I want an "under 50$" lighting gear.

[Kain]

Do you any lamp(any type) to use in VIDEO lighting that cost around 50$

To use with both sony pd-170 and sony pd-150 or panasonic mini-dv 3ccd.

 

I need to do the demo for my film project. but in some case, I'm short in money.

Thank in advance for your help.

[ranichols]

Do you any lamp(any type) to use in VIDEO lighting that cost around 50$

To use with both sony pd-170 and sony pd-150 or panasonic mini-dv 3ccd.

 

I need to do the demo for my film project. but in some case, I'm short in money.

Thank in advance for your help.

 

You'll need to get creative and do some testing.

 

I picked up some 500 watt halogen work lights for low budget lighting. I haven't yet used them. They have wire protectors over light which probably would have to be removed and diffusers added somehow. But you can probably find them in your price range.

 

I'm toying with the idea of making very portable lights out of those "1 million candle power" flashlights you see advertised in auto stores and various places. I'm thinking of putting a big fresnel lens in front to spread the beam, or some other diffuser. You can find pretty big fresnel lenses used for reading aids. Or bounce it into an umbrella reflector. Another good item to experiment with is the windshield sun shields, which work as reflectors.

 

A good video camera is pretty sensitive so you can experiment with normal light bulbs in the high wattage range to see what you get. Color balance is the main problem, so you just need to play with that and see if you can get something you like.

 

I think lighting is an art that takes a while to get the hang of and tough to do on a budget, but we'd like to hear what you come up with. Wish I had something really useful for you.

[timHealy]

Other than a flashlight with diffusion on it have you thought about Chinese lanterns with larger than household bulbs? There are fairly cheap, lightweight, have built in diffusion, and are easliy powered by your average household electrical outlet. They work great on grip stands that keep them up right so the hot bulbs don't lean against the paper. Or you can hang them too.

 

this guy advertises on this website and makes a good frame for a lantern that can be mounted to grip hardware easily:

http://www.lanternlock.com/

 

There is another west coast guy who makes a spring loaded harness that works well too but I can't remember the name or the website

 

Best

 

Tim

[Brian Wells]

http://www.lanternlock.com/

Nice link. I wonder what the operating and maintainance costs would be? The fixtures look very affordable at only $85 for a complete 24" lantern. However, the recommended 1K Chimera lamps sell for $48 each at B&H! Any idea what kind of lifespan they have? This looks like a nice kit overall, but the operating expenses worry me. Otherwise, I'm ready to buy several at that price!

[Freya Black]

You'll need to get creative and do some testing.

 

I picked up some 500 watt halogen work lights for low budget lighting. I haven't yet used them. They have wire protectors over light which probably would have to be removed and diffusers added somehow. But you can probably find them in your price range.

 

Actually, you might want to keep the wire protectors unless you have in mind to weld barn doors on them or something. They might provide you with a bit of protection if anything bad happens. Also they are useful because you can clip stuff to them.

 

On a video shoot I did, I tried to create diffusion by getting baking paper (the kind you put inside ovens) and clipping it to the front with WOODEN clothes pegs. You don't want to be using plastic clothes pegs because it gets very hot, and you also don't want to be running this setup for long periods. Make sure you turn it off to cool down. But the work lamps are very cheap which is obviously good. I think mine were only 4.99 but then they are the silly little floor standing ones and you are probably better off with the ones that come with their own little tripods.

 

How did the lighting come out for me? Kind of horrid, but then I'm not very experienced and I was shooting on a video camera in a white walled room.

 

I'd be interested in anybody elses work lamp tips or if they have had good results.

 

I think chinese lanterns are easier to use.

 

love

 

Freya

Edited December 20, 2005 by Freya

[timHealy]

Nice link. I wonder what the operating and maintainance costs would be? The fixtures look very affordable at only $85 for a complete 24" lantern. However, the recommended 1K Chimera lamps sell for $48 each at B&H! Any idea what kind of lifespan they have? This looks like a nice kit overall, but the operating expenses worry me. Otherwise, I'm ready to buy several at that price!

 

 

Operating and maintainence costs???? We are basically talking about a lamp cord with a household bulb in a socket at the end. One can't get much cheaper than that. Worst case scenario is you have to replace a porcelain socket or a male hubble. Or replace the whole damn thing if a truck happens to run it over. What are the chances? (I have never seen a truck run over anything on a film shoot..wink..wink..snicker) Over time one would be spending more money on replacement lanterns as they are only paper.

 

The larger bulb they are talking about is a mogul based bulb but the main Lantern harp they are selling is a medium based socket which would be just fine for most film and video applications. You could get the mogul based one with the medium based reducer and be ready for all applications. I would stay away from using anything above an ECT (500 watt tungsten) for the medium based bulb version. The other company I couldn't remember is by a company called GEM. I think this is the same person resposible for the "Gem balls" which is basically a muslin chinese lantern and they were not mass produced. He has a Chinese lantern harp that is spring loaded and has a cage around the bulb that makes gelling easy. Perhaps some of the LA guys have a website for this guys products. I cannot find anything on yahoo or google.

