Michael E Brown

There is a bunch of misinformation here about the Arri 1800w fixtures (M18/AS18 on EB1200/1800). I understand where Guy got the 2600VA spec (the ballast manual), however it's near impossible for the EB1200/1800 to draw that much current as explained in the same manual. I believe due to simple calculations and my personal experience that the specs in the ballast manual are not correct. The max listed VA on Arri's own ballast spec sheet is 2250, which makes more sense. The first thing we must understand is that the EB1200/1800 has Arri's CCL or Cable Compensation Loss circuitry, which can adapt the ballast's current to provide constant lamp power with up to 300' of head cable. This comes at a cost of a 10-20% increase in current drawn by the ballast (depending on input voltage). The ballast will only draw the max current if it's increasing the lamp current to correct for long head cable lengths - so the max VA is also considering this boost. If you keep to shorter head cables, the current is considerably less than the max staged. In addition, if the ballast increases the current considerably, it will actually trigger a limit switch at 19.5a which will shut off the CCL circuit and prevent the ballast from drawing 20a. Only if the voltage was to get extremely low - near the bottom end of where they say the ballast will operate would the ballast have the possibility of going over 20a I can say without a doubt that the actual apparent power of an M18 on the EB1200/1800 with a single 50' head cable is about 2000VA - meaning at 115v the ballast draws just over 17a. I'd be happy to show you a current meter reading if you don't believe me. Here in the Southeast, it's normal to find 121-124v in most places. That gives us an even more favorable 16.5a. Even at the end of a 100' stinger from a putt-putt running 110v, it's not even close to popping a 20a breaker. We even tested one of our M18s on a 2000w putt-putt - we let it run for 20 mins and it didn't have an issue. I think we've probably rented these out about 25-30 times so far and haven't had an issue yet. I purposefully dragged two of them all though a car plant for three days because the only power we had access to easily was courtesy outlets - no issues. If you think about it, 2250VA as a standard number would make that that Arri's least efficient ballast - highly doubtful considering it's one of the newest and designed specifically to operate on standard circuits. Arri's ALF is quite effective - .98 power factor and if you consider some of the other ballast specs, my estimated VA is further supported - at 88% efficiency on an 1800w lamp, that puts the ballast at 2045VA. As for 15a plugs overheating - stop buying cheapo plugs and service your gear. Any top quality nylon plug (Hubbell, Leviton, etc) is made of the same parts for either the 15a or 20a version. The only difference is the blade orientation - which is to prevent you from plugging a larger device into a smaller circuit - not to protect the plugs. Most problems with any electrical connectors - especially Edisons - is poor connections and therefore high resistance and therefore high heat. People use dirty, corroded plugs with loose set screws on the largest loads like 2Ks and HMIs and wonder why the plugs melt. Has nothing to do with 17a on a 15a plug. Most people never even open their connectors for maintenance after installation. Newbies tend to plug 2Ks in without checking switches also, resulting in some nice arcing when the live load is connected and further ruining the connector.

Keep in mind the S4 Junior is considerable dimmer than the standard S4 - to the extent the standard S4 with a 375w lamp is still brighter than a S4 Jr with a 575w. Your money is better served getting a standard S4, both economy wise (less wattage for same output, more fixture on circuit) and brightness wise (can use larger lamps for more oompf). Finally, the S4 Jr uses non-standard size gobos - so if you ever run into someone who wants to use a pattern they already have - it won't fit. Standard S4 takes the standard Size B, and can take Size A as well. There are a zillion accessories for the standard S4 as well. Resist the urge to buy the Jr because it's cheaper - there's a good reason. 36 degree lumens @ 15' S4 750w: 404 S4 575w: 303 S4 375w: 194 S4j 575w: 189 S4j 375w: 121 As far as TVMPs to adapt the light to baby stands, I'm partial to the American Grip one - but the Avenger is not bad. The Matthews one is terrible - it has a lame, cheapo thumb screw where the previous two both have nice T-handles.

