[Erik Anschicks]

There are several methods, one of my favorites is to use a small florescent like a mini-flo and just wrap a bunch of diffusion around it or otherwise slow it way down and place it slightly above camera-level and then move it left or right until it’s in the right spot. Could easily do the same with an LED or a larger flo, like a kino single tube, what matters more is the shape or effect you want to create. As the others have pointed out, you can dim it or take it almost down to nothing to control spill, as long as it’s ON (and the right size/shape), the eye will reflect it as long as it’s placed right.

One off-the-wall trick to create a very unique eyelight in some situations is to use Christmas lights wrapped around themselves or something else and backed off until the ratios and size are what you want. They give off little light in footcandle terms, so they don’t fill very much and create interesting light shapes and tons of reflections since you’re basically using multiple point-sources. Be judicious with the amount you use though, as too many wrapped too closely together will just start to bleed together and ruin the effect. Don’t use diffusion either to slow them down further for the same reason, use ND gel or black hairspray or something akin.

I learned about this via the Lord of the Rings DP who used this to create an ethereal eyelight effect for the Galadriel character. I believe they even nicknamed it the “Galadrielight” 🙂

[Erik Anschicks]

Thanks Rick, and I agree with you about small units on C-stand arms, I should have been a bit more specific.

The extension length is the main factor, since that’s where the weight starts to add up quickly. I’d say anything relatively lightweight that you need to arm out further than what a regular 40″ arm would provide (and not start to bow the arm, as you said) is where I’d start to use a combo stand. I’ve put tweenies and smaller units on the end of a C-stand arm if I just needed a little extension, and appropriately bagged, it’s been just fine. I wouldn’t go further than that though in terms of weight and yes, always hang a sandbag on the opposite side as a counterweight. When I start to need a real boom arm though, I’d ALWAYS put that on a combo.

I should add that all of these scenarios are for indoor use. For outdoor use with wind and weather issues, I wouldn’t trust flying hardly anything for any extended period of time without a combo stand, especially here in Chicago!

[Erik Anschicks]

I agree with Rick and Todd about the knuckle placement. You always want the arm that is extending out to be going in the same direction that the knuckle tightens in. As Rick said, stand BEHIND the stand with the arm extended in front of and away from you and the handle for the knuckle should always be on your right. This way, the downward force of the object applies pressure to the knuckle, causing it to tighten more.

The second picture where you show the foamcore shows the INCORRECT position, as both knuckle handles are to the left from where you’re standing and taking the photo. Try pulling down on the arm in that configuration and you’ll see that the knuckle will loosen as you do, since you’re working against gravity. In the opposite (correct) configuration, the arm would tighten the knuckle.

As for the leg placement, you do indeed always want the highest/largest leg under the arm or light because that leg can absorb the most pressure. Tipping it over in that direction will be the most difficult. Place a sandbag on that highest leg, and certainly add another if you’re using more weight. Speaking of which…

BIG SAFETY TIP: When arming out something lightweight, like the foamcore in the photo or a flag/net, you can indeed use a (sandbagged) C-stand. However, when using something heavier, like a small light rigged onto a boom arm and extended, use a Combo/Jr. stand and NOT a C-stand. A combo stand is much more robust with a wider leg base and therefore has more stability than a C-stand. Really anytime a boom arm or something larger than a C-stand arm is used, it should be on a combo and probably have a sandbag on the opposite side as a counterweight in addition to bagging the stand itself. I see pictures or examples of people arming out FAR too much weight on C-stands all the time and it is a serious safety hazard. I understand that combos are heavier and less easy to travel light with, but I believe they, and the appropriate amount of sandbags for them, are necessary anytime flying things around the set comes into play.

[Erik Anschicks]

Are you primarily concerned with just lighting the talking heads, or do you want to be able to light the backgrounds/atmosphere as well? If both, you’ll probably want to have a couple different kinds of lights, most likely soft light for the talent and some more controllable sources like fresnels for backgrounds.

