Ross Neugeboren

You don't want to burn skypans face down. The 5k DPY globes are limited to a 45 degree from base down burn position. A 90 degree angle changes the cooling characteristics and could cause globe failure, so your concern is valid. Alternative fixtures to be used could be Mole MaxiCoops with your choice of PAR 64 globes. As with any tungsten source at such a framerate you are going to be subject to flicker. The benefit of multi-circuit fixtures such as these is phasing the 3 available circuits each on their own phase. As I understand it, the major issue with tungsten fixtures smaller than 5k is the flicker as a result of the filament's decay time between AC cycles. Since the phases are all tapped 120 degrees out of phase from each other, this ensures that as one phase cycles out, another phase of bulbs takes its place. There is a thread on this technique here: http://www.cinematography.com/index.php?showtopic=54634&st=0&p=364461&hl=+high%20+speed%20+shooting&fromsearch=1entry364461 Alternatively, if you have a strong Best Boy Electric and/or generator operator, you can look into the use of rectified DC, which eliminates the cycling problem. There is article on this here: http://provideocoalition.com/index.php/aadams/story/1000fps_on_a_budget/P0/ Or if you go the HMI route, make sure you get ALF ballasts. Good luck.

This forum requires the use of your first and last name as your username. Please go into your "profile settings" and change it. In regard to your question, I believe though some translation of the universe you have ended up on the wrong forum. I would suggest perusing the information available at www.f150forum.com, where I am also a member (I drive an '04 F-150 SuperCab XLT.) Using their search I was able to find a thread pertaining to the light locks: http://www.f150forum.com/f38/kc-light-locks-slimlites-135620/ Good luck in the install. There's a lot of factors in adding loads to the existing circuits in the truck, concepts to include Watts x Volts = Amps and the AWG of the cable, overcurrent protection and insulation. If any or all of these concepts are foreign to you, I would recommend the use of a professional installer. The electrical systems are complicated and central to the function of our trucks, not one you want to modify without a working knowledge of electricity. Best of luck in your F-150. Edited to fix second URL.

Try welding supply outfits. They generally either have in house gas delivery or know local gas firms. Best of luck,

They're a little more serious (and a little more expensive) but a near-top-shelf option is TCS (http://www.tcsfilm.com.) HandHeld Films has a lot of gear but Alan cuts every rental a 10-15% discount. Make sure your 1st is thorough, though. Du-All Camera is also an option. Let me know if you're looking for G/E rentals, as well.

David, I contacted you off forum. I'll see if I can get a scanner working for anybody else who needs it in PDF form. Ross

If you're shooting in New York (as your signature might imply) you probably could get some great answers specific to the aerial lift needs for your project from Pride Equipment in Islip. MOST IMPORTANTLY, you should seek out the services of an experienced rigging key grip to ensure the equipment and yourself are safely secured into the basket and that the equipment is suitable for the conditions of your shoot. For the time being, I'm certified in aerial work platform safety, and I was taught the rule of thumb for wind is 20mph. Consideration for observance of the lift's "Rated Horizontal Force" is also key, as for example tarping all sides of the basket would increase wind resistance and increase the potential of failure. The site choice is also important. You should seek the most level and firm patch of ground for the base of the condor and ensure room to extend its axles for stability before going up. While my experience lies in 80' and under straight and articulating boom lifts, they generally feel very loose when moving but are relatively unfazed by wind and other conditions, locking up well when the hydraulics are set; even with hundreds of pounds of lights mounted to the basket. You and your assistant should be harnessed in with full body harnesses to the enforced attachment points on either side of the basket controls. A rigging key will keep you alive. Be safe.

