Guy Holt

I would not recommend using the bonfire as your key light. If you expose the band members for the light you will get from the bonfire alone, because of its rapid fall off, the bonfire will be such a hot spot that your camera will be unable to render the contrast range of the scene. Like in the location still below, if you expose for the actors, the fire flames will be overexposed and blow out and lose all detail. And because firelight falls off rapidly, the background behind your talent will block up and lose detail. Like in the location still below, the actor’s bodies will look disembodied like they are floating in a black void. A bonfire scene creates contrast problems that you simply will not be able to address with the lighting package you have listed. What you are missing is the large HMI that will enable you to bring up the background, so that you can stop down to hold detail in the bonfire without losing detail in the shadows of your scene. For example, the location still below used a 6k Par to light the deep background, 1.8 Arrimaxs to key and rim the talent, and quartz to fill the shadows with warm light. Only this amount of light will enable you to stop down to the point that you will have detail in the flames as in the location still below. Campfire scene on the beach powered by a Honda EB10000 You can clearly see the subtle differences in color in this fire because the talent and background lights reduce the contrast range of the scene so that it fits in the dynamic range of the camera. Since large HMIs are necessary to hold detail in both the fire flames and the deep background, a large source (like an M18) is required to expose talent. Likewise the lights required to model talent with rim and fill light are larger as well. An assortment of LED panels simply won’t provide the necessary foot-candles for anything but very tight close ups under these circumstances. Getting the production values of the second location still above doesn’t have to be expensive now that you can parallel two Honda EU6500s or EU7000s for 120A output, which is more than enough to power a 4k ARRIMAX and several M18s. Use this link for more details on paralleling portable generators. Guy Holt, Gaffer, ScreenLight & Grip, Lighting Rental and Sales in Boston.

Yes, a HMI Fresnel is the de-facto way to go to create shafts of moonlight. Moonlight is a very hard source of light in that it creates defined shadows. The comparatively sloppy light of a Joker 800 will not create as crisp light as a HMI Fresnel. What makes the light of a Fresnel so crisp is that it is like having an array of prisms arranged in a circular fashion, with steeper prisms on the edges and a nearly flat convex lens at the center. The flat convex lens at the center of the lamp filament acts as "dioptric" lenses that magnifies and concentrates the output of the lamp filament. At the same time, the cut glass around the periphery of the lens, act as "catadioptric" lenses that collect and intensify the light and redirect it in the same plane as the dioptric lenses towards the center. In this fashion, a Fresnel lens bends the light of a filament into a column of nearly parallel rays as shown in the illustration below. By your description it sounds like you will also need a larger head than a Joker 800. Don’t impose artificial restrictions on yourself. Most houses have 240V wall receptacles for powering ranges or clothes dryers. With a small 240v-to-120v step-down transformer (like the one we manufacture for the Honda EU6500 and EU7000 generators) you can run up to a 4k HMI on house power. And since 4k HMI Fresnels don’t rent as much as they used to, since Arri introduced the M40 head with ARRIMAX reflector, you can probably rent one for about the same rate as a Joker 800 if you ask (any rental is better than it collecting dust on their shelves.) I use transformers all the time to power bigger HMIs (2.5-4Kw) in situations where a tie-in is not an option and the budget doesn’t permit for a tow generator. If the transformer is like ours and outfitted with a 60 Bates receptacle, you can use standard distro equipment like 60A GPC extension cables, 60-to-60 Splitters, and fused 60A GPC-to-Edison Breakouts (snack boxes) to run power around set - breaking out to 20A Edison outlets at convenient points (rather than one central point.) The best part about using a transformer with a 240V receptacle in this fashion is that no matter where in the distribution system you plug in, the transformer automatically balances the additional load, so that you don't have to be an experienced spark to distribute power on set. A good example of this approach is an Unsolved History episode, titled “Presidential Assassins”, that we filmed at the Ames Estate in Easton MA. Scene from "Unsolved History" lit with a 4k HMI Fresnel powered from a 50A/240V welding outlet through a step-down transformer/distro One of the state’s fee free locations, the Ames Estate, like many historical house/museums, does not permit tie-ins and the electrical wiring in the house is so antiquated that it is unusable. Fortunately, they have a 50A/240 volt circuit in the carriage house for a welder they use to repair the mowers they use at the park. Our standard mode of operation when shooting there is to run 250V extension cable from the welding receptacle to a 60A Full Power Transformer/Distro placed in the entry hall of the main house (a variable voltage tap on the transformers compensates for the voltage drop over the long cable run from the carriage house.) Using a 60A Siamese at the Transformer/Distro in the front hall, we then run 60A 6/3 Bates extensions, down to the library, to the second floor, and back to the maid’s pantry. At the end of each run we put another 60A Siamese. A 60A snackbox on one side of the Siamese gives us 20A branch circuits. The other side we leave open for a large HMI or Tungsten Light. Now we can safely plug up to 4K HMIs (or even a 5k Quartz) into our own distribution anywhere in the house. For more details about using step-down transformers to access more house power to run bigger lights use this link. Guy Holt, Gaffer, ScreenLight & Grip, Lighting & Grip Equipment Rental and Sales in Boston

