Matthew Parnell

On most lamps they will have a rating tag on them somewhere, whether it be a sticker on the lampholder or engraved on the base of the lamp. An important thing to note is that both your lamp and lampshade are rated, and a lot of the time the rating of both can differ dramatically(especially if they were purchase seperately). Your lamp might be rated to 250w but your lampshade to 60w, always take the lower number as your max. Also remember if you are using blackwrap, diffusion or gel on the lamp to manipulate the light, be aware that these items can reduce the ventilation of the unit and its a good idea to keep that in mind when choosing your prac globe.

Depends on the fitting. Although we all do it from time to time, I would avoid if possible putting a globe with a higher wattage than the lamp and its lampholder itself are rated to. If you must, do not have the lamp switched on for any prolonged periods of time, and if possible switch off between takes and when you dont need it.

Lets look at this from a business perspective. Red's business model is to sell cameras at a significantly lower margin than other manufacturers(ie Sony, Aaton, Arri). Which means to make a significant profit they need to sell in high quantities. Not only that, but to sustain that profit, in what is a fairly small market they have to sell in high quantities continuously. Because of Reds price point, they are continuously approaching market saturation. Cameras are a single sale item, you buy it once, then you have it until it breaks down, or you decide to upgrade. Meaning that to sell continuously in high quantities they need to continuously release new products, product upgrades, etc. Its just business. And ultimately it COULD be very good for development of motion picture technology. However, at present, with what appears to be the growing trend with manufacturers like Red is a lack of: stability, continuity of standards, compatibility and flexibility that we have now in the choice of film cameras. On film you can shoot the same scene on a Panaflex Millenium, an Arri 435, and a Moviecam camera with the same stock and have very few worries about it matching in post. With digital to achieve a matched look without any worries you're locked into one brand, one sensor, one codec, which might not be the best thing for the job. In terms of look, sensitivity, and image, the new filmstock is inevitably going to be the codec and sensor. Wouldn't it be wonderful if one day there is a standardized body consisting of a standardized sensor mount and standardized hardware, that is compatable with all manufacturers? Only then we will have the flexibility of choice, and reliability(driven by competition) that a film camera and filmstock affords us AND the advantages that this kind of technological development brings. Technological development is good, but without standardization it can also compromise the ability of the DOP to deliver the best results for the story they are telling. Which is really what we are all in it for.

You can get flicker generators that both internally generate the flicker which you can set various parameters into them to emulate different types and sizes of flame, but also have a photosensitive sensor that can be used to emulate a fire source that is in frame. I have seen these units capable of handling max loads from 1kva to 5kva. My favorite method of getting this effect is to have a lamp, which is flickering bounced into a suitably sized frame with silver or gold lame' which is being shaken.

David, Obviously you mis-read what i was saying. I wasn't not saying its a waste of time altogether, heatshield is highly effective when used properly, what i was saying is that if you don't leave an airgap it is a waste if time. Sorry for the mis-understanding, and thanks for clarifying that. Cheers, Matt.

If you don't leave an airgap between the heatshield and the gel, using heatshield is a of a waste of time and will more likely to do more bad than good. In terms of the longevity of gel cuts, 12-24 months of casual use is all I would be relying on getting, and that is not counting gels fading when on hot lamp heads, melting and being otherwise damaged. I think Mr Buick was talking about purchasing gels by the roll and cutting off the roll what he needs, when he needs it. Therefore he would have gel still on the roll in storage after a fair while.

Gel on a roll does tend to go off after a period of time. The biggest problem for stored rolls of gel is a form of vinegar syndrome, primary due to moisture levels within the roll. With Lee gel the sheets on the roll tend will tend to stick together and when you pull them apart the coloured layer comes off too, leaving you with a nicely paterned piece of useless and very putrid smelling gel. Depending on how far along the problem is you can sometimes you can salvage some of the roll, as it tends to affect the top layers first. Rosco tends to be better than Lee in terms of storage longevity, but when it does turn, there is no salvaging any of it as the whole roll sticks together and wont peel apart without seriously tearing. Store you rolls in a cool DRY place, away from extreme temperatures. I would not count on well stored gel to last more than about 5-6 years or 3 years in a truck. You might get much more time out of the rolls, but don't count on it. Perhaps as an alternative you could negotiate a rate for quarter of half rolls from where you purchase your gel. I know i have occasionally done this will my suppliers.

You could use lightning shutters on a larger fixture. This effect really depends on the operator, but can achieve some good results. Doesn't have as good an effect at lightning strikes, but could suit your needs. Cheers, Matt.

