how to build lighting tubes sculptures efficiently ?

[Ron Fya]

Hey guys,

 

I plan to shoot a music video where we want to have tubes rigged in some kind of a sculpted shape (see example pics).

What is the most efficient way to do it from a wiring point of view? And from a cost efficiency point of view ? Any good DIY?

Please also take into account that we will need to shoot slow motion at around 150 fps (any issues with flicker?) and that I am in Belgium (if you link to some shop).

 

Thank you so much for your help guys.

 

R.

 

 

Edited January 14, 2017 by Ron Fya

[JD Hartman]

Skip the wiring and light the tubes using a giant Tesla coil. http://www.teslacoildesign.com/

[Phil Rhodes]

Better yet: 500 gallons of my favourite compound, Bis(2,4,5-trichlorophenyl-6-carbopentoxyphenyl)oxalate.

 

(Glow stick juice)

[Ron Fya]

At first I thought "alright, jokes are already coming".

Then I thought "actually those answers may be extreme but could be real"

In the end I am not sure because it's very late here and I can barely line up those last few characters before going to bed.

So save the jokes for tomorrow guys :D

[JD Hartman]

The joke is: artistic light sculpture; efficient wiring (time savings); cost effective. You may choose any two requirements.

[JD Hartman]

Better yet: 500 gallons of my favourite compound, Bis(2,4,5-trichlorophenyl-6-carbopentoxyphenyl)oxalate.

 

(Glow stick juice)

 

 

Yes! Phil nailed it!

Contained in transparent PVC pipe sealed with white PVC caps glued on.

Here's a start, you'll have to do the currency conversion yourself. Perhaps you can find a similar supplier on the continent. https://flexpvc.com/cart/agora.cgi?product=PVC-CLEAR-PIPE-NSF-Sch40

[Phil Rhodes]

In all seriousness, many modern electronic fluorescent ballasts will handle high frame rate work. Obviously, you should buy one and shoot a quick test before committing to a large number of them.

 

Assuming you want to hide the ballasts and wiring as much as possible, you may need to be quite careful about cable lengths.

 

One concern may be ways of connecting to the ends of the tubes. Ideally you'd want something like the Kino-Flo style clamp-on caps but they're rare and expensive. When I built fluorescent lighting, I used something like this. They're really intended to be held in place by the fitting, but there's enough spring in the contacts that they will hold on reasonably well. In extremis you can use individual terminal block sections which will clamp onto the tube pins. This is actually sturdier and at least reasonably touch-proof, but I doubt the approach would pass an electrical safety check.

 

Otherwise, it's just a case of buying all the parts, suspending the tubes however you want them, and wiring it all up. If you use commercial ballasts, both they and the tube end caps are likely to have push-in terminations. These can be quick, which is great, but they're generally intended for solid-core wire. This can be a bit of a pain to deal with if you want to use more flexible, stranded-core wire. The trick is to strip the end at double the length you require, twist it, then fold it in half so you're shoving a folded end of wire into the termination, rather than trying to stick all of the copper strands down the hole. Pick fairly thin wire that will allow you to do this, although pay attention to the insulation requirements as the maximum output from the ballast is likely to be significantly above mains.

 

P

[Jack OGara]

I use the Fulham Workhorse 5 to power single Kino tubes.

It had flicker at 400-500 shutter on my DSLR but I have yet to check on the Epic.

 

Might be worth checking out.

Edited January 15, 2017 by Jack OGara