As Phil points out both are ground fault protection devices. RCDs are the standard in EU countries while GFCIs are the standard for the US. The major difference between RCDs and GFCIs is that the trip threshold in RCDs is user-adjustable while, according to the UL 943 standard, GFCIs must follow a fixed current-time relationship. In place of the fixed curve of UL 943, the IEC 60947-1 standard stipulates a maximum breaking time depending on the set trip threshold. The break time stipulated in standard IEC 60947-1 for a trip threshold of 30 mA is rapid enough to avoid permanent organ damage and ventricular fibrillation. For this reason, a trip threshold of 30 mA has become the internationally accepted norm for RCDs intended to provide personnel protection against the risk of electrocution. If you compare the curves for RCDs with sensitivities 10, 30, and 300 mA to the UL 943 curve, the trip times of RCDs are very short in comparison. For instance an RCD set for a trip threshold of 10 mA must trip within 300 ms, compared to approximately four seconds required by the UL 943 curve. Even though the curves of the IEC standards for RCDs are different than those stipulated by UL 943, they fall within the UL 943 curve and therefore are no less safe. For more detailed information on how to use film style GFCIs to provide tiered ground fault protection on wet locations, use this link for a series of articles I wrote for Protocol magazine. Guy Holt, Gaffer, ScreenLight & Grip, Lightng & Grip Rental in Boston

I would recommend a "menace arm" rig consisting of a heavy duty senior roller with menace arm kit and 20' 1.5" speed rail. Guy Holt, Gaffer, ScreenLight & Grip, Lighting rental and sales in Boston

However you decide to light the bridge be sure to use GFCIs on all the cables supplying your lights and ground the generator. GFCIs are a must when working around water in order to avoid someone taking a potentially lethal shock. When using large HMIs you will need to use film style GFCIs (Shock Blocks, Shock Stops, or Bender Lifeguards) that are specifically designed to accommodate the residual currents that HMIs shunt to ground that will cause standard GFCIs to nuisance trip. To prevent nuisance tripping film style GFCIs sense on an "Inverse Time Curve" and incorporate harmonic filters with a frequency response up to 120 hz. 3rd harmonics are attenuated by 50%, and by 500 Hz are down to 20%. Attenuated by the filter, the harmonics that HMI ballasts shunt to ground pose less of a problem. Our Shock Stop GFCI with either our 60, 84, or 100A Transformer/Distro is the only way to bring Honda EU6500s or EU7000s into OSHA compliance for use on work sites. For more detailed information on how to use film style GFCIs to provide tiered ground fault protection on wet locations, use this link for a series of articles I wrote for Protocol magazine. Guy Holt, Gaffer, ScreenLight & Grip, Lightng & Grip Rental in Boston

It is possible, but may be difficult. You first have to make sure the two have the same style of Veam connector. From the photos it looks like it does not. The head cable uses a 9-pin and the ballast uses a 7-pin. I would recommend a used Power Gems 425CDP (you see them sometimes on ebay) or an older magnetic ballast over the Chinese knock off pictured. If you can find a ballast with the same style veam connector it will save you having to swap it out for the right one. If you can find a ballast with the same style veam connector you have to make sure the connectors are keyed alike - the slot in the rim aligns with the same pin. If it doesn't you can take it apart, file out the plastic shell so that it does. Finally, you have to make sure the "pin out" (what pins serve what function, i.e. VOH is pin 8 etc.) If it is not, you can swap the pins around in the plastic shell. You may need to re-solder a wire if it is presently connected to a large pin, but has to connect to the new ballast with a small pin. Guy Holt, Gaffer, ScreenLight & Grip, Lighting rental and sales in Boston

Many manufacturers, like Arri, won't terminate the power cord when they sell you the light for this reason. For the same reason many TV studios use 20A stage pins instead of the 15A U-ground Edison plugs. The problem arises when rental houses put the Edison plugs on lights so that they can be plugged into wall sockets. As Adrian Sierkowski mentions above the problem is even worse with M18s. Even if it is on a dedicated 20A circuit the ballast, cable, and/or the wall receptacle may overheat because the draw of an 1800W HMI is just too close to the threshold of a 20A circuit to operate reliably. The Arri 1800W ballast has an Apparent Power of 2250VA (2600 Max according to the ballast manual) which means it will draw up to 19.5 amps at 115V. Operating this close to the threshold, if there is any line loss from a long cable run, or increased resistance from an overheated/under-rated plug end, the draw of the ballast will climb over 20 Amps. The same is true of operating them on the 20A circuits of portable putt-putt generators. To the problem of line loss and overheating plug ends, you have the added problem that as you add load on portable generators their voltage output drops. It is not uncommon for a generator to drop 10-15 volts under full load. The 1800W ballast that drew 19.5 Amps at 115 Volts will draw 21.4 Amps at 105 Volts. For these reasons, I am convinced that the 1800W power class was designed primarily for the EU market where its Apparent Power of 2250VA fits comfortably in a 13A/230V circuit. Here they work best on a real film distribution system where every circuit is 20 Amps, you know what is on the circuit because you are loading it yourself, and you are bringing the receptacle to the light because you are distributing the power yourself from a tie in or generator. When you can run a 60A whip and drop a Snack Box next to the light you won’t have a problem. But, if your style of shooting requires that you run multiple stingers to plug into a wall or generator outlet, you will likely have problems with the plug ends or receptacle overheating and causing the breaker to overheat and trip. I have found that the only reliable way to power a 1800W Baby Max on wall out-lets or on portable gas generators is from a 240V circuit through a 240v-to-120v step-down transformer. A transformer will convert the 240V output into a single large 120V circuit that is more capable of powering the 19.5A load of a 1800W Baby Max. If you outfit the transformer with a 60A Bates receptacle, it enables you to use a real film style distro system that will allow you to move the generator off set (where it won’t be heard), minimize line loss over a long cable run, and provide plug-in pockets close to the ballasts. If you tap the transformer to boost the voltage slightly, it can compensate for the voltage drop on the generator and line loss on the cable, and provide the M18 ballast full line level on set. A transformer will also enable you to run 1800W Arri Baby Maxs on house power from common 240v household outlets as well. Just like it does with a generator, a transformer will step down the 240V power of common high voltage household outlets to a single 120V circuit capable of powering multiple 1800W Baby Maxs. Common 240V sources found on interior locations include Range Plugs, Dryer Plugs, and special receptacles installed for Window Air Conditioners. By giving you access to more house power through common 240V household outlets, a transformer also enables you to run a real distro system without the need for a dangerous tie-in or expensive tow generator. For more detailed information on successfully operating the Arri M18 in 120V land, I would suggest you read a white paper I wrote on the use of portable generators in motion picture production. The white paper is cited in the 4th Edition of Harry Box's “Set Lighting Technician's Handbook" and featured on the companion website. Of the article Harry Box exclaims: “Great work!... this is the kind of thing I think very few technician's ever get to see, and as a result many people have absolutely no idea why things stop working." Following the prescriptions contained in this article enables the operation of bigger lights, or more smaller lights, on portable generators than has ever been possible before." The article is available online at http://www.screenlightandgrip.com/html/emailnewsletter_generators.html. Guy Holt, Gaffer, ScreenLight & Grip, Lighting Rentals & Sales in Boston

