Nate Schenker

One additional note: What should I do if the terrain I'm shooting on is flat? i.e. I have no way to get the HMI's more than 15-20 feet off the ground (with the tallest stands)? Even with powerful HMI's like 6k or 12k wouldn't that cause real problems with light intensity and beam diameter for wide shots covering a lot of area? For example, if i had several 6k's on 11 foot crank stands at 60 feet off, wouldn't the intensity of the light range a whole lot from close to the light to farther off, and also, it would emulate a sun very low in the sky, correct (and thus casting long shadows)? Again, not very versed in this stuff, so any help would be huge.

So I'm shooting a 25-page modern noir that takes place largely in wide-open country-side. The scene is a chase scene in a wide open field (think farmyard--green grass, open sky). I want to get some nice wide tracking shots (80 feet dolly track with fisher jib arm for height) of the chase (only two people). I'm open to a wide range of cost possibilities, but I don't think I can go much above a 300 amp genie (mayyybe a 500 if it's necessary) or 5k hmi's. Oh yeah, and this is middle of the day-ish. I was thinking several HMI's with some 20x20 sails to block out the sun, but I'm kind of green in this area, so any suggestions/tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Hey Ralph, thanks for your reply... Actually there's a good chance I'll have a 6500W Honda Genny on set, so 6 1k's are possible. As far as HMI's go, all I could do would be a 1200W flick-free. So would you recommend the 1k's geled or HMI? Also, as far as diffusion material goes..

So I need some advice about this lighting scenario: I'm shooting on a rooftop at night in the Boston area on a very limited budget. I want to give a blue moonlight effect, very stylized (not realism). I have considered several options and talked to many people. My initial thought was to use an HMI, but after discussing this many people have frowned upon this option. So, for a cheap option to cover the most area with a sort of blueish moonlight, here's what I am looking at: Several (6-8) 1kW lights with 1/2 or 1/4 CTB blasted at a distance through an 8'x8' butterfly with diffusion material to unify the light sources and give them maximum spread to cover the biggest amount of area. As far as materials go, this is where a big question exists: after much research I have come to the conclusion that if I go this route, either grid cloth or half/full soft frost would be best for using multiple light sources and wide spread. Does anyone have any suggestions as far as these ideas go? Any potential problems? Keep in mind I'm on a very limited (student) budget. Oh, and I'm shooting on digital HD 1080/24p. Any help would be huge! Thanks!