[Dennis Size]

Any tips?
That softlight reflection in his glasses is almost an “instruction manual” on how he was lit.

DS

[Dennis Size]

Can you send us a drawing of the room — with camera and “talent” positions — include measurements?

DS

[Dennis Size]

…and they are excellent.
The Nila fixtures are actually MORE expensive. When buying any of these smaller ENG LED Fixtures anticipate spending several thousand dollars for one complete light and accessories.
The CITY THEATRICAL iWhite package will be a bit less — but they aren’t the same quality as the Locaster.

DS

[Dennis Size]

There are several fixtures we’re using in addition to Lite Panels ….depending on the need, the studio, and the budget. Many of these fixtures are far brighter also.
You should check out the PRG NILA line of LED instruments — which are used extensively in the field and in smaller studio applications. The Nila Boxer, an LED fixture at 250w, has the output of a 1500w Tungsten fresnel or an 800w HMI. The Nila SL, at 900w, matches a 6kw.
On the lower end we also use a lot of Elation products such as the ELATION OPTI QUAD LED PAR.
A personal favorite is the Philips Color Kinetics LED eWhite fixture — which provides very good tungsten balance color rendition. I’m lighting a small studio next week using several dozen of them.
Many of my collegues swear by the Color Kinetics iWhite Blast TR — in which you can dial in 3200 to 5600 kelvin. City Theatrical actually sells them in kits for ENG use.
The ARRI Broadcaster/ and Locaster fixtures are also excellent for ENG work.
I just saw a demo of a small LED softlight by PRG called the TruColor HS…WOW!
The better instrumentation, unfortunately, aren’t cheap, but it’s not easy being “green”.

DS

[Dennis Size]

I’ve used almost all of the LED’s described above …and then some — but still prefer tungsten. Old habits die hard.
We’re doing many studios now all “green” with dozens and dozens of energy efficient, non-tungsten, fixtures (in one studio we’re currently designing — hundreds of fixtures)..but no dimmers.
It’s where the future is (unfortunately).
For those wanting single source LED instrumentation, in addition to the Sola, check out Frezzi’s HyLight. It’s got quite a lot of “bang for the buck” …. with several beam spread sources, and excellent color rendition, and a very bright beam.

DS

[Dennis Size]

Harry ….. If you really want to learn why what you wanted to do was not a great idea, you should go ahead and do it. You’ll probably learn a lot about optics, heat, fixture ventilation, etc.
John, as usual, has hit the nail on the head as to how crazy/dangerous what you were planning to do was, however.

As I said before, if your goal was merely to have a fresnel then just buy one …it’s a lot easier, far less hassle, and you won’t risk hurting anyone while wasting time trying to figure out why your plan wouldn’t work.
Incidentally there’s no way on earth that you could have created anything that would match the optics of the Arri Fresnel you desire; but you can own a fresnel — or several — for far less than $800.
I just did a quick check on USEDLIGHTING.com and in 2 minutes,without checking the entire website, I found:
+ a 10″ Mole Richardson Junior 2kw fresnel with accessories for $240 (a steal)
+ a 6″ Strand Bambino 2kw fresnel for $200
+ an 8″ Colortran 2kw fresnel for $100
+ an Altman 2kw Fresnel for $550
+ an Altman 750w Fresnel for $89
and, if you really want to fry something, a 10kw Fresnel for $200.

DS

[Dennis Size]

Ignoring the intense heat of an Ianabeam — which will most assuredly crack the lens — you will not be able to get the proper focal length needed for a lens of such a diameter that would be required. The optics would require that the lens would need to be further away from the lamp than the fixture will allow it to be mounted. You won’t be able to get the full range of spot to flood — one of the main attributes of a fresnel fixture.
Unless you’re a real “do-it-yourselfer” who loves to tinker with arts and crafts projects I would suggest buying fresnels.
Open faced fixtures are designed a specific way for a specific purpose. If you’re just looking to soften the beam use diffusion on the doors, or a chimera lightbank.

DS

[Dennis Size]

Like Julie Andrews sang in MARY POPPINS, “A little bit of sugar helps the medicine go down ….in the most delightful way!”

DS

[Dennis Size]

White light is perfectly acceptable … properly cued, and at the correct angles it will be quite attractive.

DS

[Dennis Size]

Where are the dimmers that control those FOH 20amp circuits?

DS