I consider the Sola series to be useless for the price they are demanding. They claim the 6 is equivalent to a 650w fresnel, yet at the spot setting (and the Sola is actually narrower), an Arri 650 Plus is over 2x their claimed fc. At the flood setting (this time the Sola is wider) the Arri is 4x brighter. Unimpressive. I don't know exactly how it works, but it's not actually a fresnel fixture so I'd guess the zoom quality is unimpressive also. The Arri L series on the other hand is quite impressive. For about $500 more than the Sola 6, the L7 (fixed color temp) is pretty much an exact photometric clone of a 1000w fresnel, from spot to flood. Sharp beam, workable zoom range. The bi-color fixture is neat but at the expense of output. The Daylight version is impressive also, providing a good bit of usable light for quite a bit less money than a comparable HMI fixture (which there isn't one in that size really, it's brighter than a 200w fresnel but not quite a 575w). I believe the current timetable for shipment to general users is by the end of the year. Your best bet for a demo unit is to get with either your local rental house or Arri dealer.

The lamps are the same. Wattage on a floro is actually determined by the ballast, and the Kino ballast overdrives the lamps to achieve 75w. So a normal F40 household lamp in a Kino 4' fixture on HO is being driven to 75w. The first Kino lamps were labeled F40 as their simple brotherin. Kino decided to relabel them F75 to designate that they are running at 75w. Same tube, same formula, different marker. So - this should have nothing to do with your problem. I have both types in rental stock and they get mixed around with no issues. The ballast should not be causing this problem, but anything is possible. Most of the time it just doesn't work if the ballast is hooey. KF32s usually read around 3400K and very little green on my Color Meter IV. Are you seeing the green tint in person or on the video?

Multiquip (who bought out and still makes the Crawford line) has introduced a re-badged Honda EU6500is that has a 60a Bates standard. It's mounted in a tube style frame like Backstage makes. Specs indicate that it still only provides 45a continuous, so no bump in output. The idea is still nifty. I've inquired about pricing. For an MQ dealer, it may be equal or even less than buying the Honda at retail. http://www.multiquip.com/multiquip/PSG6.htm

David, any idea what hazer/smoker unit(s) were used? From some of your previous posts, it seems you often work with an oil based unit like a DF50 - is this also what was used out in the woods?

I've done this type of effect before with moving lights. We used the Martin Mac2000 Performace that has the animation wheels - BIG difference. Two gobos in an upper end fixture is good, but a decent broken glass gobo spinning + animation wheel is awesome. The MacIII is out now which has a single animation wheel but much brighter and wider zoom (50deg). Haze helps sell the light beams through the water but you have to be careful of what else it exposes. Where are you located? Some types of fixtures may be harder to source than others.

Tungsten with dichroic always looks a bit funky to the eye and usually isn't quite standard daylight - dichroic lamps are more like 5000K, filters vary; but the bigger issue is the amount of light you lose with the filter: 50% with best glass filters. Going the other way around - tungsten lights with KF32 lamps - is a more efficient way to do it, no light loss on either side. The KF32s usually end up around 3400K IMO, so if you want a perfect match a 1/8 CTO works.

The best use for a clove hitch is as an example of a knot never to trust with anything serious. I race sailboats, so I am lucky to have known my knots before getting into the grippage world. When you have several thousand pounds of pressure on a line, you best know your knots when you need to secure it. While a clove hitch (which is basically two half hitches) is indeed easy to tie a dead end off with tightly, it also slips easily meaning that something isn't tight anymore. It can also come completely undone if the load is applied/unapplied. If you outsmart the knot by adding a half hitch or two at the end to better secure it, then you are just asking the knot to bind up where you have a devil of a time removing it. Clove hitches are best left for tying fenders to the rail - in which case it's excellent because it's super easy to roll around and adjust the length. A better choice for other uses would be a simple round turn and two half hitches. You can also tie the round turn/two half hitches "in a bight", meaning you don't have to use the dead end of the rope if you have, for example, 30' of rope left - very handy when tying off overheads, etc. To really secure it, tie a third half hitch. When using unfamiliar rope, you should also note the suitability of the rope to hold a knot before you hang something heavy with it. Many of the fancy pants ropes we use on boats now would be a very poor choice for basic grip usage. Some of the 3/8" ropes we use are rated at almost 15,000 lbs (breaking) but only perhaps a 1/10 of that in knot holding strength. They are just too slippery and must be spliced at one end and held with rope clutches at the other. On the flip side, cheapo 3/8" braided rope from the hardware store probably has a breaking point of 1500lbs or so BUT also about 10% stretch. I have seen many overheads tied off with cheapo rope and the resulting people scratching their heads wondering how the wind managed to lift the frame another 5ft off the ground when it's tied off tight.