There’s also the question of size/portability. If you need something that breaks down and sets up very quickly and is pretty small, then yeah, bi-color LED panels would be fine. I would recommend getting a couple of them that are pretty strong so you can have the option to soften them even further by knocking them through a diffusion frame. In addition to being more flattering, you can get enough coverage to light more than one person in the frame if needed. A couple of good ones with a travel case and stands should be around $1600-2500 depending on how high-end you get.

You could also do the same thing with flos as well. They’re not quite as energy-efficient as LEDs, but they’re plenty close enough to not concern yourself with tripping a breaker. In my opinion, a larger-sized flo is often softer and more flattering right out of the box then your typical LED panels are. That’s another option, especially if battery power, a typical advantage of LED’s, isn’t a real necessity.

[Erik Anschicks]

Personally, I wouldn’t say that Tegras will be outdated compared to LED’s in the near future, mainly because the difference in power consumption or heat generated from flos to LED isn’t nearly as great as it is with traditional tungsten fixtures. Also, Kino Flo is a known and established brand that make wonderful products that can last for a long time if not totally abused. As such, I don’t imagine anyone would be put off or think of them as outdated or inferior for quite a while.

The main benefit for me with LEDs over flos is that they don’t have traditional bulbs. Most of my worries with Kinos deal with transport and footprint of the fixtures and bulbs. You have to carry spares and different color temp flavors that take up space and then there’s nothing worse than a million bulb shards everywhere if they get crushed. However if I read your question correctly, it appears you’re thinking mainly for studio use, which I think would minimize the drawbacks. If you go LED, I would advise you to NOT cheapen out (not that I’m assuming you will!). LED units that have great color rendition and build quality do exist, but they are not cheap. Then again, neither are Kino Flos! I have not used the product you’ve linked to, but I have heard good things about the company.

For what it’s worth, I own and use Area 48 remote-phosphor LED panels from BBS lighting and they are awesome. Better specs on paper than the light velvet one and I can attest it’s color and output are truly impressive. A similar alternative are the Cineo lighting products, LS or HS. The only “drawback” to these types of fixtures is that you can’t dial the color temp in with a button in the fixture itself, you have to swap out panels that have different color temps. So that’s somewhat less convenient and quick. HOWEVER, that enables you to get better color fidelity and output, since you’re basically bypassing the inherent limitations in LED bulbs themselves. Each method has their pluses and minuses. Kino Flo also makes their Celeb line of LED fixtures, which I don’t own but have used and been impressed by.

At the end of the day, I think the performance in light quality, provided the LED’s are high-quality, would be pretty darn comparable between them and a Tegra. As such, it’s more about your workflow needs. Tegras are much bigger and heavier and have traditional bulbs. LED’s have a smaller footprint and might be a bit more flexible, but that might not necessarily matter. Do you need a wider throw? How much do you plan to use diffusion, if at all? IMO these are the important questions.

[Erik Anschicks]

It didn’t even take a full HD monitor to detect it! It showed up on my on-board monitor, which is a 1200×800 TVLogic (a great monitor, btw). So I’d say your concern is very valid.

You’re right, the much greater detail resolution would probably be much more of a problem with 4K broadcast standards coming. Along the same lines, I’ve also wondered if some filters might have a similar issue, specifically ones like Schneider’s Classic Softs that have the small lenslets built in. That can already be an issue at certain apertures now.

With regards to the sensor designers, I’d like them to develop a better cleaning solution, or at least a better protective layer-type system that can cover the sensor while changing lenses. Gates in film cameras were much easier to clean as there wasn’t a sensitive electronic control there to keep pristine!

[Erik Anschicks]

You will definitely see dust/dirt on the sensor of a DSLR/digital cine camera in regular 1920×1080 HD, and will probably even see it in a monitor. I am a bit of a fanatic about this because I had a particle of some sort get on the sensor while doing a commercial spot. It was clear as day on the monitor and would’ve totally screwed me if we didn’t have a 2nd cam. Attempting to clean the sensor on site (unless your AC is specifically trained in such and has the right tools) is insane to me, because you could make things MUCH worse, further contaminating or even damaging the sensor.

