[John Sharaf]

Nels,

While I have shot in Idaho, I don’t remember hiring lighting crew there, so I can not make a personal recommendation, but I could recommend that you search the Mandy.com sight for Lighting Gaffers and/or DP’s in your area and query them over the phone about their expertise as a means of deciding. If I were to do the job, I’d essentially charge you a scout and prep day and then another day later on when you get your gear for the installation, at about $600 per day.

JS

[John Sharaf]

Nels,

The Kino Flo tubes are specially manufactured for photographic use and do not require any gel nor correction, just white balance and go.

They are not appropriate for background lighting (unless of course it’s a chroma screen) and cook would have no shaddowmaking effect. You should consider some Source Four Lekos with gobo patterns for this. When used with dimmers you can adjust to complement the foreground intensities. They can also be lamped with either 575 or 750w globes; pick the right one for your situation and select a wider lens like 50 degrees to cover the backround at close quarters.

The Kinos make excellent backlights as well, as they can be placed close in a cramped set and not overwhelm with intensity, and the effect of wrapping around the head and shoulders is great for a natural looking separation.

The size of the Kino can be comparable to a softbox, yet you’re using less wattage and making less heat for exactly the same effect. Consider the 4′ Fourbanks because they are an even larger source than the 2′ Divas. I don’t recommend mixing the Divas and conventional Kino Flos, so if you do favor the 4’Fourbanks, complete the kit with conventional 2’Fourbanks and 2’Twobanks. This way the color of all the tubes matches more consistently, especially as the units heat up. The only difference is that the Diva’s put out more light, buit that should not be an issue with the use you’ve described, in fact you’ll want to mold the light level down with any of these instruments to force your iris wide open for short depth of field to fuzz-up the background.

JS

[John Sharaf]

Neis,

The type and number of lights used for a particular scene is determined by its content; what is the background, size of the footprint, are there daylight windows or other strong sources to contend with, etc.

The concept of “pre-lighting” for dead-hang three unique looks/sets is not a bad idea, and will save a lot of repetitive setup and tear down, and if your company is willing to capitalize such a purchase I would not advise against it.

In general, from what you’ve described, the best choice would be Kino Flos, because, as I’m sure you already know, they are very efficient (use little power), make very little heat, can be easily configured for daylight or tungsten and create a nice, large soft source which is especially appropriate for portraiture. Furthermore they are much cheaper to buy and lamp than HMI’s which should be reserved for when larger quantity and strength of light is needed to contend with windows and such.

Furthermore for sake of redundancy and stocking spare globes and other parts, I’d recommend that you use the same units for all three setups if practical, and your selection of 200 & 400 Divas would be a very good choice.

Another thing to consider would be to hire the DP (or another skilled Lighting Director or company) from your favored outside production company to consult on the design, selection and installation of the lighting for the three sets. This would be the most professional approach.

JS

[John Sharaf]

Florin,

I don’t really know the Z7U camera, but I’m fairly certain it does not have an HD-SDI output, so either you’ll need the Analog Component Input card in the switcher or an outboard Analog Component to HDSDI Converter (like AJA or Blackmagic).

I know you say you’re a beginner, but a switcher like the 400(A) is a landmine with scores of boody-traps. I highly recommend you either download the manual from the Panasonic website and study it religiously, then prep/practice with the setup before the day, or hire someone familiar with this piece of gear to work with you. This is a great way to learn!

JS

[John Sharaf]

From page 83 of the manual, as published on Panasonic webite, see below:

5-1. Selecting the video format
One system (input/output signal) video format can be selected.
1 Press the [FUNC] button to light its indicator, and then press the [SYSTEM] button to display the SYSTEM
menu.
2 Turn [F1] to display the Format sub menu.
3 Turn [F2], select the format using the Mode item, and press the [F2] switch to enter the selection.
An asterisk () appears at the left of the format currently selected.

Format Mode↓ 16:9SQ
1/16 1080/59.94i Off
1080/50i
720/59.94p
720/50p
480/59.94i
576/50i
On

JS

[John Sharaf]

Hi Robert,

Pray tell, what’s issue with legs? I can only guess it’s the shadow on the floor.

Obviously you need to light the whole figure as if illuminated from the same source, just back your key up so the circle of even light is uniform from head to toe, exercising care not to spill it onto the green screen. Keep in mind a proper match in the quality of light to what will eventually be composited into the background; the more the direction and quality of light matches the background plate, the more convincing the whole effect. Of course if the background is just graphic or abstract then of course it doesn’t matter.

JS

[John Sharaf]

If you’re going to offer a list of 10 bit 444 cameras, you must also include:

SONY F23
SONY F35
SONY SRW900

But more practical would be any HD camera that outputs 10 bit 422 through the HD-SDI port (like PDW700/800, F900R, EX3. etc) and record on AJA KiPro in the 10 bit ProRes codec. The advantage over the current HDV method will be dramatic.

JS

[John Sharaf]

Jared,

I don’t know for a fact how the Apple spots were done, but I did shoot behind the scenes on some eHarmony spots that were the same look. Sure enough they were done a large white cyc, with the white exposed at 80ire.

I believe these Apple spots were done the same way, now the iPod spots were surely greenscreen.

JS

[John Sharaf]

I know a TV engineer named Chuck Ferris that has a collection of old broadcast gear, but I couldn’t find his contact into.

JS

[John Sharaf]

Mark,

Of course you can do this and have the benefit of the pure photographic colors of the KF globes (in fact I do so in my shop), but when used with the proper KF ballast the light operates at double the frequency, both doubling the tubes output and eliminating flicker at off speeds.

JS