Pool Scene Lighting Advice

[Burak Oguz Saguner]

Hi All,

 

I will be shooting a film starting on 15 March 2012. there is a pool scene in the film that needs to be lit similar to this reference image...

 

 

 

 

Where I am stuck is that there are no lights fitted in side the pool. So I am trying to some lights to set up underwater to get the effect.

 

Any suggestions will be much appreciated.

 

Thanks for your time in advance

 

Burak

[Burak Oguz Saguner]

So I am trying to some lights to set up underwater to get the effect.

 

 

Sorry for the mistake. I meant,

 

So I am trying to find some lights to set up underwater to get the effect.

[Matt Read]

Are you saying that there are no lights inside the pool you will be shooting at?

 

If that's the case, I wouldn't worry about finding underwater lights. You won't need them.

 

In the stills you provided, the lights in the pool aren't actually lighting the pool much. In the wide, you can see a small area of orange in the pool in the lower right of frame and that's all the pool lights are doing. Everything else is out of water lights. The big blue area in the lower left of frame is lit by a source to camera left. All the water reflections on the walls are caused by hard lights reflecting off the surface of the water, not underwater sources.

[Burak Oguz Saguner]

Are you saying that there are no lights inside the pool you will be shooting at?

 

If that's the case, I wouldn't worry about finding underwater lights. You won't need them.

 

In the stills you provided, the lights in the pool aren't actually lighting the pool much. In the wide, you can see a small area of orange in the pool in the lower right of frame and that's all the pool lights are doing. Everything else is out of water lights. The big blue area in the lower left of frame is lit by a source to camera left. All the water reflections on the walls are caused by hard lights reflecting off the surface of the water, not underwater sources.

 

Hey Mark,

 

Thanks for your reply. You are right. I guess couldn't ask my question properly.

What I want to do was to find underwater lights so that the light source from pool can be seen in the image but it is all good now.

We will shoot this scene in a different way now.

 

Thanks again for your time. Really appreciate your in put

[Guy Holt]

… I want(ed) … to find underwater lights so that the light source from pool can be seen in the image but .. we will shoot this scene in a different way now.

 

However you decide to shoot the pool scene be sure to use GFCIs on all the cables supplying your lights – whatever size they happen to be. GFCIs are a must when working around water in order to avoid someone taking a potentially lethal shock. If you stick with smaller quartz lights, you will be fine with the hardware store variety of GFCI cords. But, if you use HMIs, or even Kinos, you will need film style GFCIs, like Shock Blocks, that are specifically designed for motion picture lights. To prevent the nuisance tripping that electronic Kino & HMI ballasts can cause with standard GFCIs, film style GFCIs sense on an "Inverse Time Curve." And, to deal with the harmonics that non-PFC Kino & HMI ballasts kick back into the power stream (that will cause other GFCIs to trip), film style GFCIs include a harmonic filter with a frequency response up to 120 hz. 3rd harmonics are attenuated by 50%, and by 500 Hz are down to 20%. Attenuated by the filter, the harmonics generated by dirty loads such as non-PFC Kino & HMI ballasts, pose less of a problem.

 

A single 100A GFCI "Shock Block" can provide ground fault protection on wet locations for the entire distro system of a Honda 6500 portable generator when used in-line with a Step-Down Transformer/Distro.

 

One problem with Shock Blocks is that they don’t come smaller than 100Amps. If you can’t rent a tow generator with a distro box with 100A pockets, the next best thing is a step-down transformer like the 60A Full Power Transformer/Distro we make for our modified 7500W Honda EU6500is generator. A transformer will step down the 240V output of a portable gas generator to a single 60A 120V circuit that you can put a Shock Block on. A 100A GFCI used inline with a transformer can provide safe and secure ground fault protection for an entire distribution system consisting of Bates Extensions, Splitters, and Break-Outs to Edisons – eliminating the need for hardware store 20A GFCIs that are not designed to be used with harmonic generating loads like non-PFC HMI & Kino Ballast, & LED Power Supplies. Used in-line with transformer/, a 100A Shock Block will provide a larger GFCI protected circuit than is commonly available in homes. In fact, it enables the operation of even 4k HMIs on portable generators with GFCI protection.

 

Working around a pool, you may not need a generator at all to power larger HMIs like 4ks. If either the pool water heater or pump is not hardwired but a plug in type, you can use the same transformer that would step down the 240V output from a generator to step down the 240V from the receptacles powering these devices.

 

Master shot of an iRobot commercial lit with a 4kw HMI Par (outside) & 1.8kw HMI Par (inside) powered from a 30A/240V dryer outlet through a step-down transformer/distro. Note: Sunny feel created by 4k Par on an overcast day. [/center]

 

I used a similar approach on a recent commercial for iRobot (see production stills attached.) The spot contrasted the iRobot Scooba designed to clean kitchen floors to the old mop and bucket approach. For the mop and bucket approach we had a haggard looking Mom slopping water all over the kitchen floor as kids ran slipping and sliding across the floor.

 

Left: Transformer/Distro plugged into a 30A/240V dryer outlet. Right: 4K HMI Par under rain protection powered by Transformer/Distro [/center]

 

Because we knew water would get everywhere we used one of our 60A Transformer Distros on a Dryer Plug to power a 4K HMI, a 1800W HMI, and some Kinos. We put a 100A Shock Block like the one pictured above on the load side of the transformer/distro to provide Ground Fault protection inside around the wet kitchen floor. It was a good thing that we did, because it ended up pouring rain that day and so the Shock Block did double duty for the 4k that was outside the kitchen window.

 

Left: Arri AS18 1800W Par powered from Transformer/Distro. Right: 4Kw and 1800W HMI ballasts powered from Transformer/Distro. [/center]

 

For more detailed information on using Shock Blocks to provide Ground Fault protection on Dryer/Range plugs or with portable Honda generators, I would suggest you read the article I wrote for our company newsletter on the use of portable generators in motion picture lighting.

 

Guy Holt, Gaffer, ScreenLight & Grip, Lightng & Grip Rental & Sales in Boston

Edited March 18, 2012 by Guy Holt