Dan Salzmann Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 Greetings all. Can anyone tell me what needs to be done to have a two tube fluorescent fixture such as one finds in 70's offices or smaller units in remote gas stations flicker like there is a ballast problem. Kind of like a random Frankenstein effect if you know what I mean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidSloan Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 If you can rig your own tubes and have them pass through a Shadowmaker, it's pretty easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Phil Rhodes Posted March 25, 2005 Premium Member Share Posted March 25, 2005 Hi, The best solution I've found for this is to put one on a variac - that is, a variable transformer, not a triac dimmer, which will quickly be damaged by such treatment. By varying the input voltage you should be able to find a point where it will flicker, and this is more realistic than just flicking a switch on and off. The starter will age very quickly under this kind of treatment, but they're not expensive. Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest colleen Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 Dan, We have this thing at school called a Magic Box. We were just using it today on the space ship because it gives these untimely flickers. I don't know if that is a solution or not. Colleen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Preston Herrick Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 (edited) Here's what I did on a "no-budget" production, and it worked perfectly. Hung my flouro unit, ran power through a box I built with a momentary pushbutton switch, had a grip/PA push the button randomly during the take. You can see the effect in the very last shot of this teaser. Edited March 25, 2005 by PrestonHerrick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Nyankori Posted March 26, 2005 Share Posted March 26, 2005 Here's what I did on a "no-budget" production, and it worked perfectly. Hung my flouro unit, ran power through a box I built with a momentary pushbutton switch, had a grip/PA push the button randomly during the take. You can see the effect in the very last shot of this teaser. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> nice work; what did you shoot that with? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riku Naskali Posted March 26, 2005 Share Posted March 26, 2005 By varying the input voltage you should be able to find a point where it will flicker, and this is more realistic than just flicking a switch on and off. I second that. The flickering point will change when the tubes warm up, though. So it takes some fiddling to keep them flickering over time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Preston Herrick Posted March 26, 2005 Share Posted March 26, 2005 nice work; what did you shoot that with? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Thanks. Shot it with the Panasonic DVX100A. The teaser doesn't do the camera justice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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