I don't find taping LEDs to the ceiling to provide very good modeling. One of the biggest challenges in situations like this is getting light into the eyes of your talent. If you don't, your talent's eye will look dark and bruised because a very toppy light rigged overhead won't dig into their eye sockets. Unfortunately to get light into their eyes, you have to hang lights below the ceiling. To the options David mentions above, there are several more approaches to rigging lights overhead that will give you the flexibility you need contained in this thread on indie tricks of the trade. This thread contains more details on the approaches pictured here: As you can see here, with the right rigging equipment you can use drop ceilings like a studio grid. Use this link for more pictures of productions that used drop ceilings on location as if they were a studio grid. Guy Holt, Gaffer, ScreenLight & Grip, Lighting Rental & Sales in Boston

It time to revive this thread with indie tricks for rigging lights overhead. To David’s suggestions above I would add one more option for drop ceilings. One of the biggest challenges in situations like this is getting light into the eyes of your talent. If you don't, your talent's eye will look dark and bruised because the very toppy light of lights rigged overhead won't dig into their eyes. Unfortunately to get light into their eyes, you will have to hang lights below the ceiling. There are drop ceiling hangers (baby pins on scissor clips) available just for this purpose. However to hang anything larger than a 1k or to hang kino banks you will need something like the hangers pictured below: You may want to consider the approach we took in the production stills above, where we hung 4'-4 Bank kinos with Opal coved below the fixture to make a "Bay Light." Coving the Opal under the light, redirects it horizontally so that it will dig into the talents eyes. You may also want to consider using a combination of hard and soft light as we did here to create contrast in a situation where the practical lighting is usually very flat. As you can see here, with the right rigging equipment, you can use drop ceilings like a studio grid. Use this link for more pictures of productions that used drop ceilings on location as if they were a studio grid. Guy Holt, Gaffer, ScreenLight & Grip, Lighting Rental & Sales in Boston

With our paralleling control box you an run up to a 12kw HMI Par on two Honda EU6500s or EU7000s (see picture below for set up.) It will be a different quality of light than the M90 and it is debatable whether it will be any brighter. Guy Holt, Gaffer, ScreenLight & Grip, Lighting Rental & Sales in Boston.

I faced a very similar situation when I lit a music video for the 2010 BET Hip Hop Awards “Director of the Year” Nahala Johnson, aka "Mr. Boomtown." The performance was set in a summer outdoor dance party with DJ and dancers on top of a speaker stack. The area was under a tree canopy so the light was very flat. I found a 4k Par was enough to get the look the director wanted: a magic hour feel with low angle warm light. We used one of our modified Honda EU6500is generators with our 60A Full Power Transformer/Distro to power the 4K HMI (below far right), as well as Speaker Stack Amplifiers, Set Monitors, Battery Chargers, & a DIT station (below center.) The Transformer/Distro serves two purposes in the case. It compensates for line-loss over the 300’ cable run to set (above left center) to assure 120V line level. The second purpose is to create a single 60A/120V circuit capable of powering such a large load. Outfitted with a 60A Bates receptacle our Transformer/Distro enables you to use standard Bates Splitters, Extensions, and Gang boxes to distribute power from the Transformer/Distro to the loads around the set (above right center.) The best part about this set up is that you don’t have to be an experienced film electric to balance the load on the generator. Whatever load you plug into the secondary of a transformer is split evenly over the two legs of the single-phase 240V output of the generator. You don’t have to balance the load because the Transformer/Distro does it for you. The generator sees a perfectly balanced load and so runs more smoothly – a critical factor with these small generators. Use this link for more details on this set up. Guy Holt, Gaffer, ScreenLight & Grip, Lighting Sales & Rental in Boston