I took mine to an authorized Canon repair shop for a cleaning and they said that they recommend a sensor cleaning every 6 months or so, depending on how heavy the usage is. Reason being is that a lot of times it isn’t a single particle that causes the issue, but rather a buildup of tiny, unseen particles that can over time essentially get clumped together. Their description was much more technical that that, but you get the gist!

[Erik Anschicks]

That’s dicey, at best. Theoretically yes, it should hold if one does the math, but HMI’s often use more juice when they initially fire than they do when they’ve settled down and running their constant draw. It’s quite an inexact science, which is why you should be quite conservative when it comes to power estimates.

I would go with a higher capacity generator, I don’t really see the need to lock yourself into a 2K one when bumping up to be safe wouldn’t really cost much more.

[Erik Anschicks]

The Cineo lights I’ve used are indeed excellent, and I have no doubt that they stand behind their products. Honestly, I probably would have gone with them if there had been at the time a middle-ground option output-wise between the HS and LS. It seems Cineo is really trying to build a large fleet of products that all have similar characteristics and compliment each other, which I always think is best. But the Area 48 hits the sweet spot in between the HS and LS and so far it’s worked out great for me, and have recently bought a second.

Unless I need to compete with a very large window or some other bright location, two of the Area 48’s going through a 6′ or 8′ frame, either directly or as a booklight, has been more than enough lumens. It’s become my go-to keylight for a good deal of applications. They’re also light enough to be flown, whereas I’m not sure I’d be comfortable with the weight of the HS at close to max extension on a mini-boom or something akin, especially if the power supply had to go up too. But hey, different strokes for different folks, they are both clearly quality products!

[Erik Anschicks]

Craig:

To your questions –

– I didn’t measure the distance exactly, but I’d guesstimate it was around 8-10 feet from the wall. Yes, they are dimmable, from about 10-100%, and there is minimal, if any, color shift at all. When I tested them, I metered them once at full blast and then at about the lowest setting and they changed AT MOST 1-200 degrees Kelvin, and sometimes there was no color difference at all.

– The DLED4.1 pulls 40w of power, but is the lux equivalent of about a 125w HMI. Quite bright really!

– As far as I can tell, the throw is exactly like a traditional fresnel.

– It’s really not a new lens design, as I mentioned before Dedolights have a patented aspheric lens system that have been used in their previous units that’s been installed in these. I think you mean more like the panels, which have a bunch of small individual LEDs close together. Those indeed have very limited throw, punch, or control. The actual LED in the Dedo, as well as what’s in the litepanel Solas, Zylights, or Moles, is one big bright one designed to replicate the single-source bulb design of traditional tungsten fixtures. I would imagine the Mole isn’t totally different from the Dedo in this regard, so I think the retrofit would have similar performance when it comes to light shaping.

– Yes, I meant a Source Four fixture that’s like a traditional theatrical Leko design, which can be razor-sharp or softer by adjusting the barrel to affect the focus. The Dedo can’t do that out of the box, but you can by a projector kit with shutters built in that can make it do so. The front of the DLED4.1 is the same size as the DLH4 tungsten ones, so you can use the same projector kit, accessories, or barn doors on the new DLED’s as you could with the older ones.

– Yes, I would agree the Dedo is a sharper, more clean beam than most fresnels. That’s part of the Dedo “look” per se, where it’s meant to eliminate almost any light spill so as to offer the highest level of control. When you do that, by definition you get a sharper beam. I’ve found a bit of VERY soft diffusion, like a very light frost, replicates the smoother fall-off of a fresnel beam pretty nicely. That being said, I personally rarely feel the need to do that.

I’d rather have that level of control and then soften it later if needs be. A hard light is the most flexible type you can have. It’s been said on this forum before but it bears repeating: You can always make a hard light soft, but you can’t do the reverse. I don’t always NEED the level of control a Dedo offers, but just knowing that I can make that light do about anything I need it to makes it worth it to me!