Hey Karl, Makes sense, shooting framerate divided by projection framerate. Thanks! -Ross

I'm considering shooting 600 feet of 16mm daylight stocks sitting in my fridge at a high frame rate to capture pump-track bicycle riders in slow motion. I was able to determine that at a frame rate of 60fps I would have 6:40 minutes of running time, but in referring to high frame rate shooting I had heard there is a difference between running time and real time. something like a second of screen time is x seconds in real time. Do any formulas exist to determine this compression of time? I fear that on 600 feet we don't want to roll out immediately, especially if we decide to go up to 100fps. Any general tips about shooting outdoors at a high frame rate would be greatly appreciated, as well. Thanks in advance, Ross

Coincidentally, I'm planning a special effects lighting transition for a timelapse from day to night at the moment. The centerpiece of my design, which is somewhat less complicated as we're shooting on the 5D so I'm working with smaller sources, employs a small jib rigged with a baby junior 2k and a Wybron color scroller. The 2k will be punching through a window bar pattern that will play onto the wall behind the character and about 1/2 his face, which will creep fade down as the source booms down and eventually disappears as if falling behind trees. 650w zips (for dimmer capacity, but ganged up for output) gelled moonlight creep dim up to fill the room, supplemented by some incandescent practicals. Smaller setup for a smaller set and exposure need, but it may be scaleable. As you said, three 10ks on cranks flying on dolly track does have the potential to get lost in translation, though of course weighed against the trouble of getting a jib large enough (I'm no dolly grip, but a BBG I worked with did it with a fisher model 23 on a fisher 10.) You were talking about changing the quality of light as the move ended, perhaps the light flying would allow your jib op to fly the fixture closer in to accomplish that. Further, I've also heard of pulling the fresnel lens for a sun effect, but I have yet to come across or take my own set of photometrics on that move. As you said, you're looking for output... As for the color shift, I had resolved to deal with that via a color scroller, which I was gonna give a test to see if it could move between a daylight-> warmer -> moonlight spectrum on the three RGB color wheels, or if I would need to custom load it with some CTB/CTO/combos cemented together on the wheels. Sounds like a very neat approach, though. That's the fun thing about lighting, so many ways to skin the cat.... Regards, Ross Neugeboren

As for the bulb cost, I'm glad you posted here first. If I'm reading this correctly, the store wants $115 per tube?! Kino safety coated 2' daylight tubes are $22 a piece. Otherwise, $130 for a 6 pack of tubes.If the price is for a 6 pack , that might be reasonable. Technically, no matter what tube you buy you're looking for two things in the tubes: color temperature and the associated Color Rendering Index. Adrian Sierkowski has a great explanation of CRI in this thread: http://www.cinematography.com/index.php?showtopic=47505&st=0&p=329610&hl=cri&fromsearch=1entry329610 Kino tubes have a high CRI, color accuracy and wavelength. The closest match would be the GE cinema plus tubes, which I think actually come in at a higher price than the kino tubes. That combined with the price and safety coating more suitable for film environments make the kino tubes a good combination for the fixtures. Hope this helps.

