For the distance you’re trying to light you need a 6″ x 12″ lens tube.Out of curiousity, what is the beam spread diameter on the surface at the distance you’re lighting?
DS
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Just ask for a 4 meter lighting boom with a 50 pound base (or whatever metric equivalent they stock). They will most assuredly have it…and know what you’re asking for. You can speedrail to it…but I would recommend 1 1/2″ Schedule 40 steel pipe. Cheseboro (pipe clamp) a one meter pipe to it as a crosspiece of whatever length you want and hang your lights from it.
Live large and get two booms and connect them with another 4 meter schedule 40 pipe or speedrail (aluminum conduit)…forming the goalpost that John was telling you to set up way back in the beginnning of this thread.Get some sandbags for your bases to be safe and make the job even heavier.
DS
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To clarify:
The directional silk doesn’t have fibers in it to diffuse light. It is etched to spread the beam of light lengthwise. When using directional silk put the etching — or “grain” (which is obvious to see) opposite of the direction you want to spread your light.
For example, if you need to spread your beam of light horizontal, then your etching grain should be oriented vertically in front of the light.
The silk is made by several different color media/diffusion companies (LEE, GAM, ROSCO, APOLLO, etc), and comes in a mylar based “gel” form — available in 3 different flavors of diffusion quality. You can buy it in rolls or sheets.
I usually use the ROSCO products (either cinegel or roscolux). Their versions (and product numbers) are ROSCOLUX #104 – “Tough Silk”; ROSCOLUX #113 – “Matte Silk” (my personal favorite); and ROSCOLUX #160 – “Light Tough Silk”.
You can purchase this product from any theatrical or television equipment supplier.
As a sidenote, the diffusion with the fibers in it — is known as “Spun” diffusion (ROSCOLUX #105 – “Tough Spun”). It is a wonderful diffusion that comes in several gradients. It holds up EXTRMELY well to heat and layering, and creates an exceptional soft quality ….especially when several sheets are layered and spaced apart (one in a frame, one or two on the barn doors). There’s not a show I light that I don’t use several rolls of “Light Tough Spun” (ROSCOLUX #106).Stay silky soft.
DS
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BINGO !
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This is a conference room…not a studio — it’s not even an ENG shoot.
Carolyn will be lucky if she can even buy/borrow/steal/ one light. If she is able to obtain one light, she will still be stuck with no one to install/hang/focus/ position that one light properly. Art aside — when you only have one light and you need to shoot someone’s face — the ideal position is from the camera point of view, not above the subject, not behind the subject, not to the right or left or any other “artsy” Rembrandt position.
This is Videoconferencing …. and at it’s worse — in a school environment, not a corporate environment where there’s money available. The lighting needs to be basic, simple and clean — and provide visibility to a person’s face who’s trying to secure funds for student’s computers. It needs to be free of shadows and evenly washed …think driver’s license “portraiture” lighting.Frankly, once the fluoros are color corrected, a few judiciously placed bounce cards, hung angled from the ceiling trouffers, might
provide, enough “eye fill” to improve the look of the subjects. Unfortunately, lighting will always take the blame when, in fact, in this particular situation I suspect none of the cameras are properly balanced (…and they’re probably the equivalent of cheap security cameras).
My experience dictates that a good video engineer cleaning up the camera set-up would make a world of difference.DS