Don Bachmeier

The safety screens came along later but they should work fine with Quartz Ds. They are highly recommended.

Chances are that the room's '20 amp' circuits are actually more like 15 amp breakers so they would trip before a 20 amp breaker on an outlet strip. Watts/voltage-amps.

Ask your supplier about the EMF 220/240volt 800 watt 3200K Don Bachmeier Lighting Applications Specialist Lowel Light

Every lamp (bulb) manufacturer can have bad batches occassionally. If you buy several at the same time it wouldn't be unusual for them to come from the same batch, so it can seem like a light is suddenly eating lamps. Don Bachmeier Lighting Applications Specialist Lowel Light

I believe that is a model C.

You can order the real Mole paint right from them. Other than that you can try high-heat engine paint in black or white.

The lavender in the window is a nice variation from the usual CTB. I'm going to 'borrow' that. What is "Hokums on the walls where the candelabras and paintings." ?

Thin wood boxes. A seperate one for each size or a larger one with seperate compartmens for each size. Use cardboard (or some foamcore reflectors) for dividers. I use the flags in each box to seperate them.

It is a still image (istock) so most likely strobes; and possibly an optical trigger. No telling how much Photo Shop was involved in the image. In fact the whole thing could have been assembled in Photoshop. A recent episode of Photoshop TV showed a similar image made from a seperate splash and a bottle image. With film, and slow motion, a high frame rate and syncro-strobe lighting or a whole bunch of level from continous sources. with DVAM, probably not. The apple would have moved through the shot in less than the time it takes to capture the frame. Zip, a blur at best. Cranking up the shutter speed would make a slower playback speed choppy looking. Get a fish tank and give it a go. Check back with the results. Always looking for new ways to do things. Good luck,

The tilt on the DP is a little stronger so it might take a Medium Chimera but have a small wrench handy. A Chimera medium is a good sized box so there isn't much tilt before it hits the stand anyway. The speed ring modifaction I mentioned was with a Chimera DP speed ring. I didn't personaly do it, I saw someone else's. He used the 5/8" stud and used it with a C-stand grip head. Be careful to not use the DP focused to spot. Could be rough on the inside diffusion panel. Especially on the Video Pro series. You might consider a deeper bank than the Video Pro Plus line for the DP to be sure the diffusor is evenly covered. I think the next size up (depth wise) is the Quartz line. Consult chimeralighting.com for specifics or shoot them an email or a phone call, they're good people.

While it is done all the time, you should know that the constant friction tilst on the Omni and DP were not intended to support the offset weight and will have to be tightened so they don't droop. The Omni and Tota is very commonly used with XS and S sized Chimeras for news work. Chimera makes speed rings for just about any light you might imagine and I've adapted some speed rings for lights they weren't intended for. I have seen people modify the speed ring with an umbrella adaptor (the Manfrotto one Chimera uses for the Tota speed ring) or a 5/8" studd to take the stress off the tilt mechanism of the light. It seems to be a more stable setup but I don't know how Chimera feels about it.

"Director of Videomatography" I like that. Right in there with 'Photon Wrangler' -back to our regularly scheduled broadcast...

Having started with still and motion film and now primarily digital video and still: I remember when setting an f or T stop within a half stop (5.6/8 split, etc.) or even calling for a 1/3 rd over or under a stop was considered persnickety. A few DPs would ask for 'a needle' over or under. (We would tease them if they were including the shadow from the needle.) With the digital light meters now routinely giving readings in 1/10ths, does anybody really call for it that specifically or do you just use it as a reference to decide which way to fudge within a half or third stop? Do you vary your method between film and digital? A related can-o-worms- I haven't used the latest round of HD cameras (the last was 1st gen. F900). Beside most of the range being in the shadows, has the dynamic range come any closer to negative film? Do you tend to shoot HD with a meter or are the zebras enough for you?

Jessica, Nice you came out from behind the curtain. (wizard reference there) I will add my vote to encouraging your active participation. I have appreciated your contributions on CML as well.

PROKIT 111, Power Road Chiswick Roundabout London W4 5PY Tel 020 8995 4664 Fax 020 8995 4656 e-mail: enquiries@prokit.co.uk website: www.prokit.co.uk I don't know if it is out of your way. If not in stock they should be able to arrange for it. Perhaps give them a call to be sure.