Paralleled Honda EU7000s powering a 9kw ARRIMAX M90 Located in the Boston area, ScreenLight & Grip offers grip truck rentals, production services, and innovative power solutions using the Honda inverter generators. Our HD Plug & Play Gen-sets incorporate proprietary distribution equipment we have developed that enable the Honda EU6500 and EU7000 generators to power HMI lights up to 12kw or Quartz lights up to 10kw. The primary factors limiting the use of HMIs on portable Honda generators has been their inefficient use of power and the harmonic currents they introduce into the power stream. The power waveform below right is typical of what results from the operation of a couple of 1200W HMIs on a conventional portable generator. The adverse effects of the harmonic noise exhibited here, can take the form of overheating and failing equipment, efficiency losses, circuit breaker trips, excessive current on the neutral wire, and instability of the generator’s voltage and frequency. For these reasons it has never been possible to operate more than a couple of 1200W HMIs on a conventional 6500W portable gas generator and it has not been possible to combine their output in parallel operation. Right: Distorted power waveform created by Non-PFC 1200W HMI ballasts on conventional generator. Left: Near perfect power waveform created by the same lights with PFC ballasts on inverter generator. In contrast our HD P&P Gen-sets create clean stable set power that is capable of operating larger lights (HMIs up to 12kw or Quartz lights up to 10kw), or more smaller lights, off of portable gas generators than has ever been possible before. For example, the power waveform above on the left, is the same package of HMI lights but with power factor corrected electronic HMI ballasts operating on our modified 7500W Honda EU6500is Inverter Generator. As you can see, the difference between the resulting waveforms is startling. Even though we are running the same overall load, the fact that the HMI ballasts are power factor corrected and the power is being generated by our modified Honda EU6500is Inverter Generator, results in virtually no power waveform distortion. For this reason, the generator can support larger loads and two Honda EU6500s, or EU7000s, can for the first time, be combined in parallel operation for greater output. Our modified 7500W Honda EU6500is with our 60A Transformer/Distro can power a 4kw HMI along with a 1.2kw HMI, 400w Lighthouse HMI, a couple of Kino Flo ParaBeam 400s, ParaBeam 200s, and Tegra 400s of our HD P&P Pkg. For example, either our modified 7500W Honda EU6500 or EU7000 Generator operating alone with our 60A Full Power Transformer/Distro is capable of powering a 4kw HMI along with a 1.2kw HMI, plus a couple of Kino Flo Parabeam 400s, Parabeam 200s, and Tegra 400s. Add a second one of our modified 7500W EU Generators and our Paralleling Control Box and the combined 120A output is capable of powering HMIs up to 12kw or more smaller lights than has ever been possible before on portable gas generators. Given the light sensitivity of HD Camcorders, our HD Plug & Play Gen-sets are capable of powering a complete location lighting package for HD Digital Cinema productions at a tremendous cost savings. Our Shock Stop GFCI with either our 60, 84, or 100A Transformer/Distro is the only way to bring Honda EU6500s or EU7000s into OSHA compliance for use on work sites. By eliminating the need for a tow generator in order to have feature style production capability, our HD P&P Gen-sets eliminate the expense of not only a tow generator, but also the added expense of a rental house grip truck and truck driver. And when used with a GFCI Shock Block, our Full Power Transformer/Distros bring the Honda EU6500 and EU7000 generators into full OSHA compliance (like most silent portable gas generators, they do not meet OSHA requirements for use on work sites otherwise.) Use this link for a detailed explanation of OSHA requirements and why almost all portable generators do not meet them. Left: Transformer/Distro plugged into a 30A/240V dryer outlet. Right: 4K HMI Par under rain protection powered by Transformer/Distro The Full Power Transformer/Distros of our HD Plug & Play Gen-sets will also enable you to access more power on location from common 240v household outlets as well (use this link for details.) Adapters are available for common 240V sources found on interior locations - including Range Plugs, Dryer Plugs, and special receptacles installed for Window Air Conditioners. By giving you access to more "house power" through common 240V household outlets, our Full Power Transformer/Distros also eliminate the need for dangerous tie-ins. Left: Arri AS18 1800W Par powered from Transformer/Distro. Right: 4Kw and 1800W HMI ballasts powered from Transformer/Distro. While our HD P&P Pkg. is very new (introduced Jan 09), the power generation issues it addresses have been vexing set electricians for years. Use this link for an informative news-letter article that explains the electrical engineering principles behind these issues and how our HD P&P Pkg. resolves them. This article is cited in the 4th Edition of Harry Box's "Set Lighting Technician's Handbook" and featured on the companion website "Box Book Extras." Of the article he states: "Great work!... this is the kind of thing I think very few technician's ever get to see, and as a result many people have absolutely no idea why things stop working." "Following the prescriptions contained in this article enables the operation of bigger lights, or more smaller lights, on portable generators than has ever been possible before."

