Iskra Valtcheva

In case anyone's wondering, here's what we ended up doing: junior c-clamp + pipe to suspend it below the fake drop ceiling for a straighter-on angle (we were projecting a gobo on the wall). The weight hanging straight down. Thanks for all the ideas again! DSCN3278.pdf

Thank you all for the helpful suggestions! I'll have an assortment of clamps to play with, and will make sure to safety the lamp, so all should be fine.

i want to hang a leko from an angle steel support beam: do you think this is a safe rig? (see attached image) i brainstormed on how to do it here: one simple rig, and another one more elaborate with an extension so that height may be adjustable. while i was doing it, i realized i can substitute the speedrail + pipe clamp with a trombone for less sideways torque. any other/better ideas? everything would be secured with safety chain of course since it's hanging above a performer. the instrument will be a source 4 ellipsoidal with a zoom attachment. thanks much! ~iskra leko_rig.pdf

Hey David, thank you so much for the fireworks suggestion! I love the large soft source idea. I think the reason my fireworks looked fake to the eye was because I had these pinpoint, hard sources hitting the character and it just didn't look "real" nor very pretty. I also like the chrismas lights idea. I have some rope light that I'm thinking of balling up and putting on a dimmer, might even be able to get the ball's reflection in the eye for a closeup. Speed-wise, the flicker box did make the fireworks go off too often (even at the slowest speed setting). Looked like the fireworks were on crack. So I do agree having them on simple dimmers would slow it down and make it look more "natural". We have an 8x8 frame with rags at school, so I was thinking of using that skinned with an ultrabounce for a nice large spread like you suggested. The original camera tests get here tomorrow, and we're shooting the scene itself in a few days. I'll let you know how everything turns out. Yes I was thinking of having a soft cool moonlight-y base (some bounced 1200 HMI's) for ambient light, so the faces don't fall off completely between bursts. ~iskra

I'm lighting a scene on 7218 where a fireworks gag is involved: There are fireworks going off in the distance, the characters are watching them, and I want the glow off of the fireworks to read on the characters' faces. We shot a camera/lighting test this weekend, and had 3 lights with party gels set at different heights, on a 3-channel flicker box, and had them come up in a chase sequence from bottom to top. It looked cool but not entirely convincing. Then i realized that fireworks, as they go up, would also be changing color. I've heard in theatre lighting they use something called color scrollers to quickly change colors on instruments. Have you heard of anyone using these in film? I guess i could also have an electrician at each light with a multiple color gel frame swapping colors since this is on a low budget. What do you think? Any other ideas to achieve this effect in a simple way?

Hello, I am shooting a short dance film at White Sands and have the option to choose between two camera packages: JVC 200 with a HD-CA13U adapter, or JVC100 with a mini 35 adapter. Will be using 35mm Zeiss primes. The setup is basically three dancers on top of a table in the middle of the desert. So, day exterior with lots of subject and camera movement (including steadicam). I've shot almost exclusively film so far, would love some advice on shooting HD wit the JVC. Which camera/adapter combo would you pick and why? Which one deals better with motion blur? How about overcranking? What is the latitude like on these cameras? Do you recommend using a vectroscope monitor, or do you go by the zebra marks for exposure? Many thanks, ~iskra

