Alexander Smith

Here in Atlanta riggers put swamp boxes on all of our big distro boxes (600a and up) ALWAYS. Well cover up lunch boxes with rubber matting, plastic, cellomesh, or anything really and try and get it up off the ground if its raining by resting it on a spare piece of 60A cable or something.

6k, 12k, and 18k HMI's and tungsten bigger than 2k get rain hats when it rains, mostly to protect the lens from breaking. In the summer time you have to be really attentive with it because leaving them on in light rain will cause the head to overheat (it gets really hot down here, even when raining).

When the light has to be pointed upwards in the rain a rain hat wont do, well get the grips to give us a 4x4 frame of heat shield to protect the lens.

4k and down, all ballasts, and putt-putts get cellomesh (aka stinky wrap). Stinky wont melt when these things get hot like rubber matting will.

Shockblocks (GFCI's) are occasionally used, but not required with most rain really. Unless you're working near large bodies of water or have lights submerged in water.

So as not to introduce twist into the cable. Every loop you make puts a 180 degree twist onto the line. Over under alternates the direction of the twists, so they cancel. This reduces tangling and makes the cable lie flat when you uncoil it.

 

 

 

 

 

-- J.S.

This is true, however on sets over here I've seen people get yelled at for using it on stingers and poop. Even though the set lighting technicians handbook says to use the over under method. Sigh, people always think their way is the only way, so I just always over-over it and twist it counter-clockwise when uncoiling it to remove the butts.

Would a high-wattage step down converter like the ones listed in the link below (7500-15000w) modified with the appropriate connectors be able to convert a dryer's (or Honda generator's) 60hz 30a @ 240v to 60hz 60a @ 120v and power a 5k tungsten or 4k hmi?

http://www.voltage-converter-transformers....ransformer.html

Id time it a little on the cool side and use less fill to avoid it feeling like a "daytime" shot.

Isn't morning light more orangish than daylight? Its supposed to be closer to tungsten than daylight is my understanding if not more orange than that. So the more cool it looks the more it will look like midday and less like morning, IMO.

If you want a softer window light you'll need a larger diffusion source than 3x3 unless you plan on using the window curtains as further diffusion.

The taxi cab scenes in the beginning of Suspiria deserve mention.

Will do, Matthew.

Hey Kevin! I live in GA and just finished working on my first feature. Ive worked on countless short films and documentaries. You can check out some of my work at alexandergsmith.com. Check out the Dixie Times trailer for my 'gritty/realistic' look.

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Alexander G. Smith

mail_at_alexandergsmith.com

alexandergsmith.com