You definitely want to stay within the NEC recommendation. Low voltage because of "line loss" can cause problems such as reduced efficiency and excessive heat in equipment, unnecessary additional load on the circuit, and a dramatic shift in the color temperature and in the output of lights. For example, the effect of line loss on tungsten lights can be dramatic because their output falls off exponentially as the voltage decreases. For example that 10k lamp operating at 90% rated voltage (108V) produces about 68% of its normal light output. And as Tim points out, as the light intensity decreases, so does the Kelvin color temperature of the emitted light. In the case of fluorescents, HMIs, and LEDs, because their power supplies are typically of a “constant power” type, they will draw more current as the line voltage decreases in order to maintain constant power to the lamp which may lead to breakers tripping. In the case of generator output, voltage loss translates into an exponential loss in power. That is because, if you double the ampere load on the cable, the voltage drop also doubles, but the power loss increases fourfold. What this means is that when a distribution system has a large voltage drop, the performance of the generator (its maximum effective load) is reduced. Rather than run out multiple runs of 4/O cable, big budget shows also use step-down transformers to compensate for line loss. On The Judge the generators supplied 277/480V power that was then stepped down to 120V/208V by transformers a 1000’ away (see photos below.) The higher voltage allowed the use of fewer runs of smaller cable and the variable taps on the transformers enabled the electricians to compensate for what voltage drop there was over the long cable run. Taking a similar approach with the Honda EU6500 and EU7000 generators, our step-down transformer/distros enable you to get the generator well off set where they won’t be picked up on your audio tracks and compensate for line-loss over the long cable run to set. For more detailed information on line loss, I would suggest you read an article I wrote on the use of portable generators in motion picture production. The article is available at www.screenlightandgrip.com/html/emailnewsletter_generators.html. Guy Holt, Gaffer, ScreenLight & Grip, Lighting Rental & Sales in Boston 300KVA generators generate 277/480 power. 4/O cable carries the 277/480 power to step-down transformers a 1000’ away 277/480V power supplied to the primaries of step-down transformers 120/208V stage distro connected to the secondaries of the step-down transformers

Kino 4x4s are a nice soft source and a hell of a lot easier to rig overhead then comparable LED soft banks. They weigh practically nothing. The pictures attached are from short film I lit called "Act Your Age" that takes place in a senior center. I have taken a similar approach to school classrooms whenever there was an opportunity to do rigging. To create contrast, we brought a 6k HMI par in the windows on one side of the room. But, with contrast comes the necessity to fill and that is the strong suit of the Kino 4x4s. If you are fortunate enough to have a drop ceiling, you can take the approach we did in "Act Your Age", where we hung 4'-4 Bank kinos with Opal coved below the fixture to make a "Bay Light." Coving the Opal under the light, redirects it horizontally so that it will dig into the talents eyes - much more flattering than the top light of overhead fluorescents. As you can see here, with the right rigging equipment, you can use drop ceilings like a studio grid. Use this link for more pictures of productions that used drop ceilings on location as if they were a studio grid. Guy Holt, Gaffer, ScreenLight & Grip, Lighting Rental & Sales in Boston

Depends on the age of the ballasts. Do you have pictures that you can post? Guy Holt, Gaffer, ScreenLight & Grip, Lighting Rental and Sales in Boston

It is a bit more complicated. According to the National Electrical Code (NEC), the amount of voltage drop that still allows acceptable performance from equipment operating on it, and does not cause harm to the equipment, is the definition of “Allowable Voltage Drop.” As to what that figure is, lets look to the specific section of the NEC that covers line loss. The NEC does not regulate allowable voltage drop specifically, but in a fine print note (FPN) in Section 215.2(A)(3), the code reads: FPN No.2: Conductors for feeder as defined in Article 100, sized to prevent a voltage drop exceeding 3 percent at the farthest outlet of power, heating and lighting loads, or combinations of such loads, and where the maximum total voltage drop on both feeders and branch circuits to the farthest outlet does not exceed 5 percent, will provide reasonable efficiency of operation. At 120V line level, this translates to a voltage drop of no more than 6 Volts, or the voltage should not drop below 114V from line loss. How likely is it that you will encounter unacceptable line loss over 300ft of AC Extensions? There is an equation to calculate voltage drop but the math is pretty complicated. Fortunately there are Line Loss Calculators for this kind of thing available online at http://www.stealth316.com/2-wire-resistance.htm. But to calculate allowable voltage drop, according to the NEC, you must take into account “feeders and branch circuits to the farthest outlet” which means that you not only have to take into account the 300’ stinger run to the spider box, but also the 50A cable run from the spider box to the receptacle it plugs into, and also the cable from the receptacle to the breaker on the panel and also the feeder cable from the breaker to the service head. Since you probably don’t have all that information, lets just run the numbers on the 300’ stinger extension alone and see where that ends up. If we enter 300’ of 14 Awg cable at nearly full load into the calculator we get the results in the table below, or a line loss of nearly 15 Volts (14.781). Where the allowable voltage drop according to the NEC is 6V at 120V line level, our drop without taking into account the length of the feeder cable to the panel and the length of cable to the spider box, is more than double the allowable amount. If we look at the effect of this voltage on the switch mode power supplies (SMPSs) powering the monitors, computer chargers, etc, we see why it is not allowable by the NEC. SMPSs will draw more current to compensate for the drop in voltage to maintain the power supplies Apparent Power which in turn leads to the generation of heat, which increases the resistance of the cable, which in turn increases the voltage drop, and sets up a self perpetuating cycle until you have a brown out and your equipment shuts down. One solution is to use, instead of a spider box, a 240V-to-120V step-down Transformer/Distro, like the ones we sell for the Honda portable generators that have variable taps that allow you to boost the voltage on the secondary side. Our standard Transformer/Distro is designed to boost the voltage on the load side (secondary) of the transformer by 5 percent. For instance, if you were to plug the Transformer/Distro directly into a generator running with no load and feed the supply side (primary) of the transformer with the generator's 240V output, you will get 126 Volts out on the secondary side where you would plug in lights. We have designed this slight boost into our standard Transformer/Distro to compensate for the line loss that is unavoidable over a long cable run, and the voltage drop on the generator under load. We also offer a "Select" model that enables you to adjust the amount of voltage boost in two 5% steps. This enables you to maintain full line level (120Vs) regardless if the supply voltage has dropped to 228V, or even 216V, from line loss and load running on the generator. To find the optimum switch setting, our "Select" model also includes a built-in voltmeter that tells you if the line level is too low or too high. If the transformer is outfitted with standard Bates receptacles you can use heavier gauge #4 or #6 Awg extensions in place of stingers to eliminate further voltage drop over the cable run from the Transformer to set. I once made the mistake of not taking into account the cable run from the service head to the panel where I tied in #2 banded feeder. Voltage was fine until I switched on a 300W Fresnel and it browned out. For more details on how to calculate voltage drop use this link. Guy Holt, Gaffer, ScreenLight & Grip, Lighting Rental & Sales in Boston

