Simon j Rogers

Thanks Jon, Yes, Iv'e had a chat with the art department girls and they're working on set dressing to hide stands :) Thanks for the advice. Simon.

Thanks for the reply. Those frames look beautiful David. Tried to add the movie to my LoveFilm list in the UK but it's saying it hasn't been released yet.... strange. There are places I could rig lights above the action but i'm not sure how much weight could be supported and how I would get power to them, the place is huge and around 35 feet high so it doesn't make getting up there easy either :( There are basketball hoops on each wall about 12 feet high which I could probably attach lights too and keep out of frame, which may work to some degree. I think it's going to be a case of doing what I can within my limitations unfortunately. Thanks again.

Hi Guys, Thanks for taking the time to read my post. I have a low budget shoot coming up soon and there is a scene Im unsure how to light. The scene takes place at a school reunion in a sports hall. There will be a cheesy disco, with DJ and disco lights, and the motivation for the light will come mainly from that. The action is two characters in the centre of the hall slow dancing after most people have left. If possible the director wants to steadicam around the actors 360 degrees. I have access to 2kw and 800w tungsten lamps, set of dedos, kinos and LED panels. Could get hold of some 1.2 or 2.5kw HMI's too if needed. I also have some portable disco lights which I have used before and read very nicely on camera, at least on the foreground action. We're shooting on the 5D mk2. Any suggestions on how this could be lit would be greatly appreciated :) Simon

Thanks for the replies guys. I'll get in touch with Panalux and see what they say.

Hi guys, I was wondering if anyone in the UK, or anywhere else for that matter, can shed some light on the qualifications you are expected to have as a spark? I want to get some electrical qualifications but Iv'e been looking at courses and they mostly seem specific to other fields of work. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Cheers Simon.

Thanks for the replies guys. Ari, you're not far off in your assessment of the shoot. We shot it on two 7D's and we had 5 or 6 lights, a mixture of 2k fresnels, 800w red heads and a few 650w. Theres a still attached to show how it turned out. I underexposed the face but as the action didn't call for too much movement, not allowing her to move in and out of the light, I thought i needed some light on the face. Simon.

Hey Guys, I was shooting a film a while back and I watched the finished film recently and wasn't very happy with the lighting, one scene in particular. The film was shot in a school, this scene was shot in a long corridor, around 12ft high, 12/14ft wide with doors to classrooms on either side. There were double doors at the end of the corridor, with glass windows in them, and beyond that a stairwell. It was set during a dream/nightmare sequence and the director felt that as it were a nightmare there should be no practicals. He wanted it to look as though it was lit by moonlight. However as there was nowhere, realistically, that moonlight could come from i just tried to bounce light in to get an exposure on the faces and backlight from behind the doors. As it was really low budget and i was helping out a friend I only had a small lighting kit available, but I was just wondering how people might light such a location if an appropriate lighting kit was available.....? Cheers Simon

Hi Tim, Thanks for the reply. We only had the one HMI on set so i was unable to try a different ballast, bulb or header. I made sure the ballast had ventilation so i can't imagine it was overheating. The other lights we had were all tungsten and we were running a 2kw fresnel and two 800w redheads off the Genny at one point so I would have thought it was at fault. I guess i'll never know, i just thought maybe someone might have come across something similar. Thanks Simon

Hey guys, I had a bit of a problem with a 2.5kw HMI the other night. We were running it from a 4kw generator, 240v supply, and the HMI was all that was running from it. It worked fine for an hour and a half then started pulsing every second or so. After turning the light and ballast off for a few minutes and checking the connections we tried it again and it worked for a while but then we had the same problem. It was fairly cold, probably around 1 or 2 degrees it was raining a little bit so we had the ballast undercover, with the vent clear. After trying different cables with that light and having no luck we just packed it away and used other lights. Any idea what could have caused this? Is it possible it could have been the weather or something we were doing wrong? Thanks Simon.

Thanks for the advice guys, Yes, It is a digital shoot. I realise now that 16:9 is very similar to 1.85. I don't imagine a film out happening but it has been discussed so maybe 2.39:1 would be best. Simon.

Hey, I'm shooting a short film next on thursday and the director wants a frame wider than 16:9. I'm thinking maybe 1.85:1. My question is, what do think is the best way to do this? some DP's that iv'e worked with just mask the monitor and work off that. Is this a good way to do it? I'm a bit worried this may not be accurate enough. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Simon.

Thanks for he replies. I'm not sure whether there will be enough street light at all. the location hasn't been confirmed. but i hope there will be decent amount street light and not just a dark street. Does keeping the shot tight, using available light and adding a few 2k lights as high as possible (moonlight) sound like it might work? I dont think a silent generator is going to be an option with the budget, but i guess looking for a good deal wont hurt. I like the idea of pools of light in the graveyard. would you also add a light source to simulate moon light in the cemetary? Thanks again for the replies, really appreciate it. Simon

Hey, I'm shooting a film next month where i'm going to be lighting a street and graveyard. Only having done one night shoot i would like some advice. The film is a short Horror/Thriller about two burglers looking for an unidentified object. they are going house to house looking for it when they are attacked by a clan of hooded figures (the guardians of the object in my eyes, director may have a different interpretation). I will have access to 4 2k blondes, as many 1k red heads as i need and a range of spots if i need them. Hopefully shooting HD if budget allows, if not HDV, either way with a 35mm adapter. I'm hoping the street will be fairly well lit (Street Lights), but i cant be sure as locations haven't been confirmed. It's gonna be a steadycam shot following a women up the street and into a house. For the graveyard my main concern is lighting a wide shot of two characters walking through the graveyard, closeups for dialogue shouldn't be a problem. same equiptment availavble. Also is there any tips for using a genny when dialogue needs to be recorded? i think we're looking at ADR at the moment. Thanks Simon.

Hey Guys, Just wondering if anyone has ever used the SGPro r3? I know it's the lower end of this type of adapter but i'm just wondering what people thoughts are keeping in mind the low price. I used a redrock M2 recently and wasn't to impressed we had a few problems during the shoot, so just looking at alternatives for a similar price. Thanks, Si.

hey ira, That looks like it could work really well, thanks for the reply.

Hi John, thanks for the reply. I suggested shooting in the dark as i think we would get some nice results. i just need to convince the guy directing it to hire a generator, i think he would rather it be done in post. We haven't really discussed wardrobe in detail but it could be a simple way of showing their different colors.

Hey, Im a student film maker/camera assistant from the UK. i'm shooting someones graduation film and there is one scene inparticular i'm not sure how to light or whether it will have to be 'fixed in the edit'. The film is very surreal and is based around a love triangle with three friends. Each of the three has a color assigned to them, red, green and blue. red stands for passion, green for envy and blue for discontent. The guy directing wants a shot of the three on a merry go round in a playground with the colours changing as each character comes into the foreground. Anyone any ideas on how best to do it?