Todd Terry
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COW Coin
Forum Replies Created
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I’ll take Tom’s frames idea one step farther.
We have made several frames out of conduit, I think they are just as good if not better than our “real” frames.
We don’t tighten the screws though… one side of each connector is permanently screwed in and the other end is left loose. I have 1/4″ elastic shock cord running through the tubing and connectors so the whole frame stays together tight, yet pulls apart and breaks down into one compact unit (shock cord is actually kinda pricey, but I bought a big 100′ roll of it on eBay for about $8). For bigger frames (6×6+) we also cut the long pieces in half and they are joined by straight conduit connectors, so a full 6-by folds up into a single piece just over 3′ long.
On two opposite sides we have welded two 5/8″ posts to the frames so they can be mounted in grip heads just like you would usually do.
My other cheapo homemake tip is for holding 4×4 foamcore bounce cards. You can buy a Quaker clamp (duckbill clamp) from Matthews for about $65 or so… or you can take a pair of ViceGrips that you probably already have laying around and weld on a 5/8″ post and two sheet-metal jaws… exactly the same thing, for about seven bucks.
T2
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Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
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Hey Steve…
Yeah, that probably works, sounds about like the shower-curtain material that I found (which was only like fifty-cents a foot, by the way)….
I’m sure there’s a real rag that will do the equivalent, but I just haven’t landed on it yet.
I’m not above making one (putting on the webbing and elastic loops, pounding grommets, etc.), but I’d rather just buy it.
Anyone?
T2
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Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
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Welcome, Michael.
Buy those 1000LEDs yet? 🙂
T2
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Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
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Yeah, as, I’ve said, I know how to do it… it’s just that in practicality it doesn’t easily work well that way.
Usually in commercials buildings that don’t have traditional kitchens, or bathrooms with GFCI hairdryer plugs… no one ever knows what is on what circuit or where the breakers go… etc etc etc… and can’t in practicality can’t start just flipping the (invariably unlabeled) breakers to see what goes where.
Not a problem with an easy solution….
T2
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Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
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Hi Randy….
We have made homemade versions of those using the printable sheet acetate that is used for making overhead projector transparencies (I wasn’t aware anyone was still using overhead projectors, but they still sell the stuff in packs at the office supply store).
Just make your pattern (in Photoshop, or whatever), and print it out on the clear sheets. The sheets have a slight texture on one side, that’s the side you use if you have an ink jet printer. The other (slick) side is for laser printers.
They seem to be fairly heat resistant, too. The downside is that you are only going to be making cookies that are fairly smallish…. 8 1/2″ x 11″. I guess you could create bigger patterns and print them on multiple sheets taped together… have yet to try that.
T2
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Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
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[Mike Cooper] “From reading more into Kino Flo, it really makes sense for me to consider them”
Depends on what your other usage might be. If you plan on doing a lot of this exact kind of work, Kinos might be the way to go… great for greenscreen.
T2
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Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
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Actually, Steve… that’s kinda interesting. I wasn’t aware of a device like that. It wouldn’t solve all my problems by any stretch, but could be a tad useful.
It’s not really an impossible situation, at all… just a bit inconvenient. I’ve yet to be in a situation where we absolutely couldn’t use the instruments we have… it just takes a bit of tiresome trial-and-error (and often annoying people) that we would like to do without. I’m big on convenience.
I’m probably stuck with the instruments I have for now. I can’t buy more Jokers unless I were to sell the 1200s… just can’t justify the cost. It’d be nice though… almost as much light with a head half the size and a ballast probably a quarter the weight. Wouldn’t have to lug around as many bigass junior stands, either. Sigh… maybe next year.
I didn’t sweat the weather thing at all, was a bit amused myself… especially since we were there shooting promos for the weather team… and using their suggestions as to where to juice from…. haa.
T2
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Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
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Hi Richard…
Thanks for your reply, and I really appreciate you taking time to call your grandfather. That was above and beyond the call.
John beat me to the punch, though… but he’s right, that gadget unfortunately won’t do what I would need it to… not without hacking into walls and conduit, etc., plus it doesn’t solve the problem of easily knowing what circuit goes where, which breakers feed each outlet, and such.
I guess I was looking for some kind of “MiracleMeter” that one would plug into an outlet and it would analyze what’s going on with a particular circuit, what loads are already present, etc. Oh well… I don’t think the tool that I need exists, outside of say some kind of sensor gadget in a science fiction movie.
Much thanks, anyway…
T2
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Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
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Sure… screw on a clear UV filter and that will do the job.
T2
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Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
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Hey Michael, thanks…
Yeah, unfortunately I know how it should be, but it rarely seems to be actually wired that way… we’ve been in some mighty funky buildings and its just impossible to determine what breakers actually go where, and what is isolated and whats not, etc etc etc.
Fortuantely all of our HMIs have Edison cables that are typically at least 50′ 12guage (and I think one is even 10), but that’s not the problem. The problem is solving the mystery of what loads are actually already on the circuits in unknown locations… and the people there are never of any help.
The vast majority of the bigger locations where we need the daylight gear are typically businesses… without typical kitchens where you know you have better luck isolating breakers or bathrooms where there are dedicated GFCI plugs for hairdryers, etc.
I know my load limits and capabilities pretty well… I just don’t know theirs, and therein lies the problem
I guess I’m in need of some sort of magical load-testing instrument that doesn’t exist… at least I’ve never heard of one that will show you the load that is already on a circuit.
T2
__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com