As you can see by this article, to ground or not to ground is a hotly debated issue in the industry. The bottom line is that you must do what the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) requires. In the city of Los Angeles the AHJ requires that portable generators not be grounded, but instead isolated from earth. In the city of Boston they do - end of debate. What is still debated is whether putt-putts, like the Honda EU generators, should be grounded or not since AHJs generally don’t extend their authority to include portable generators under 10kw (some do however.) What fuels the debate is a general ignorance that there are two distinct types of portable gas generators – those with Floating Neutrals and those with Bonded Neutrals. Which type of generator you are using, and how you are using it, determines whether it should be earth grounded with a ground electrode. “Floating Neutral”, “Grounded Neutral”, “Bonded Neutral”, “Floating Ground”, “Earth Ground”, “Ground Fault”: if you are unfamiliar with the meaning of these terms I would suggest you read an article I wrote for our company newsletter on the use of portable generators in motion picture lighting before proceeding further. Neutral Bonded generators have their Neutral bonded to the frame of the generator. Neutral Bonded generators offer a high degree of protection against Ground Faults (if there was a fault to the frame via the Equipment Grounding System, the generator’s circuit breaker would trip eliminating the fault), and so they can be operated without an Earth Ground in what is called a Floating Ground condition. Crawford Studio generators are Neutral bonded, but most Honda portable gas generators are not. In most Honda portable gas generators the neutral circuit is not bonded to the frame of the generator or to the earth ground lead; and are commonly called Floating Neutral generators. The floating neutral configuration is common for applications such as connection to a recreational vehicle and connection to home power where the transfer switch does not switch out the neutral to ground connection. When used as a stand-alone power source (a “Separately Derived System” in NEC parlance), Floating Neutral generators require, IMO, that at least the frame of the generator to be earth grounded. Portable generators, like the Honda EU series, offer a false sense of security IMO. Their receptacles have ground pins and many of them now have GFCIs. But, absent a bonded neutral, fault current won’t to go to the Equipment Grounding Conductor (EGC) to trip a breaker and clear a fault. A neutral-ground bond is also essential to GFCIs operating reliably. Simply using a GFCI on a Floating Neutral generator will not ensure a safe system, and can in fact be misleading. A GFCI will not operate reliably if one side of the winding is not grounded to the generator frame because Fault Current has no path back to the winding to complete the circuit. Only when neutral is bonded to the EGC, will current go to the EGC to complete the circuit when there is a current leak. In other words, a complete circuit is required to create an imbalance and cause the GFCI to trip. GFCI test circuits can also be misleading when they are used on Floating Neutral generators. On a Floating Neutral generator, the test button will draw power from the Hot through the CT and back through the CT again to the neutral via a Current Limiting Resister. The discrepancy caused by the Current Limiting Resister in the test will initiate the GFCI to trip even though there is in fact no Ground Fault Circuit for Fault Current to go to if there were a Fault. The false positive received by GFCI test circuits on Floating Neutral generators does nothing to eliminate faulty equipment. OSHA spells this requirement out in fact sheet DSTM 10/2005: "effective bonding of the neutral conductor to the generator's frame is also a concern for the safe use of the equipment. As with grounding terminal connections, proper bonding of the neutral terminal of a power receptacle may be confirmed via testing by a competent electrician with the correct equipment, and the ohmic resistance should measure near zero and must not be intermittent, which indicates a loose connection." For those interested, I wrote a four part series on ground fault protection with the Honda inverter generators for Protocol. If you can’t find the print edition of the magazine, there are links to it and other articles in my “Production Power on a Budget” series in Protocol. Guy Holt, Gaffer, ScreenLight & Grip, Lighting Rentals & Sales in Boston

Unfortunately, not.

