Dennis Size
Forum Replies Created
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The general “rule of thumb” for proper lamp life is that you should burn the filament no more than 45 degrees off it’s horizontal axis.
Frankly I could care less about lamp life. I only suggested the drop down because it’s safer, and allows you to properly pan and tilt the fixture since you’re hanging it horizontal with gravity. A 200 watt Pepper doesn’t have a lot of weight to it so you can tighten it enough to maintain it’s position. It’s much more difficult to hang a 1000w fresnel off the end of a boom arm and expect it’s pan not to slip due to gravity.DS
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Be advised, $280.00 is candy money when it comes to a proper grip stand and boom arm.
Do the job right and buy a Matthews Junior Stand with double rise…..or it’s smaller counterpart the Hollywood Beefy Baby Double Rise, and with a Rocky Mountain Leg.
You should be using a Junior Boom (#427803) that reduces to 68″ and extends to 10’0″. You should also buy a “Drop Down” (#427805) to level off the fixture hanging from the boom.
Also purchase a 25pound sandbag to keep the base of your stand stable.
All can be found at MATTHEWS STUDIO EQUIPMENT (www.mpegrip.com).
DS
P.S. It always surprises me the risk shooters will take when it comes to the safety of the subjects sitting under their gear. -
Most company’s 2000w Fresnels can be lamped down to 1,500w and 1,000w.
Just buy whatever model fits the Lightbank “O” rings that you already own.
Unfortunately you can’t “lamp up” your 1000w fixtures.
Your instincts are correct also. I always prefer using larger lens fixtures, as the quality of the light is so much better.
Even though “Baby” 2k’s and “baby-baby” solarspots are very convenient, the quality of the light is much harsher.
In many studio applications I’ve actually used 5,000w Fresnels as my instrument of choice — and lamped them down to 2,000w when necessary. Depending on how big your Chimera Lightbanks are you may need the output of a 5,000w source — especially if you’re using 30 or 60 degree “hard” honeycombs (which is the only way to go….. in my opinion!).
The bigger Lightbanks also afford you the possibility of using them on your HMI’s. -
Yes….the small quartz lightbank
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Extremely realistic, and museum quality (lifelike) mannequins are expensive, and it would be cheaper to hire a union extra to stand-in for your lighting tests.
Inexpensive mannequins (that are just made for “holding clothes” can be bought from Supply Store Warehouse @ (800)823-8887, http://www.storesupply.com.
That being said, using a frozen, “dummy” for lighting tests is not really a good idea — no matter how much make-up you put on it!
The breathing, moving, “dummies”, with real flesh and eyes, are always the way to go.
Call your local university theatre and film department. You’ll find there are students who won’t mind standing in …..for the experience of learning from the process.DS
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It will never be perfect. I tried it a few years ago and abandoned the idea of using it …….for the obvious reason.
DS
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There’s a dozen ways to do it, but none at your disposal.
My initial reaction is to tell you what I’d tell any client…..”forget it, it’s going to look like crap and I won’t be involved”.That being said, you’re doing it anyway. So bend the limitations to work in your favor.
Get a convertible. Place the car where it works best to shoot in natural light, or get an overhead silk and use your light kit to fill in.
If I were stuck with a hardtop I’d rent 3 Mini Kino Kits, or 3 MiniPlus Litepanel Kits, and mount them on the dashboard and to the back of the front seat. They would fill in your faces nicely.
I would key the talent with a half dozen variable focus Source 4 lekos on stands, equipped with Rosco spring branch gobos, and a slight color correction. I’d place the lekos as needed around the car based on my camera angles, knowing I’d be fighting the angle of incidence = the angle of reflection law. Remember also that the cameras can only shoot through the relatively small opening provided by the open window ….and some light must focus through there also.
You can light through the front window but you’ll be fighting tinted window glass — which will make for ugly skin tones (hence the dashboard front fill).Get a convertible.
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Nightime/Daytime???
Moving/stationary???
Environment/background ???
Bright upbeat/dark, omnious, dramatic???
Front Seat AND backseat???
What type of car???
How many people in the car???
What kind of car (convertible/hardtop)???
How many cameras???
Budget??????????????????????????????????? -
Check out the literature on their website. Litepanels MiniPlus will do everything you want.
I use the 1′ x 1′ “spot” Lite Panels as keylights and eyelights when I require a longer throw distance. Currently, I’m using almost 50 on a studio project I’m designing.DS
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Yes…but tell her to be careful with the Tota-light…..whose best use is to cook hamburgers.
DS