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Andy Barnett

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  1. Try Barbizon. They had some in stock recently. They are hard to get now. Regards Andy Barnett
  2. Interesting comments and a nice pic, thanks. You're absolutely right - some home-made gadgets just would not be be compatible with German manufacturing methods. For a 10k, the most sensible solution would seem to be a 'bridge' as you mentioned. To adjust the lampholder height from say a 1k to a 10K you'd be talking about a big chunk of mechanism adding weight and cost and reducing reliability. The best we can do at present is offer a choice of two lens sizes between 1 and 5kW though inevitably rental companies and even some tv studios go for the smaller size. We used to make dual filament lampheads but these have fallen out of favour as the lamps were very expensive. Is it only the 10k size lens you're interested in or would say a 2/5kW lamphead be something useful? One general point - if you want bigger lenses (or any other particular feature), yell at the rental houses and get them to yell at us. We're in a strange position that mostly our customers are not the end-users so the market has to be driven one step removed. On the X Light question, it may not meet your needs, but just for the record, there is a 250W Ceramic X light which will give 3200K or by swapping the lamp, 5600K. 250W gives in the region of 1k tungsten equivalent. It doesn't dim but a 250W flood won't burn through your ND that quickly. A frosted glass is available which might help with the hot spot. The main thing is to keep the comments coming so we (the manufacturers) know what the guys at the sharp end are missing. Best regards Andy Barnett ARRI GB
  3. Hi Flicker is to do with the combination of shutter speed and mains frequency. I'm assuming you're shooting at 24fps. 60Hz 24fps is a 'safe' combination. If a non-crystal supply is used, the camera can be synchronised to the mains in various ways (talk to the camera rental people). Alternatively you could use electronic ballasts which produce an output independant of supply frequency. Mains frequency should be reasonably reliable in US, Europe but not in some countries. A magnetic ballast will run at the frequency of the supply. Only electronic ballasts can run independantly of the mains frequency. Some electronic ballasts up to 1200W can run on DC but they convert it internally to AC. Also, electronic 'inverters' convert DC to AC but only high quality 'true sine wave' ones should be used. Units of a few hundred watts are readily available (eg for caravans) but higher power units would be very expensive. Hope this helps Andy Barnett ARRI GB
  4. OOo - please let me know where are the rental companies that will buy any new product. As an employee of a lighting manufacturer (ARRI) I'd be keen to know. Seriously, I'm interested in what you say because we've been getting a loud message up to now that smaller and more portable but with more punch is what's needed, certainly not big and low-powered. A 10k the size of a 2k for sure but never a 2k the size of a 10. On problem 1, 5 and 7, have you looked at our daylight X Lights? One can fill a big butterfly evenly with a short throw. On leds the field is really divided into three - the cheap and cheerful where colour doesn't matter; more expensive which are calibrated to give reasonable results (at least when new) or the top end with six colour leds to give good white with high colour rendering or any other colour your heart desires consistently for the life of the product but will not be cheap. So far as I know, only two companies really fall into the last category. On the incandescent ban, don't worry this does not apply to tungsten halogen. Only domestic general service lamps. And some manufacturers are already making general service lamps with halogen capsules inside. If people want to let me know what lampheads they really want or what is wrong with the lampheads they have please email me at abarnett@arri-gb.com (or talk to ARRI USA if you prefer). I can't promise a new product by next tuesday but it will be taken notice of. Regards Andy Barnett ARRI GB
  5. There is a gizmo that can sychronise artificial sources with a candle/match/lighter. Have a look at the candle effect here: http://www.movie-inter.com/en/products/lfx...ndex.html#video Regards Andy Barnett
  6. Hi all I realise that there are gaffers and DoPs on this forum who are vastly more experienced than me when it comes to colour correcting sources. Given that, I am very uncertain about recommending using photographic colour temperature meters with discharge sources. Most meters are designed to give accurate readings of tungsten lamps but can be confused by discharge or florrie type lighting. Meters work by taking several (typically three) readings of different colours and calculating the colour temperature from this. The spectrum of a discharge light is full of peaks and troughs and the meter can give incorrect results if one of its measuring points hits a peak or trough. I'd suggest that although the eye may not be good at judging colour absolutely, it is very good at comparison, and could be a more reliable instrument for colour correcting than a meter. If you set up three lights and shine them on a white wall it is obvious if one source does not match the others and requires correction. If one is really green, that suggests it is either faulty or very old and should be replaced. The eye will also give information about colour rendering which a meter will not. Some sources can be the required colour temperature but still over or under emphasise certain colours. I hope this is helpful. Regards
  7. So how is film noir defined? Hard shadows? Low key? A downbeat story with an anti-hero? Is it the look, the style, the story or all of these? Some of the titles suggested above throw out some factors such as 'black and white', 'crime thriller' etc. Chinatown and LA Confidential sure, but not so sure about Blade Runner? And what about Fargo or Insomnia - do they qualify? Or is it too hard to pin down? Suggestions...? Regards Andy Barnett
  8. There is a free guide which shows some basic portrait set-ups for still and interview type work. This might be helpful to see what kind of thing you can do with a three head kit. Go to: http://www.arri.com/entry/products.htm Click on downloads then lighting then brochures and scroll down to the lighting handbook. Regards Andy Barnett ARRI GB
  9. A PAR is a highly efficient narrow angle unit. With most types you have can increase the beam angle from its natural 5 degrees or so by using additional spreader lenses. Normallly an MSR type PAR is supplied with a set of lenses. A Fresnel is basically a wide angle spotlight. It is less efficient than a PAR though you can adjust the beam angle from spot to flood over a wide range typically 10-60 degrees, although it is not very efficient on spot. The quality of light is very different. A Fresnel is a soft point source and can be controlled easily with barndoors. With a PAR, the light is coming from the whole reflector so to control it you need to use flags some distance away. Regards Andy Barnett ARRI GB.
  10. Dear Mitch Perhaps you have in mind the Pocket Par 125? There is now also the 200 and 400W PAR and Lite versions which are rather more versatile. I am not sure about the etiquette of listing the features here - I did not want to use the forum to advertise - but you can see the range on the arri.com website, including a brochure in the downloads section. Regards Andy Barnett ARRI GB
  11. How do you guys think the ARRI Pocket Par/Lite range stands up to the Joker Bugs? I'd be interested to hear. Regards Andy Barnett ARRI GB
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