Which Lowel model is it? If it's the Omni - I had the same problem and came to three conclusions: 1. The 500w lamp is of a poor design. Single, unsupported filament for higher wattage. Any other lamp like 600w is 5x worse. Once this lamp is hot, it's very fragile. 2. The design of this light is poor. The focus mechanism can - and will - bang the lamp directly into the reflector. So weak, hot lamp that is banged into the reflector constantly = pop. 3. This light is not suitable for use in rental inventory. I know this really isn't the intended market, but I don't believe my customers were overly rough with these lights. The kind of people that rented these were the same guys that owned these back home, careful video types. I had the same experience anytime I used them. I sold all of these that I owned within a year because it literally cost me money to rent them. Every time they went out I had to put a $12 lamp in a $10 rental. Add in that the ridiculous barn doors are flat out dangerous and stupid, it's reflector is horribly inefficient at any position except one - I would advise anyone to simply buy a genuine Arri 650 fresnel instead. Aluminum, fairly lightweight, beautiful light, and strong lamp. I personally watched a fixture get dropped three feet onto concrete and it worked fine after. Multi-filament, wire supported lamp = rugged.

Probably a dumb question and not really my dept, but I noticed this the other day and was curious. Dolly grip whipped out a new set of Porta Glides from the rental house and proceeded to set a PeeWee 4 on them. All was well except the PeeWee's wheels are smaller than the channels on the skates, so they rocked back and forth. The last time I saw these skates was with a bigger Fisher, and the wheels touched the sides of the channels. So are the PeeWee wheels smaller or did they widen the channel for some reason? The dolly grip didn't seem to be bothered, he just stuck a few wedges in there but it seemed like a pain to keep doing that all day.

I don't understand not using the wires either. Less delicate than a net, plus cheaper when you do jack it up. At least one less stand. Perhaps easier to make adjustments to however. I've also been using smaller than "normal" lights with newer cameras. I remember using 650s for backlights all the time, now I'm asking for diffused 150s. Plus, one 4x4 Kino can key a whole group of people. Certainly helps with the room temperature!

As stated, a TVMP is the usual suspect here. Just a side note, the Matthews version is the WORST! Even the Avenger model has a real metal T-handle instead of that weeny thing on the Matthews. Anything other than straight up or down, and you won't be able to tighten it enough to keep it from rotating. The Modern version has a real handle (plus they have several bolt size options) and I think American's does also (but can't find a photo anywhere).

Ya, they were one of the first to bring it to market in a commercial fixture that I saw - a Robe brand moving head. I think their competition Ceravision has won some patent suits against them, possibly putting them in a tight spot. Ceravision appears to be interested more in industrial lighting than much else.

They still have mercury. They are very similar to what we consider normal flos, excited mercury creates UV and the phosphors convert to visible light. They are also known as electrodeless lamps - it basically has an electromagnet wrapped around the tube. Life span can be up to 100,000 hrs, and with very little lumen depreciation since most depreciation is a result of the electrodes deteriorating in normal flos. They have been around for a while (invented by Tesla, commercial lamps around since 1990s), there are probably some downsides that make it inappropriate for mass use (at least so far). There is also another type of electrodeless lamp that I have found very interesting, the plamsa lamp (HEP). These lamps excite a plasma in a gas tube by focusing RF waves. These lamps have a very tiny light source, so can pack a considerable amount of lumens into a small lamp. Life span is supposed to be around 20,000 hrs, considerably more than a metal halide. They have not really caught on, so as with flos above there are probably more downside than is immediately obvious.