Hi Rolfe, Rocket Film Equipment, who produce textiles amongst other things have this guide on their site. Cleaning Guide from Rocket Film Equipment Website: Cheers, Matt.

The supergreens are great, just be sure to cut spill onto the foreground off them.

Gareth, I might know some people that could help you out. Contact me off list at matt@mirrorfilmlighting.com. Cheers.

We tend to do things uniquely down here in Oz. So here is a bit of an overview for you Hal. To my knowledge Australia uses the Wye system for all three phase applications as we have a single uniform voltage throughout the country and the Wye system is much safer in terms of ground fault protection. Our 3 Phase is 415/240 three phase. 415v Line to Line, 240v Line to Neutral. All of the single phase power used on our film sets is line to neutral. As a bit of trivia, All power from a buildings main circuit breaker/generator in Australia must be accompanied by a protective earth, and only low draw double insulated appliances may not have a protective earth attached to all exposed metal parts. It is now legal for all new buildings and houses to have RCD protection, limiting the earth to line/neutral current to typically 30mA before tripping all the power. Makes working at 240v all the time a little less dangerous. Standard Australian Plug = Wikipedia here There are 10A, 15A and 20A variations, you will only ever see 10A and 20A on set. Anything single phase above that will be Single phase wilco/clipsal or C-Form. Clipsal/Wilco = Made by the companies Clipsal and much earlier Wilco, Australia's standard 3 Phase plugs (50A and Under) Picture here. Wilco/Clipsal is also avaliable in a single phase variation. We use C-Form for everything 63A and above. Grapes = Basically a Clipsal/Wilco male plug with a loom of 3 standard female plugs coming out of it(each plug is wired line-neutral, with one plug per phase). Dizzy Board = Distribution board. As the name probably explains, the distribution board breaks out 3 phase into a whole load of single phase outlets.

Hi Jonathan, What type of 3 phase outlet is it? It is most likely to be one of the following: 20A Clipsal or Wilco(Practically the same) 32A Clipsal or Wilco 50A Clipsal or Wilco In the second two cases, the best bet would be to get an onset dizzy board. Panalux has them for AU$85 per day. A dizzy board is best because you end up with RCD and breaker protected power. A cheaper option would be just to get a set of grapes which will break the phases out to single 20A standard plugs that you can plug everything in. But you will be relying on the breaker and RCD protection of where you are filming, which is not a good idea. Also this will be a lot more messy. If you are faced with a 20A 3-Phase plug you will need to use a 20A-32A turnarround so you can plug the dizzy board or grapes in. Most importantly please realise that this method is only considered legal if it is temporary and the only suitable option to obtain the power you need(ie there isnt a 32A or 50A outlet within 50m) and you are loading it with no more than the lowest rated load, in this case no more than 20A per phase. Also you will have to be very careful in this instance to keep your load balanced(20A wilco has a notoriously small neutral pin that can do damage if you have a high unbalanced load. Edit: Spelling

Rosco Cyan 60 is one of my favorites for night exteriors, along with Lee Straw and Lee No Colour Straw. Here in Queensland, Australia, you can get them by the roll or in sheets from The Production Shop, or by the roll from John Barry Sales.

I would stick to the Select Kinos. Kino make great, solid, and pretty hardy gear in comparison to many of the non-kino brands. Every experience ive had with non-kinos is they end up being more expensive to own in the long run than the real deal. Perhaps if your not going to use it that often then the rip-offs might be ok. But if its going to be something you pull out on most shoots Id stick to the kino. Disclaimer: Im not employed by or affiliated with KinoFlo, just a fan.

I very much doubt a litepanel mini would play enough in this case.

Trying to light such a large area i'm unsure that this would be the most effective way of doing this. While this method is quite effective for close ups, but from what you described your shot is covering a fairly large area. Also, for us to suggest what lamp you need, we need to know what stock your shooting and what stop you want to achieve. Theres a big difference to what you will need if you are shooting 250D at f4 or 500T at f2.8.

Phil is right, 37 was just an example. Pages refer to pages on a Desk/Controller, where you can scroll through what your faders/buttons do, Ie you can have 99 pages of chases, scenes and of course faders, which is different to the Bank Selection on a dimmer, which talks about the addressing.

DMX was introduced as a standardised universal control system for lighting in the entertainment industry. DMX has 512 channels of control per universe(some controllers have the ability to control multiple universes, meaning they have two or 3 DMX outputs). Anything that takes DMX can be controlled on the one universe. This includes moving heads, smoke machines, strobes and dimmers. Each device is assigned a DMX address, which is where the first channel of the device will be. ie. On a 12 channel dimmer you set the start address to 037, that means the following will be the case: DMX Channel 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 Physical Channel 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Dont get this confused with DMX Banks. A bank is a group of 12 channels. So Bank 01 = Starting Address 001, 02 = 013, 03 = 025 and so on. Hope that helps. If you need more info just ask.