Matt's advice on using warmer light and avoiding light clothing are good. Avoiding brightly colored backgrounds helps too. Anything to bring the contrast range of the shot closer to what the film or camera can handle. Using large sources close in, just out of the frame, help a lot. Softboxes, diffusion frames, etc. They don't necessarily have to be bright. Realize that the skin tone is actually dark and try to avoid the knee-jerk reaction of blasting in light to try to make it lighter. Don't forget to consider the option of cutting light from brighter parts of the scene.

Haze up the room if you want to see the beam and either use a real follow-spot or a theatrical ellipsoidal. You might get a similar effect with a barndoored fresnel with extra effort. You will most likely still need to have some soft fill in the rest of the shot if you want any sort of detail from the background. If you use a real follow-spot be aware that some have a colder color temperature that either needs to be delt with or accepted as and effect.

Consider putting at least one Tota in a softbox with an egg crate. You might have to bulb it for 750watts. A small hard light in the 100-300watt range would be a nice addition. Don't scrimp on the accessories.

A common technique is to use physically larger light sources. Not necessarily brighter ones. Often you need to work them closer in to make them effective. Also realize that the skin is indeed darker and should look it. Don't fall into the trap of trying to 'make' it lighter. You are probably dealing with contrast issues so avoiding brilliantly white clothing will do wonders. It also helps to be able to have the ambient light at a similar level. Again, you're attempting to adjust the contrast to an acceptable level for your film or video camera. Adding a few 'edges' can help define the subject if the lighting becomes too flat. Some have advised using color on dark skin but beyond a hint of CTB or CTO it looks a little too 70?s to me. Unless it is motivated of course.

I went through three pairs of the regular Setwear gloves in short order. Wore them right through. Excellent dexterity picking up the coffe cup though. Started using the Setwear Pro model with great success. My meaty paws split a few seams before I got into the lager size but they have lasted through some awful hard use. Splinters, wet muddy cables, and jagged metal handling in all the four seasons of North Dakota. I have a pair of the Hot Hands in my portable kits but they have mostly been for use by other people using my lights. In everyday use the Pro model has worked fine for up to a 5K, though I wouldn't leave my hand in front of the lens for any length of time (no matter what gloves I was wearing). For adjusting the barndoors, placing scrims and general gripping they are my choice. When I do steam engineering I have a set of good old White Mule gloves (with the canvas backs). They seem to be twice as thick as the usual work gloves and are meant for handling nothing finer than a wrench but they are great for actually laying hands on a large hot fresnel. Iti is still best to consider letting the light cool a bit and/or handling instruments that large with help.

The Source Four PAR is commonly used for live event and concert lighting which is a combination of theater and film/video production. It is built to the same quality as the Source Four ellipsoidals. Barndoors don't seem to work as well with the PARNEL as they do with the PAR version. But you don't have the extra glass lenses to haul around. Either way they are not fresnels, if you are looking for that kind of control. However if you are looking for wash lighting, something for a bounce board or through a diffusion frame they are very handy. The efficiency of the output compared to the wattage is the main thing (to me). Whether that offsets the extra weight and price is up to you. The newer versions take 750watt bulb as well as the older 575watt. I've examined but not used the Star PAR. It appears equally as rugged. It may have a slightly higher output. I've seen some trucks with UniPARs on them instead of the usual PAR64 rock and roll lights but I haven't heard how they've held up.

Perhaps a large piece of foamcore with a small hole for the lens and worked in very close. Take care to light it very evenly. Dealing with the lens flare is something else. I'd be interested to hear what you finally did.

Are there not smaller wattage bulbs for Redheads? That in combination with a couple full sets of wires (scrims) will get you from full power to next to nothing output. Don't be surprised if your bulb life goes down a bit if you regularly stack scrims. Sometimes contains the heat; though I don't have much experience with Redheads.

2 1/2 and 10 watt bulbs are handy to use in practicals. While warmer than 3200 they tend not to be as Jolly Rancher Orange as larger bulbs that have been dimmed. Also useful in one of those edison sockets that plugs right into the end of a stinger. Quick close-in fill and such.