For use as rentals, we do the following: 25-50: 12/3 S* 100: 10/3 S* S (Extra Hard Usage Service Grade) grade is actually specified by the NEC for temporary cordage that's not protected. It's got a much thicker jacket that resists nicks, etc better along with general heavy traffic. Most of the time you will find SO (Oil resistant jacket), SOO (Outer and inner insulation oil resistant), SOOW (same plus outdoor rated - sunlight resistant and rated for wet environments). It's big and heavy, but worth it IMO. SJ (Hard Usage Service Grade/Service Junior) has thinner insulation and jackets, and is OK - but it certainly can get nicked right to the copper much easier. 12/3 is good. For long runs, 10/3 is better - less voltage drop. Matters the most with tungsten fixtures, esp large tungsten fixtures. 14/3 SJ should be your minimum should you cheap out. Hubbell is the best. By far. Looks like you've already figured that out. Don't buy them at the local electrical house, what a rip off. I buy a set of both ends in theatrical colors (solid black) for less than $10. Something else to keep in mind with making your own cables is that you need to service them. Screw connections can loosen up over time causing increased resistance at the joint which can melt ends. Most of the time when you see a burned up end, it was a high current draw with a loose connection. Store bought cables have a leg up since most are permanently attached - crimped/soldered.

This is a creative decision. Are you looking for hard light ala film noir? Or beauty shots on a female actress? Then you also need to think about what kind of diffusion. Slapping some thin diff on the barndoors is unlikely to make too much of a difference. Putting some 216 on a 4x4 frame 6' in front of the light makes a big difference. Bouncing the light into a card then into the diff frame is even more difference. Creative decisions. All dependent on the feel you want. Soap operas probably always have a nice back light on every person. A really moody drama might not use any at all. First, get them away from the wall. Second, have the set decorator make sure the wall is a darker shade so it doesn't appear brighter than your actor. Third, make the light as soft as possible so shadows are not so harsh. Forth, place the light close to your actor to maximize fall off. The farther the light from your actor, the less difference the light level on the actor and the wall. By close, I mean just outside the frame. Could be a foot on a close up. Don't shine more lights to fight a shadow like this, instead work on the shadow. Keep in mind also however, that's it's natural to have a shadow behind a person against a wall. You probably want something there, but not a hard cutout either. Soft light is the key. See my post above. Probably too strong of a gel or too strong of gel color to match other lights. Probably overlighting. Soaps are flooded with light everywhere. Moving the lights back may actually be the problem - if you light the whole scene from far away, the difference in light level on your subject isn't much different from the light hitting the rest of the room. A whole room lit to 100fc is pretty boring. The key (pun intended) here is a soft key light close to your subject. Don't be afraid of lights close to actors (probably downsize the light from what you were shooting across the room though!). Top and bottom lighting is more of a creative look, not necessary to achieve what you want. Also make sure your angles are pleasing - which helps throw light down behind actors instead of right at the wall behind them. Google "Rembrandt Triangle". Just because the camera is on a dolly, doesn't mean they are using the dolly for movement during a shot. A dolly is actually used most of the time on big shoots for any kind of shot. It's a stable platform, can be repositioned easily, can change the camera height easily, and is a good way to move around super heavy camera packages in one piece. Of course, when you need a push in - it's already set up. If you are truly interested in learning, the only stupid question is the one you never ask. Now, stupid timing for asking questions is a different conversation. Like don't ask a DP why he did XYZ on set in front of everyone while he's busy trying to do 100 other things. Do the job you were hired to do, take notes, and ask later.

