John Baustian

I'd be *really* careful with magnesium. It burns extremely hot and it could set your whole gag on fire.

Perhaps I didn't emphasize it enough, the cheapies are OK for incandescent, i.e., tungsten, lamps. I haven't tried it, but I don't think CFLs would be happy. The electronics inside of the CFL are still getting 220V, though only for part of each cycle. Most likely, something inside would get fried.

I recently did this kind of gag. We used a 1K with a full CTB, on a slide-type dimmer. During a take, I worked the dimmer up and down, more or less at random. We got the effect the DP wanted.

The cheap, lightweight unit is essentially a light dimmer, permanently set at 50%. It works for things that are heating devices; irons, hair dryers, coffee makers, etc., and of course, incandescent lamps. It chops up the 220 volt coming in, then the heating element or filament averages that to something equivalent to 110 volts. DO NOT use these for anything electronic! You will probably be very unhappy if you do. The big, heavy, and pricey unit is an honest-to-god transformer. It will keep your electronics happy, even if it is a pain to carry around. Hope this is useful.

I'll give it a try. HMIs and flourescents both convert electricity into light by the same basic principle, that of passing an electrical current through an ionized gas. The key word is ionized. Keeping the gas ionized requires maintaining the applied voltage within a particular range, while controlling the current. (Too much current can damage the lamp.) Dimming these lamps requires some specialized electronics, which is beyond the capability of most dimmers used for tungsten lamps.

If you are in the LA area, Filmtools (www.filmtools.com) seems to have the best prices on stingers that I have seen. Raw cable is less than what you pay at the home centers. I'm a DIYer by nature, but their prices for ready-made stingers was not much more than what it would to make them myself.

I'm certainly not a key grip, but I have been gripping for close to a year and a half on student and indie projects. I can lay dolly track and put speed rail together, and I am basically handy with mechanical and electrical things. If that sounds good to you, send me an email. Thanks. John

I have lately noticed references on craigslist and mandy to a listing service called procrewbook.com. Does anyone have any experience with them? Is it worth my $59 a year? Thanks John