Matthew Parnell

The Arris are pretty bad for this, its a common problem. Theoretically there is a lot more off-angle light bouncing around the head. But really in a small fresnel I haven't seen it make enough of a difference to be worried about.

The wide shots with the pool of light look more top lit, with perhaps a more subtle and controlled backlight(im on my mobile so it's hard to exactly tell) As for the The closer full and mid shots, some of them look like they were just a lensed in versions of the wide, maybe with a bit more level on the backlight, others look like they were re-lit with a hard cross-backlight and a less toppy key.

In a parallel circuit the voltage through each component of the circuit is equal to the total voltage of the system, while the total current is equal to the sum of the current draw of the individual components. In a series circuit the current through each component of the circuit is equal to the total current of the system, while the total voltage is equal to the sum of the voltages. So in the case of a DWE globe it draws 5.4A at 120V so in series the circuit total of the two globes would be 5.4A at 240V. Now in a mini brute you have 3 of these circuits in parallel, so now the voltage remains constant and the current is added together. So for the lamphead you get to a total of 16.2A at 240V. The total power(wattage) of the system, whether in series or parallel is the total of the power of all the components. So for the mini brute it is 6 x 650w, so 3900w.

Phillips make what is called the masters series TL-D 90 / 950 for daylight, TL-D 90 / 930 for tungsten, which are high cri tubes (cri in the 90's) as opposed to the mid 80's of the Alto range.

My understanding of it from reading the literature about them is that the second envelope offers a degree of protection as the outside glass envelope is a heavier shock resistant glass than the typical quartz envelope. I would feel infinitely more comfortable using an IDE bare than the biopost in the molette. If your after a hard blunt instrument the tota is a good one to look at as well.

Andrew, check out the Phillips IDE HalogenA globes. Could be used in conjunction with a custom made e40(mogul/GES) fitting or something like the chimera triolet lantern.

Phil, 4 pin dedos are 12v, 3 pin are 24v.

Find which way their bent and jump on them to bend them close to right??? Dodgy, yes, but with a little time it sometimes works. If you are lucky and can find an engineering workshop with a pipe roller, they might be able to straighten it out.

Another option Ive seen is to keep the gear dry and use a graphite powder. This saves the gears getting clogged when dust gets in with the oil/grease.

Often you don't have the luxury to schedule and block scenes entirely around sun position. For close ups during the middle of the day, with a harsh toppy sun (which we get a lot of here in Australia) a lid and fill approach is quite common. Soften off the harsh toppy sun, then fill using either lamps or bounce. How big the frame you use depends on the area you have to cover. For a quick, simple static close up a 4x4 might suffice, but for more complex shots a larger frame from a 12x12 up to 20x20 is usually required. Generally the heaviness of the diffusion is down to personal taste, balancing exposure and your on camera talent. Say you have a female actress who is a little older, you might choose a heavier diffusion to be a little more kind.

Often you don't have the luxury to schedule and block scenes entirely around sun position. The lid and fill approach is quite common. Soften off the harsh toppy sun, then fill using either lamps or bounce. One Technically in true golden hour, you have no direct sun to deal with.

A but dated, Another one to keep in mind is Light ToughSpun.

The silks and gridcloth are pretty good like that. 1/4 silk, 1/4 silent gridcloth are pretty efficient. Still get softer light(abeit not as soft as through muslin, , but the light loss is reduced.) Usually come in variations of 1/4, 1/2 and Full.

Have seen lots of spacelight globes have an uncontained failure, spray the smaller bits of glass that get through the grille everywhere and lead to having to replace the silk 'dot', surprisingly in all cases i have seen, the skirt itself was undamaged. The old pepper 100s and arri 150 fresnels are reknown for bigs bangs, generally when handled whilst on and hot. Have replaced lenses and reflectors on 5ks and a couple tweenies, pups and probably others I can't remember. It does happen. Some globes are more problematic than others. I'm not sure if being 240v over here in Australia makes the problem worse.

What a lot of ACs refer to as a 'Jobsaver'.

http://www.creativeplanetnetwork.com/digital-cinematography/news/mad-men-dp-chris-manley-breaks-down-his-job-hit-show/60249

Like most electronics, ballasts can be quite sensitive to moisture. Various components can be affected by corrosion, and moisture in combination with dust can also prove damaging. That being said Ive seen ballasts with very little maintenance come out from 3-4 years of storage in far from idea conditions and work fine. Ive also seen them arc, smoke up and have to head in for repairs as well. Putting a DampRid container or a similar product in your storage locker should help on the moisture front, just make sure you keep on top of emptying the water recovered and filling up the product. Storing them off the ground and covering them to protect them from dust entering their vents etc helps as well.

It's worth buying new ones while the dollar is low. The 40w tubes will be at least 10 years old and due for replacement. New tubes will give you another stop of output compared to the old tubes.

I meant to say, the 40e tubes have many more years of use.

Dadco still, according to their website, and last time I emailed them, manufacture the old school Leonetti Sunray Lamps. The Sunray is no longer in Simons truck in favor of matching Arris.

The 2900 kelvin variety was designed to be used in tv studios where the tungsten lamps were commonly dimmed to 80% to save on lamp life, and therefore generally ran at 2900 kelvin. The 40w and 75w tubes are actually one and the same thing. The difference is in the labeling, which i believe changed over time to comply with different standards. Kino ballasts in 4ft or HO mode overdrive 4ft 40w tubes at 75w, it's just Kinoflo tubes are designed to be overdriven to 75w. The reason why the 75w tubes seem so much brighter is actually down to the fact that they generally have many more years of use than the later 75w tubes.

Google DADCO Power and Lighting.

Brian, If you dont know this already, You should be able to get to 1/50. Just keep pressing the down button after 30mins. Took me ages to discover this on my meter. Cheers. Matt

It could be a high resistance join somewhere in your house, whether its a loose lug at the switchboard, or on the back of a socket plate.

On most Australian Productions, under the union award, the base day is 10 hours. Double time from 10 hours to 12 hours, triple time thereafter. Minimum turnarround without penalty is 10 hours. Delayed Meal Break Penalties start at 6 hours. Needless to say most episodics and smaller films tend to stick to 10-12 hour shooting days.