Jump to content

Running Kinos on Battery Power?


Sean Conaty

Recommended Posts

Hey Everyone,

 

So I'm shooting a movie in which the majority takes place in an elevator. We'll be doing all of that on stage. Problem is, we have a few shots in which we need to transition from the on-location elevator (that we're matching on stage) to the on-location lobby.

 

The shot is a 2 shot from the lobby looking in on the heroes and then the door closes. And visa versa: 2 shot, door opens, heroes walk out into the lobby.

 

Problems:

 

-Getting enough light into our on-location elevator so that we are not locked into having to match a poorly lit elevator when we're on stage.

 

Fortunately, we have the ability to turn off the elevator while we're lighting, but then it needs to be live during the take. This means, we can't run any sort of cable into the elevator.

 

What do you guys suggest for this problem? It's really only a quick shot so it doesn't have to match PERFECTLY what we end up shooting on stage, but I'd like it to be at least similar.

 

Is there a way to run 4ft 4Bank Kinos on Batttery Power off say an Anton Bauer brick?

 

Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,

 

-Sean Conaty

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Premium Member

Hi Sean,

 

You might try Litepanels, I think 4 or 5 of these wonderful little lights would cover your shot, you might have to test but there battery powerd,dimable, and have a surprising output. They also have a nifty set of diffusion and correction filters!

 

Hope this helps!

 

Kieran

Link to comment
Share on other sites

LitePanels is a smart call, but if you prefer / can only afford the Kino for this...

I've run a 2ft 4-bank from a car battery with a 400w power inverter (to mount on a dolly for a long hallway shot). I ran the light for about an hour straight and didn't have any problems with voltage drop. A 4x4 would work perfectly well-- just switch it off when it's not needed and you should be able to get a couple hours use from one battery.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Premium Member
LitePanels is a smart call, but if you prefer / can only afford the Kino for this...

I've run a 2ft 4-bank from a car battery with a 400w power inverter (to mount on a dolly for a long hallway shot). I ran the light for about an hour straight and didn't have any problems with voltage drop. A 4x4 would work perfectly well-- just switch it off when it's not needed and you should be able to get a couple hours use from one battery.

 

 

This would be a better solution than an array of litepanels, which might indeed be expensive to rent!

 

Thanks Matt!

 

Kieran.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Kino Flo makes an 1800watt inverter with a battery pack. It can run two 4x4 kinos all day on one charge. I usually use them for car rigs, but they will work well for this situation as well. The only draw back is their size and weight. The battery is a 20"x20"x20" cube and weighs around 80 pounds. Most of the time they have caster wheels attached to the bottom. Most rental houses will carry this set up.

 

Josh

Link to comment
Share on other sites

While Kino's are awesome ( I own a bunch) why not get marine batteries and make a lite box of 12volt lamps? 12 bolt mr16s are really brite and can be wired into a litebox of foamcore really effectively. The batteries can live ontop of the elevator (through the maintenance hatch) and the light box can be 4" thick. Also most elevators have a 15 amp outlet in the maintenance panel - you just need the key.

 

 

Kino Flo makes an 1800watt inverter with a battery pack. It can run two 4x4 kinos all day on one charge. I usually use them for car rigs, but they will work well for this situation as well. The only draw back is their size and weight. The battery is a 20"x20"x20" cube and weighs around 80 pounds. Most of the time they have caster wheels attached to the bottom. Most rental houses will carry this set up.

 

Josh

Link to comment
Share on other sites

E. Read has provided an excellant idea. Most elevators have a 110v outlet for maintainence, although I recall seeing it on top of the elevator cab. Getting access to it may be a problem, hatches, at least in NYC, NY are all bolted shut to prevent accidents from "elevator surfing". As told to me by a life long elevator repairguy.

What kind of lighting is in the elevator? Cool white tubes? Bare bulbs, small pars? Anything with a socket that you can tap power from?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...