Unless the head is a dual wattage head the answer is no. The ballast has be to dual wattage was well.

1. The system draws 12.5 Amps in operation but I have been told it momentarily pulls twice that when first started. True? Does it make a difference whether the magnetic or electronic ballast is used? It takes a lot of power to strike at HMI, much more than starting up. What immediately follows the strike is different between typical Magnetic and Electronic ballasts. Once struck an electronic ballasts pull will immediately decrease then increase as the lamps intensity increases. A magnetic ballasts pull will slowly drop from the striking pull until the lamp reaches full intensity and the ballast reaches its operational pull. As a further note, as with most discharge lamps, the ballast is not entirely efficient. So if you have a 1.2kw head, your ballast will probably pull 1.6kva to run it. Most ballasts have a power factor somewhere on it that allows you to calculate how much the system is going to pull. 2. Does it matter if the start button (on head or ballast) is held down for a few seconds as opposed to being momentarily pressed? It depends on the head/ballast and how the switch mechanism works. Typically it doesn't hurt, but on some older ballasts you could be stopping the strike from releasing. 3. Is the light ever used with the safety glass in place but no additional beam control lens, as a very narrow spot? Yes. 4. Is there an easy way to distinguish the medium, large and extra large lenses from one another? What is the typical terminology for these lenses? I hear the extra large beam lens referred to as stippled, for example. The can be named regionaly, but typically you have a series of spot lenses, a stipple(named this because of its stippled appearance) and fresnel lenses. 5. On the fixture's ears are several slots. The barndoors go in front, of course, but does the lens go next to the safety glass or next to the barndoors, and why? The safety glass in all of the pars that i have used is typically built into the front of the fixture directly in front of the lamp and reflector. On the ears there is one slot for the lens, and a slot for wires and a slot for the barn doors. The lenses will typically only be able to fit into the slot that is correct for them. 6. Is heat absorbing gel ever used to prevent burning a color correction or diffusion gel clipped to the barndoors or on a separate frame close to the light? How close can a gel be? The closest you want a gel on a par is on the doors. Heatshield can be used to stop burning of correction gels, but there needs to be an air gap between this and the correction, and any subsequent layers of correction or diffusion. In a lot of cases adding heatshild as a layer before you correction with no gap tends of make the gel melt/fade faster. 7. Is there any problem moving a burning light if it is done carefully? If done with great care, it shouldn't be an issue for short moves(like when trimming the setup). But hiking the lamp from one end of a house to another is a no no. 8. Does the beam control lens always have to be removed from the fixture if the fixture is going to be removed from the light stand and moved to a new light stand on the set? Yes, it should be, lenses on pars tend to be fairly fragile when hot. This can be hugely dangerous. 9. Are the lenses always removed using leather gloves and pliers such as a Leatherman? Typically yes, far too hot otherwise. Most of the time grabbing them by the handle with suffice. 11. How long after being struck before the light is at full brightness and a stable color temperature? Typically 2-6mins depending on a lot of factors.(bubble age, ballast, head, etc etc etc) 14. Why are PAR HMIs more popular than Fresnels? Pars are smaller, lighter and have more punch than fresnels. Typically as a direct source fresnels are more popular because of their controlled and consistant beam, as we tend to diffuse lights a lot, pars with their extra punch are the way to go.

If they are induction ballasts you can dimm them to make them flicker. Keep in mind you should only do this during the take as ballasts dont particularly like this kind of treatment. Squarewave ballasts will not flicker when dimmed.

Id look into a battery inverter kit. Might cost a bit more, but they do come in handy.

From what i have heard, the first couple batches of lamps were pretty average, but they have improved greatly since then, to the point where they are comparable to arris. A couple companies have done side by side tests with both arris and filmgear tungsten lamps to see which one they could destroy through everyday kind of wear and tear first, and both seemed to have the same things break at around the same time In terms of HMI, basically ballasts are pretty similar to arris, with the similar quality components, the main issue was the earlier models were poorly assembled in terms of soldering etc, but all of those issue could be fixed with a couple of hours with a tech(this is sometimes done by the importers anyway). That is what i have heard from a tech that fixes them as they are imported into the country.

I have been in the situation three or four times where swapping out a magnetic ballast and replacing it with an electronic one has solved problems of lamps not striking. After doing tests, and putting meters across the power situation, voltage drop as a problem is all we could come up with. Cheers, Matt.