Wow. What a can of worms I opened with my question. As Michael said, we decided not to submerge the kino heads, and had to come up with an alternative setup: luma key (black background) instead of a chroma key (green screen). We basically used a 12x12 solid as a background against one of the pool's walls, and lit the actor with tungstens from above the water. The director liked the idea since it was safe, and worked well in terms of story - made it look as if the character is descending into a "void". In the end, although it created tension on set and in pre-pro, I feel good about my decision. The underwater crew and the actor came to thank me personally after the shoot. And here's the long awaited response from Kino Flo: iskra: thank you for the email. generally, we recommend shooting underwater with hyrdoflex or pace technology fixtures because they have nice, durable, heavy metal housings (our plastic fixtures tend to float) brass fittings for electrical connections and insualting acrylic tubes to protect the kino flo true match lamps from breakage due to handling and underwater pressure. if you are a trained, experienced professional, with common sense, the design of the kino flo remote fixture heads do allow you to operate safely in wet environments such in rain or on wet stage floors without extra waterproof housings, as long as the electronic ballasts are not exposed to the moisture. fixtures like the wall-o-lite, image seris, diva-lites, vista-beams, parabeams, and parazips that have build in electronics can in now way be used in wet environments without protection from the wet elements. the safer fixtures are the portable units such as the 4banks, double, singles, 12v kits, kamio, barflys, mega flos, and blanket lite. if you have any additional questions or if you need more information, please contact me at scott@kinoflo.com or at 818 767 6528. regards, scott stueckle kino flo, inc. I immediately asked for specific information on submerging the heads underwater, and here's what I got, right away. Thank you Scott! iskra: forward as you wish. as far as advice on using kino flos under water, we don't make them to be used under water. like dedo lights, they can be submerged without tripping a gfci or causing harm, but since they are not tested for nor rated to operate under water, frozen in ice, launched into space (ok, we have nearly done that) or other extreme applications for which they may work, we don't offer advice on how to use the lights in these environments. but i can show you how to tape them to wall, light a bluescreen, yadda, yadda, yadda . . . ciao. scott stueckle kino flo, inc.

Thanks everyone for the quick replies and especially the ones who took the time to explain why they think this is safe or not. This has been truly helpful and informative. Thanks Michael for joining the open discussion, and thank you for your patience and understanding as I'm figuring this out. This forum rocks. I actually already contacted both Jim (manufacturing engineer) and Edgar (director of manufacturing) from Kino Flo yesterday with my questions. I just invited them to the forum today and am looking forward to what they have to say. I also called several local union electricians asking about advice and most of them said "don't do it". One said "it might work, but i wouldn't sign off on it". I bet it could make for an interesting stand-alone experiment. As long as no cast or crew are involved in the formula. Later Vader! ~iskra

Hello, I am writing with a safety concern about an upcoming low budget underwater shoot. Basically, the DP wants to use a regular 4x4 kino bank submerged underwater; to me, that sounds like a reckless and irresponsible scenario. I recommended renting Hydro Flos and suggested alternative lighting scenarios where lights do not get put directly in the water. However, he claims he's done it before with no ill effect; and says it will be fine as long as the ballasts are kept well out of the water since we are dealing with low wattage and high frequency electricity. We will have GFI's and will insulate connections but I am still not convinced and don't want to sign off on an iffy and potentially hazardous setup. What if a ballast malfunctions? What if a tube breaks? What if a GFI fails? Has anybody done an "experiment" by throwing a kino in the pool and going for a swim? I am new to the trade but everything I've learned so far tells me this is a bad idea and will potentially endager the cast and crew's safety (yes, they are planning on having crew and cast in the water!) Any comments/advice/insight? Sincerely, Iskra Valtcheva

richard, thanks! this all makes sense and is VERY helpful. a further question: there is a more complicated shot in the film where a single character walks at what appears to be normal speed while the landscape around him changes quickly. we are thinking of shooting it with time lapse while having the actor walk really really slow. how hard is it to pull this off? another issue: what would happen if the camera moved regularly during small time lapse intervals? like, what if we mount it to a moving car? would it be complete and total chaos? or could it be beautifully choppy and fragmented? ~iskra

hey, i am a student filmmaker based in austin, tx; and i'm involved in the shooting of an experimental 16 mm short which will include some time lapse footage of cityscapes. we are using a bolex H16; and renting an intervalometer from texcam, houston. can someone who's had experience with time lapse give me some advice on how to shoot it? should i compensate in the aperture or shutter speed because of the single frame exposure? what do i do if the lighting conditions change? what else should i know? never done this before so any advice will be highly appreciated. thanks! ~iskra