If, as you say, there is extensive dialogue you will need to light for consistency. With the window behind the talent, reverse keys are motivated by the window and will maintain contrast in the shot, but will require rigging because of the coverage from shooting with two cameras. It looks like there is plenty of height to the space from the location still, so it is just a question of what the best means of rigging the lights will be. What type of lights you use to reverse key your talent will depend on how much weight your rig can take. Do you have pictures of the ceiling above the table and the opposing walls around the table that you can post. Guy Holt, Gaffer, ScreenLight & Grip, Lighting sales and rentals in Boston

To light a night scene on a tight budget requires that you first have a clear concept for the shot. From there you can figure out an innovative approach to accomplish that look. What tools you need and how you deploy them will follow. A good example is a very similar scene I lit on a “low budget” feature called "Black Irish." It was a pivotal scene where the youngest son of an Irish American patriarch crashes his derelict older brother's car setting off an unfortunate series of events. For the scene we had to light 1000 ft of Marginal Street in Chelsea, MA for driving shots on a process trailer and the scene of the accident. Our biggest challenge was to create through the lighting the feel of a car hurdling down the road at high speed. The problem was that even after lighting the equivalent of three football fields, the process trailer couldn't obtain a speed of more than 30 mph before it was out of the light. The traditional approach of under-cranking the camera to increase the speed was not an option because the scene was a pivotal one with extensive dialogue inside the car. So, we had to create the effect of speed through the lighting.

 I came up with a concept that was as beautiful in its practical simplicity as well as in its psychological complexity. To heighten the sense of speed of the process trailer shots we rigged 500w practical fixtures along a four hundred foot wall on one side of the road. We spaced the practical wall lights twice as close together as they would be normally. This way, as the car passed by, areas of light and dark would pass rapidly by in the background and exaggerate the speed at which the car was traveling. When it came time to shoot the static wide establishing shot of the car racing down the road, we dismantled every other wall practical in order to reinforce the effect. On an unconscious level the viewer's mind registers in the establishing shot the wider spacing of the wall lamps. So when in the close up process shots the pools of light in the background are racing past at twice the rate because there are, in fact, twice as many lights, the viewer's mind registers the car is traveling at twice the speed it is, in fact, traveling. 
 In addition to the wall practicals, I simulated car dash board light on the actor's faces with a 12v 9" Kino Car kit. The play of the passing wall lights on the actor's faces were created by a revolving 650W Fresnel with diffusion on its doors rigged on the process trailer. To light the long stretch of road, I simulated the pools of light that would be created by street lights by rigging 6kw space lights under the baskets of 60' condors that were spaced about 200' apart over the road. In addition to the Space Light, each condor basket also carried a 4k HMI that filled the stretches of road between the pools of tungsten light with a cool moonlight. To continue the moonlight down the road there was yet another 4k HMI Par on a Mambo Combo Stand. Because this 4K was further down the road than was practical to run cable, it was powered by a Honda 5500W portable generator. A 12kw HMI Fresnel with 1/2 CTO through a 12x frame of Soft Frost served to pick up the deep background from the front on one end of Marginal Street while a 6kw HMI Par lit the other end. 

 To supply power on both sides of the road for a 1000' stretch was no small task. I used three generator plants strategically placed so that our cable would never cross the road in a shot. In addition to the Honda 5500W portable generator that powered the 4kw HMI Par light for the deep background, I used a 800A plant to power the 4kw HMI Pars and 6kw Space Lights in the condors, the 12kw Fresnel, and the base camp trailers and work lights. The 6kw Par, 12 - 500W practicals, and an assortment of smaller HMI's used to light the post crash scene were powered by a 450A plant on the far end of the roadway. This example, demonstrates that once you have a concept you can come up with an innovative approach to accomplish it. The tools and how to deploy follow. This example also demonstrates that the right tools, used in an innovative way, can create startling results on a low budget. Since “low budget” is a relative term (Phil), to address Damian’s situation, it would be helpful to know what the budget is for this scene and have more details about the sequence and location. Guy Holt, Gaffer, ScreenLight & Grip, Lighting Rental & Sales in Boston

To get back to Berry's original question: If you want to hold detail outside the window, you will need to put ND gel on it to reduce the contrast range of the shot. To cut through the ND gel and still be bright enough to give you the shaft of light effect in your reference images will require a large HMI. A better alternative to an 18K is a 9K ARRIMAX. The CAD designed reflector of the 9K ARRIMAX head will give you nearly the same crisp light as an 18K. If a 9K ARRIMAX is too expensive, you can probably get a really good deal on a traditional 12K Fresnel since they are no longer in demand and have probably paid for themselves several times over. The combined 120A output (60A/leg) of paralleled Honda EU6500s is sufficient to operate the new Arri M90 as well as additional set lighting through a small step-down transformer. A much less expensive power option that will run both of these lights is to parallel the two Honda EU6500is. No tow plant, no truck to pull it, and no rental house employee to deliver and operate it. A complete system would consist of two Honda EU6500s (or modified EU7000s) and a Paralleling Control Box. The paralleling box will give you a combined output of 120A at 240V(60A/leg), which is enough to run up to a 12kw HMI. Our 120A Paralleling Control Box combining the output of two modified Honda EU6500s to power a Mole 12/18K Par head with 12kw globe The Paralleling Control Box syncs the frequency and equalizes the load between the generators. It uses the Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) and droop voltage regulation of the generator's microprocessors to control the load sharing. The phase angles of the two generators are synchronized using open loop architecture. The final function of the paralleling control box is to switch the outputs of the inverters to a common bus after their frequencies are locked in step (same phase angle and time base.) Use this link for more details about paralleling Honda EU6500s and EU7000s. Guy Holt, Gaffer, ScreenLight & Grip, Lighting Rental & Sales in Boston

