LIGHTING SUGGESTIONS?

[Guest Yorito]

Looking at the many options for lighting an office set on a small budget, I've come to a standstill. Shooting on a panasonic 100B, using source and wanting lights for fill, and close ups. I love Kino Flo's and feel a 4X4 bank and a few 2X2's and 2X4's can handle the job. I am looking for a cheaper alternative that has the durability and richness of Kinos but can still be run off house power wall units. Maybe a few arri 1K zip soft lights, or maybe a couple of peppers. Any suggestions.

Thank you for your time

[Matt Sandstrom]

is it a set or on location? maybe i just don't get the terminology right but what "source light" would you use on a set? if there's light from the windows as well as standard overhead fixtures i suggest putting 950 tubes in them and then use the kino kit you mention for fill. that should work fine. did the same for a hospital location recently, though we also had a 1200 hmi to create a consistent sun. very handy. we used ambient sunlight too though, which doesn't vary as much as direct sun does.

 

/matt

Edited September 12, 2006 by Matt Sandstrom

[Matt Sandstrom]

oh, i read the question again and i know i know what you were asking. the answer is lowel rifas. wonderful. i have a feeling another swede on this board will soon back me up on that one. :-)

 

/matt

[Guest Yorito]

Sorry the term 'Source' I was using was in reference to the "house practical" lights overhead. This is a location, not a studio set so in order to stay inexpensive I was going to use the overhead house lights. As it is video I don't see what the positives are in swapping all of the overhead flourescents to Kino bulbs. It is a comedy short and the lighting is not that dramatic. I do like Lowels, but agree with most in saying that they are not very durable, however the Rifa's look like they may do the job.

[Matt Sandstrom]

oh, your use of the terms was fine, it was me who wasn't sure i understood. :-)

 

i'd say on video it's even more important to switch bulbs. i mean you can white balance to them, but that will throw your kinos and any daylight off instead, and with video these things really show in my experience/opinion. especially since you're making a "comedy" that's not supposed to be so "dramatic".

 

/matt

[Michael Collier]

is the ceiling going to be seen at all? If not you can turn them off and bounce off the ceiling. I did that for a feature that had a lot of work in a small dorm room, turned out great. Your other options are neg green on the units (it works pretty well to cut sheets exactly as big as the unit, and cover the entire front diffuser on the overheads from the inside, otherwise gel tubes work well.) or you can plus green the window. If you neg green no correction should be needed, but if you plus green the window and your daylight fill, make sure to use a R40 filter (you can ballance it out with whitebalance, but for best picture filtration is always best, unless you need the extra sensativity.)

 

If you need a cheap fake for a kino, you can always double diffuse or bounce and then diffuse (if you need it more shallow) and get the same sort of softness/falloff. B&H sells reflector kits that have zip pannels (giving you white, silver, gold and black surfaces) with a 1 or 2 stop diffuser inside. I picked up a 4x8 white bounce and a 4x8 1 stop diffuser for under 100 bucks. Put a light or two between them and you get crazy soft light (watch out, you also get some spill if not well flagged).

[Dino Giammattei]

I spend much of my life working under just these conditions. Messing with a couple to a dozen four foot lamps in somebody else's place just isn't an option sometimes. Assuming it's either overheads or darkness, I prefer fooling the WB for longer shots but play it more honest with portrait framing shots. I own a popular white balancing and WB fooling system and actually ended up modifying them to decrease their effect. Those clever folks should add an eighth and sixteenth versions to their system. I use them more than the originals! What ever you do for the close to the camera lighting, use some bits of color in the background on everything. Warm or cold as needed. Gels ain't that expensive, and short of blowing the budget at the rental house, a little ingenuity can get you some very nice looking stuff with todays cameras.

 

DinoG