While Full, 1/2, 1/4, and 1/8 are the "normal" CTB strengths, there is such a thing as double CTB (Lee #200). Perhaps you ended up with some of that, which certainly would look too blue. Also, I have seen someone whip out some "blue" gel on a small shoot and specify that it's "CTB" but it's actually some shade of light blue that they ended up with. Doesn't look anywhere near correct either. It would be best to either use cuts from a factory roll where you can see the actual number (new Lee gel is also numbered per foot on the edge of 48" gel) or use cut sheets that have the factory sticker. Otherwise, markings not made by yourself may be suspect. Something else to consider is also the fact that perhaps your daylight scene didn't require full CTB either. You cannot simply make a blanket statement that all daylight situations are 5600K. For example, sometimes daylight spilling in a window will be more like 4200K and under a shade tree on an overcast day can be upwards of 8000K. You have to size up every situation differently. That's why most trucks carry a range of correction gel. In addition to all that, often 1/2 CTB is the most useful on tungsten lights for a better color balance and more output. Full CTB cuts about 2/3 of your light output, making it basically useless most of the time. 1/2 CTB only cuts 1/3 of the light. An Arrisun 200w HMI par is twice as bright as an Arrilite 1000w par with CTB on it - not to mention it draws considerably less power. I'm not trying to convince you to use HMIs, just point out how inefficient tungsten lights with full CTB are.

It could be a few things. I would venture to say that if you got them used, it's probably not paint but you never know. Best thing is just to turn it on while it's open. Sit there and watch it, see what causes it. If the lamp is too blinding, you can get it to where it's smoking (still open) and turn it off - you should still see what's smoking while the lamp goes out. Probably just some dust. EDIT: also just noticed you said oily. Could be someone touched the lamp with their bare hands, and now the glass is melting around the oil from their hands. Might want to check the lamp all around for funny spots. It should not be deformed anywhere or be changing colors in one spot.

This may be a geographical thing, but all the small rental units around me (Southeast) have the bare wire tie in option along with the twist locks (it's a factory option on the MQ units, not sure about LitePower). So one just needs to make sure there are Cam to bare wire tails available, which of course is standard. I would think a unit without any way to tie in other distribution would be something used mainly in construction, etc which I wouldn't not want to use on a set anyway since they tend to be poorly maintained. Now, I've never seen a 16KVA unit - only 20 and 25 so I can't say for certain about them. A quick Google search actually indicates that the 16KVA size would be more common in Europe, so the connections may be considerably different anyway. The OP really needs to give some additional information in order for anyone to get specific.

I find it's personal preference most of the time. Just like some guys bounce to get a similar look. For rental inventory though, people still like 1K open face fixtures with Chimeras. I suppose it's a comfort level, plus it's in all the beginner books and looks really cool on set. Oh, and all the fashion photogs use them on TV. A simple 1K par can into some foamcore doesn't look cool. We can't have that now can we?

I can see how it might appear like that, but I don't it was cheaped up. Looking at a video of the new fixtures, it looks pretty nice. The sales guy needs to rehearse a bit more, he misspoke several times. I like the very simple lamp change, add that to my list of key points. Still not sure about this single yoke business with Chimeras hanging off the front.

G5 is for the poor. Everyone knows the rich much have the new G6.

I wouldn't call this a reflection so much as texture. I would imagine you could simply create a realistic rain effect (drops, streaks, whatever you are imagining) on a window with a light source coming from behind and shining on the talent's face. If you don't actually have an interior with an exterior window (or are shooting on a stage) you can create this effect by using a piece of glass or acrylic (lexan, plexiglas, etc) for the window and placing a catch pan underneath for the water. Of course, protect the surrounding area as needed and/or control the water source. You might could get away with a grip pouring water from a glass for a short period.

Broncolor has an HMI fixture that has some similar reflector options to a dish. They also offer an adapter to use their primarily flash accessories on Kobold (since they are owned by the same company, makes sense) HMI fixtures. I have heard of some other brand that make accessory mounts for flash modifiers on continuous light, but I can't remember any others off hand. I don't recall any using tungsten lamps, only HMI.