While definitely a step in the right direction, the Litepanel Sola fixtures still don’t compare to traditional Tungsten Fresnel fixtures IMHO. Litepanels claims the 39W Sola 4 has the output equivalent to a 125W HMI, but comparing the photometrics published on their website to those of an Arri 125W Compact Fresnel, the Arri has at full flood nearly nine times the output of the Sola 4 (81 FC at 10’ for the Arri vs. 9.5 FC at 10’ for the Sola 4). Litepanels doesn’t give CRI ratings for the Sola Fresnels on their website, but when asked they say the CRI is in the 80s – which is frankly rather anemic compared to the color rendering of Tungsten light with a CRI of 100. And, with a power factor of .6 the 39W Sola 4 head draws up to 65 Watts and generates a considerable amount of harmonic currents (a Power Factor Corrected HMI has a Power Factor of .98 and Tungsten lights have unity power factor.) While the Sola 4 has an impressive spot to flood range (13 to 72 degrees), spot/flood capability is not the only characteristic that makes a Fresnel light what it is. Of equal importance is the ability to render clearly defined shadows and cuts, and unfortunately all the LED Fresnels I have seen don’t do it. The tungsten Fresnel is really a quite remarkable instrument. Their ability to render crisp shadows make them ideal for creating gobo effects like window or branch-a-loris patterns. And, the ability of Fresnels to render clearly defined cuts enables their light to be precisely cut to set pieces and talent. Finally, Tungsten & HMI Fresnels have sufficient output that the crispness of their shadows or the hardness of their cuts can be varied by simply adding one of a variety of diffusion material to soften their output if desired. These are the characteristics of traditional tungsten Fresnels that make them extremely versatile, that the Sola "Fresnels" have not been able to emulate. As I said before, the tungsten Fresnel is really a quite remarkable instrument. For details about the mirror doubling that make traditional tungsten Fresnels a marvel of optical and mechanical engineering use this link: http://www.screenlightandgrip.com/html/emailnewsletter_generators.html#anchorHigh Output AC LEDs Guy Holt, Gaffer, ScreenLight & Grip, Lighting Rentals & Sales in Boston

This is one of those situations where scouting, choosing the right location, and planning your production day is worth more than all the grip trucks, tow generators, and large HMIs in the world. In these situations, the approach that I find works best is to choose a location that puts the sun in the backlight position for the establishing master shot and then wait until the optimum time to shoot that shot. Up to and after that point in time, shoot the close coverage under a full silk. Shooting the coverage under a silk offers a number of advantages. If the sun is in the wrong place for scene continuity with the master shot, the silk takes the directionality out of the sun and knocks down its’ level by two and half stops. Now a smaller HMI light will have more of a modeling effect. Shooting into talents' down side under a silk, I find that a 4k Par through a diffusion frame is a sufficient key source for a medium two shot and it can easily be positioned where it needs to be to match the establishing wide shot when you eventually shoot it. A good example of this approach is a scene I lit for a low budget feature that took place around a campfire in a small clearing surrounded by woods. Surrounded on all sides by woods, we knew that we would lose direct sunlight in the clearing early in the day and would need lights. We also knew that the scene was going to take all day to shoot because of its’ extensive dialogue, so we figured out where the sun was going to be throughout the day and where it would look best for our establishing wide shot. Where it was a two shot, mostly over the shoulder of one character talking to the second character that was standing with his back to the campfire with the woods behind him, we decided to wait until the sun had moved into a near back light position to shoot the establishing shot. So we shot our close coverage first with nothing more than a 4k Par and 1.2k Par under a 20x light soft frost on top of which we threw leaves. The 4k was heavily diffused and positioned so that it gave the talent the reverse key modeling that would be consistent with the wide shot but still attractive. The 1.2kw was used bare and was positioned as a backlight where the sun would be when we would eventually shoot the wide - this way there was always an edge in every shot for continuity. When the time came to shoot the establishing shot, the shadow of the overhead frame and stands were thrown forward and did not interfere with the wider framing. Since we were still shooting under the silk, we were wider open on the iris and so our exposure dug into the dark woods and brought out more detail. The smoke from the campfire drifted into the woods, creating shafts of light where the sun broke through the tree canopy. What would have been a high contrast scene without lights, turned into a beautifully lit scene, and was accomplished without a lot of amps. The whole scene was lit with nothing more than a 4k and 1.2k Par and powered by nothing more than a 60A/120 circuit from a modified 7500W Honda EU6500is with a 60A Transformer/Distro. Guy Holt, Gaffer, Screenlight and Grip, Lighting rental and sales in Boston.

For the low key scene I would definitely black out the East and South Windows. Two M18s will not be enough to cover the West windows, so you have two options. One is to wait to shoot your master establishing shot until you have direct sun coming in those windows. Before and after that point shoot your close coverage with the M18s in such a way that it will match the master shot. Your second option is to have the art department frame in two smaller windows, that you can cover with M18s, with black showcard or some other appropriate board material. Guy Holt, ScreenLight & Grip, Lighting rental and sales in Boston

Without knowing what kind of resources are available to you it is nearly impossible to make recommendations. How large an HMI can you afford? Guy Holt, Gaffer, ScreenLight & Grip, Lighting Rental & Sales in Boston