Hey Zander, Sounds like an awesome setup, I was reading the AC article on how they lit the ring scenes in "The Fighter..." with a lighttools eggcrate. Good stuff. In thinking about it, the solution to your problem might lie in two parts; reducing the overall weight of the rig, and reducing cost to accomodate whatever freestanding rigging you may need. For both, you might want to reconsider the choice of fixtures by replacing the mighties and mickeys with 1k and 2k nooklites... which theoretically will deliver the same quality and amount of light once you get it all through that silk anyway. The broad sources might even save some headaches of the throw you'd need between the open faces and the silk, or bring down the amount of fixtures required to fill the silk evenly with a limited throw. I don't know how your rental house prices... but at least the ones I deal with in new york are fairly close on the pricing between a 2k nook and a mighty, but offer about $15 savings between a 1k nook and a mickey. In both cases, the photometrics line up. That might justify the added rigging cost. For that, without being able to rig off the ceiling, I have three suggestions. The simplest is a goalpost style rig, but substitutes a single piece of spanned speedrail for a vastly stronger 3 pipe truss rig; using fittings like these. http://www.cinemagadgets.com/productdetail/mounting_equipment/pipe_mounts/3948 and http://www.cinemagadgets.com/productdetail/mounting_equipment/pipe_mounts/3950 or some variation in 1-1/2" speed rail. Most likely when you're all said and done, that would require two or four crank stands to get up high. In that situation, I would imagine two separate goalpost rigs positioned parallel to eachother with speedrail runners perpendicular would allow a grid to be built. Otherwise, borrowing a page from the rock rigging book, and from a setup very similar to your own from the monster lighting newsletter: http://www.monsterlighting.com/uploaded_images/IMG_1317-744158.JPG the use of box truss and two genie material lifts on either side. In that case, the sources were two 4x8' ultra-soft 16k sources designed by monster (http://monsterlighting.com/mobox.php) but in your case speed rail could be cheeseborough'd perpendicular to the truss to support your sources and frames of silk. Those genie lifts fit through a doorway and box truss is pretty darn strong, so that could be effective in keeping the rig simple but safe and easy. The most elaborate solution would be borrowing a page from the advanced rock rigging book and employing a tower supported freestanding square of box truss, which involves chain motors. In a setup like this one, http://i01.i.aliimg.com/photo/v0/358578071/Tube_Truss_Box_Truss_Space_Frame.jpg the towers could fit in with the MMA arena feel,and the square combined with a grid of speed rail cheeseboroughed to the box truss, or more box truss within that outer square forming a grid, you could hang a serious amount of light. Granted, this solution while rock sturdy would most likely require the assistance of experienced rock riggers; which might exceed budgetary manpower restraints. Well, hope any of these solutions might be in reach and suit your needs. I'd be happy to CAD out an example or explain anything further should you wish to see it laid out first or evaluate further. Good luck and may you be blessed with an understanding line producer, Ross

Also see this thread http://www.cinematography.com/index.php?showtopic=50987&pid=348247&st=0entry348247 for a great discussion of camera mounted ringlights.

I think you're looking for a ringlight that encircles the lens and provides some on-axis fill of the talent. While I don't own one personally, litepanels and kinoflo both make them. http://www.litepanels.com/lp/products/ringlite_cinema.html http://kinoflo.com/12VDC%20Systems/Kamio/Kamio.htm Otherwise, we sometimes make our own (for locked off cameras) using foamcore and bare kino tubes, which allows you to arrange it in any shape you like. Obviously, that requires the ballasts and all to be tethered to distribution. Also, we've rigged 2" tubes with http://www.filmtools.com/kinoclamp.html kino clamps and some 3/8s rod or a noga arm to the camera, which still requires AC power.

In addition to Kinos, You also might want to consider Litegear's Very High Output LED Literibbon. The adhesive backed strips have some great photometrics and are available in 3200 and 5600 kelvin. Litegear has a great write up on Mike Bauman's work on last year's VW punchdub super bowl commercial. For some past work, he had built arrays of the litegear ribbon affixed to thin plexi scored every inch horizontally, which allowed him to create curved lightweight and low profile sources that could be taped wherever needed. http://www.litegear.com/literibbon-on-the-job-vw-punchdub/ As for power, your post brings to mind member Guy Holt's write up on his "Battverter" rig for the feature "Shuttle." He custom built a rig with two marine batteries, an 1800w inverter, and was ultimately able to power something like four 4' 4Banks rigged inside and outside the vehicle. To keep the batteries charged, they wired a stick of 2/0 off the bus' alternator. http://www.cinematography.com/index.php?showtopic=37098&st=0&p=305094&hl=+shuttle%20+bus\&fromsearch=1entry305094 Noticing that you're in LA, you might want to give Kino Flo's rental department a call. They have a readymade inverter and marine battery (battverter) rig in two flightcases for rent.

Depending upon how the fixture is lamped. While the tungsten tubes are more suitable than quartz, they lack the 690-800nm red spike characteristic of quartz with a green spike 20nm or so above true chroma green which starts to get at a nice key. Kino manufactures special visual effects line tubes.Those do exactly as you say, the blue tube peaking at 420nm and the green tube peaking at 525nm. They give a nice even key, flatten out the screen nice, but come with a marked increase in that color output and you've got green spill to deal with, so out comes the magenta.