Glowing Object

[John Hoffler]

Hey all,

 

I will be shooting a student film shortly and the director was asking if there was a way to have an actor holding some sort of "glowing orb" or "ball of light" practically instead of trying to do some sort of FX in post. The talent's wardrobe requires him to wear gloves so heat wouldn't be a big issue, but I can't seem to find any info on how to accomplish this in a google search. (the ones I found on google were too dim. He wants a BRIGHT BALL of light)

 

I was trying to find some LED Balls or use a trick with a bulb in his hand and a hidden wire up his sleeve.

 

any suggestions??????

[Paul Bruening]

The glove helps. You can get the frosted glass globes from Lowes or Home Despot. They go into ceiling fan rigs. Then do the halogen lamp and wire up the sleeve thing. Glue the socket centered into the globe using clothing hanger wire and JB Weld. Put an on-off switch in-line that the actor can get to in a jam. Run an extra loop of wire up the sleeve so the actor can put down the globe and pull the hand away from it a little. That globe will get hot very quickly. Keep the wider takes short. Get an establishing shot then cheat the source light out of frame for the rest of the shots.

[John Holland]

I understand you must be on a very small budget but if you can beg borrow or steal some 3M front projection material all you have to do is cover the globe in it and have a light next to camera as close to lens axis as possible it doesnt have to be a strong light and you will see the result through the viewfinder . good luck .

[Phil Rhodes]

Perhaps you should consult someone who does close-up magic - they'll have all the tricks for this.

 

Oh, also, if it doesn't have to matchmove with his hand, have you considered a Pepper's Ghost type effect?

 

P

[Bob Hayes]

I'd think about using black lights and glow in the dark paint. Use a very light ball and hang it from a thin black thread. If you add a light fog filter you might be able to get some pretty good glow out of it.