Westcott Scrim Jim for small and compact grip and lighting package

[Alexander Sutton Hough]

Hi,

 

I am building up my own small grip and lighting package that can fit in my car (Scion XB 2nd gen with 49 cubic feet of cargo space) for small and low budget shoots that wont have a grip truck. Types of work this would be for are low budget short films, music videos, interviews, and commercials.

 

The width of my car is 2 inches shy of fitting 4x4 frames, floppy, silks, nets, reflectors and beadboard that don't brake down.

 

I am interested in the Westcott Scrim Jim series for 4x4 and 6x6 (or a 8x8) frames and there fast flag series and love there collapsible for quick or tight situations.

 

Any suggestions or warnings about going with Westcott Scrim Jim and fast flags?

 

Also any suggestions on a compact grip and lighting packages that can fit in a large car or small SUV?

 

 

[Michael LaVoie]

The width of my car is 2 inches shy of fitting 4x4 frames, floppy, silks, nets, reflectors and beadboard that don't brake down.

 

 

4x4 gel frames and bead are almost always the dealbreaker to the DIY grip package in anything smaller than a van. Have you looked into a roof rack? Could be a useful solution for 4x's . If you put them all in a 4x choroplast sleeve box or bag and rig that it should be safe. I don't know the dimensions of a scion though. If it's super narrow, maybe not.

[Edward Lawrence Conley III]

I don't think the Fast Flags would be worth it unless you travel.

 

$165.00 and you only get one frame.

 

Not my ad but you can get used grip easily enough in this town

 

https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/pho/6183587311.html

 

18x24 and 24x36 size will fit in your car.

 

 

If you want to, swing by our shop one day to see how much stuff you can cram it the Scion. You can take your time to see how your package would best fit.

 

I have both the 4x and 6x Scrim jim, pretty much all the grip. Not much in continuos lighting since we are primarily a Still Photo rental shop so our main lighting is Strobes.

[Daniel Klockenkemper]

Since you're in LA, most of the grip / rag companies will happily make you something custom - the Rag Place has "Any size available upon request" for basically every item - though there are off-the-shelf things that should work for you:

 

Canvas Grip has 42" x 42" floppies made for SUVs; I've creatively (and just barely) squeezed a couple of them into a full-size sedan - http://www.canvasgrip.com/p/FL35.html

 

Modern Studio has a 40" x 40" floppy, as well as floppy cutters in lots of sizes - http://modernstudio.com/product-category/technical-fabrics/flags-cutters-floppies/ The 4 foot wag flag might also be of interest to you. Their nets are offered in 30" x 36" off the shelf - http://modernstudio.com/product-category/technical-fabrics/framed-scrims/ Modern will also happily make something custom for you, I imagine putting a different fabric over a 40" frame wouldn't change the price much at all.

 

I work part time at a lighting and grip company and we have a lot of items from both the above companies. I'm sure there are similar products from other vendors, too, if you dig through their catalogs.

[Adrian Sierkowski]

when this has come up with my g/fs Scion; i find just strapping the 4x4s (or in my case, 4x4 shiny boards in their case) to be perfectly fine. It would be best to make up a type of holder, which you can carry all your 4x4 in and then have a way to ratchet it.

[Jaron Berman]

Scrim Jims are fabulous. I was incredibly skeptical the first time I saw them like 15yr ago - they're very weak looking, plastic corners... BUT the clever aspect is that they're basically "unibody" meaning that each element helps strengthen the other - so each element may be light and weak but together it's quite strong. Since then, they've updated and strengthened the system quite a bit, but I had no issue back then - and even in some moderate wind outdoors the system worked quite impressively.

 

Lighttools makes egg crates, rag place makes custom rags - it's a pretty flexible system overall and sort of unique in the amount you can do with a system that fits in a tripod tube.

 

Now, something bonus is that the westcott led panels are compatible with their scrim jims, so when you are in "the system" it's all legos/tinkertoys and you can build some really interesting stuff. A friend of mine has a bunch of 1x2 wescott flex mats, which build up to a 4x4 VERY bright panel - using scrim jim hardware. He builds a quasi-booklight using the hinge corners, super low-profile, super bright. Anyways - it's a great system. If you need panels that are portable and light, I have never found anything that does what the scrim jim does as cheaply or flexibly. No reservations, no matter how weak it looks - it all comes together. And replacement parts are available - so every 5yr when you snap a corner or bend a tube you can replace it.

[Eric Dargan]

Matthews Grip makes 40x40'' steel frames for less than $50 that will fit in your car and you can skin with whatever you'd like. You may need to make your own fabrics or have them made since it's an unconventional size.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/144511-REG/Matthews_539190_40x40_Cutter_Frame.html

 

Edited April 27 by Eric Dargan