ChrisAdams Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 Hey guys, I'm shooting a scifi-ish music video next month. They want the talent to be holding "light tubes". I know I've seen them in movies before, like a battery powered tube, but I can't find anything like it. The only thing I can think of would be using a small Kino tube, but then you have to run wires to both sides. Does anyone know of anything I could use for this? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Phil Rhodes Posted June 18, 2013 Premium Member Share Posted June 18, 2013 You can get fluorescent tubes which have the wiring run unobtrusively along the tube: http://www.londongoods.co.uk/ceiling-hanging-fluorescent-tube-system-355-p.asp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freya Black Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 (edited) You mean like semi forgotten movie "Subway" from the 80's? Here they appear to have run a cable along the tube which detracts a bit to modern eyes: Edited June 18, 2013 by Freya Black Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freya Black Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 Looks better in this shot tho: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisAdams Posted June 18, 2013 Author Share Posted June 18, 2013 Essentially that is what I'm looking for...But smaller, maybe even 1 foot or 18 inches. And preferably something I wouldnt have to gaff tape and hide wires with. I'm thinking about using one of these LED lights And modifying that...maybe put it inside some sort of frosted tube. Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freya Black Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 Essentially that is what I'm looking for...But smaller, maybe even 1 foot or 18 inches. And preferably something I wouldnt have to gaff tape and hide wires with. I'm thinking about using one of these LED lights And modifying that...maybe put it inside some sort of frosted tube. Thoughts? If you go that route then I would cut off the hook, or even see if I could remove the plastic bit off the top and still have it work (depends how it works). Then it would be a bit like a tiny light sabre. Doesn't look like it takes internal batteries tho? I might respray the base a different colour or redecorate it in some way. I'd also gel the tubes different colours personally. Freya Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisAdams Posted June 18, 2013 Author Share Posted June 18, 2013 If you go that route then I would cut off the hook, or even see if I could remove the plastic bit off the top and still have it work (depends how it works). Then it would be a bit like a tiny light sabre. Doesn't look like it takes internal batteries tho? I might respray the base a different colour or redecorate it in some way. I'd also gel the tubes different colours personally. Freya How would you recommend I gel the tube? These will be seen pretty close up so I couldn't just wrap it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Phil Rhodes Posted June 18, 2013 Premium Member Share Posted June 18, 2013 Consider the sort of cold-cathode fluorescents that are used to backlight LCD displays: These are available quite cheaply online - search for "cold cathode lamp". Often they come with inverters that run from 12V, so you can straightforwardly run them from batteries and avoid having the talent cabled to the mains. The tubes themselves are about 1/8" or 3mm in diameter but they're quite fragile on their own and usually supplied in a plastic sleeve about 3/8" or 10mm in diameter. They usually come in either 12 or 4 inch lengths. The "white" is usually quite cool and cyanish, which may be good or bad for your application. They also come in red, green, blue, yellow and UV, among others. You could bunch them together and put the results inside a diffused tube (or a tube with diffusion gel) for a different diameter, more brightness, or mixed colours, etc. I have a whole case full of these things with dimmable inverters and they are very handy. P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Adrian Sierkowski Posted June 18, 2013 Premium Member Share Posted June 18, 2013 My word; that is awesome Phil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freya Black Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 These are available quite cheaply online - search for "cold cathode lamp". Often they come with inverters that run from 12V, so you can straightforwardly run them from batteries and avoid having the talent cabled to the mains. The tubes themselves are about 1/8" or 3mm in diameter but they're quite fragile on their own and usually supplied in a plastic sleeve about 3/8" or 10mm in diameter. They usually come in either 12 or 4 inch lengths. Heh heh! I was about to mention these too! I have a few in blue from the pound shop! They are very thin and small but then you could always place them inside some plastic tubing or something. Freya Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freya Black Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 How would you recommend I gel the tube? These will be seen pretty close up so I couldn't just wrap it. I would put the gel inside the transparent plastic tube! :) You may not even need to tape it but you do need to cut the gel right. Freya Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisAdams Posted July 14, 2013 Author Share Posted July 14, 2013 Just wanted to update, I got Jason Comparetto from http://www.cinemaoxide.com/ to build what I was looking for with a t8 bulb and wired it out of one end. Looks great, unfortunately the music video was cancelled by the label. I'll just have to find another reason to use it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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