 

Best

 

Tim

[Brian Wells]

Tim, thank you.

[timHealy]

ah ha! I found the other vendor of the lantern harps:

 

http://www.jemlighting.com

 

These work really well.

 

best

 

 

Tim

[Kain]

I check the price for the lamp that everyone talk about.

The price in USA is 1/2 of price in my country (THAILAND) (info from many website)

and the quality too (I'm sure of that!)

And the link that you gave me.

How about order it via internet and ship it oversea?

- - - -

Or I should buy the second hand lantern?

- - - -

I'll show you my test result of variety lighting soon. with something I currently have.

 

And another thing, If my project was grant.

Can I use it with my FILM Project (either 16mm or 35mm)

 

Thank everyone.

love, Kain

[Scott Spears]

Hey,

 

Go to my site: Scott Spears Filmmaking page

 

I have articles and video tutorials which you may find helpful. Chek out the article on low budgeting lighting and the video tips; china lanterns and grip kit goodies.

 

Scott

[Jonathan Spear]

Scott,

 

Fantastic page! Very informative.

 

Thanks,

Jonathan

[Chris Cooke]

PARs are great for low/no budget filmmakers. PAR 38, 56 and 64's are all very efficient, low cost lights. I just bought some 38's for $50.00 (CAD) and some 64's for $100.00 (CAD) with the lamps. Pound a 1K 64 flood through a shower curtain for your key, bounce a halogen worklight off some foamcore for your baselight or fill and use a couple narrow spot 38's for background hilights and backlight. Also get some black fabric from your mom's, grandma's or wife's sewing room to flag unwanted light.

Chinese lanterns are also great if you have some money left over.

[Paul Bruening]

Hey now,

 

$50.00? You can DOEEET! Go to your nearest hardware store and get clamp lights. They have a stamped aluminum deflector/concentrator, a spring wire clamp and plastic sockets. You can put up to 100 watts in each unit. Chop the cord and patch-in 25 ft. of zip cord with lots of electrical tape. Each rig will cost you around $10.00 with bulb. That gives you 5 lighting points for under $50.00. You can clothes pin tracing paper loosely to the front for diffusion. You can clamp them to the tops of doors, ceiling fans, tops of chairs, etc. They're kinda' flimsy and you'll break about half of them at the plastic socket per production. Throw them away and get more.

 

Best of luck,

Paul

[Matt Sandstrom]

For the record, black fabric from your dad's or granddad's sewing room works too.

 

/matt

[Mitch Lusas]

Great links for gear listed above.

 

As for cheap lights, I second (or third) the halogen lights you can get from Wal-Mart, Target, Home Depot, etc. When I first started DPing two years ago these were my lights for operation. I took the grids off (as they will create unsightly shadows). Get the ones with the handle for you to hold onto (In a pinch you can hollywood it very easily). There are stands for these lights too, which are quite cheap, although I would recommend making your own. We ended grabbing a long piece of wood off the street, taking off the bottom stand, and screwing the board onto the light. This created a nice boom/overhead light. Basically, there is a lot you can do with these lights in a pinch; if you're looking for quick, dirty, and cheap, these are them. The greatest thing, is that you can buy spare bulbs almost anywhere, in a variety of wattage. Another plus, because they are cheap, we were very hard on the lights, as we knew we could easily replace them.

 

I was using these lights for a gritty music video. The lighting fit pretty well. Control is definitely a problem, but if you get some black wrap, you can create workable barndoors that are somewhat effective.

 

Also, there are chinaballs at Target and I believe Ikea. WARNING: They cannot handle constant heat from a photobulb (200w-higher). If you use them to test the lighting, turn them off, and turn them back on right before each take, they are fine. When doing this, tell your crew to keep their noses sensitive (this summer one of the crew thought he smelt something burning; the plastic on the cord was burning due to trapped heat; we had left the light on for quite a while).

 

Another neat thing to get is a mirror as a bounce. It's very glaring, but with low light situations, you will find it useful.

 

Blessings, and I wish you the best with your shoot.

 

Mitch Lusas

Virginia Beach, VA

[Rachel Oliver]

Hey,

 

Go to my site: Scott Spears Filmmaking page

 

I have articles and video tutorials which you may find helpful. Chek out the article on low budgeting lighting and the video tips; china lanterns and grip kit goodies.

 

Scott

 

Hi;

 

Wow! That is a great site Scott, I like the cat in the case....

 

Olly

[Paul Bruening]

I still use those 500W shop lights. I love'em. They splash light all over but throw a useful pattern. You can relamp them for around $5.00 out of most hardware stores. I get them by the pair for $29.95, then throw the stands away. You can get the bale blocks from B&H to fit them to any stand. Actually, the bale blocks cost more than the cans. I remove the edison plug and cord from them and wire-in an orange (13 amp), 25ft. extension cord after cutting off the female end. They're useful in more ways than I can describe.