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Eric Wobma

Basic Member
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About Eric Wobma

  • Birthday 08/04/1962

Profile Information

  • Occupation
    Gaffer
  • Location
    Amsterdam
  • Specialties
    Lights, Directing, Writing, Opera, Wine, and started teaching Lights & Film Technique at a college for two days a week about a month ago (October 2013).
    Now, that IS exciting !

Contact Methods

  • Website URL
    http://www.oiclowns.com
  1. "Try a new ignitor." ... Tried it thrice, did not help anything, except raising our stock at the warehouse.
  2. PS: I forgot: 80% of the complaints come from the 400 Watt Joker.
  3. Hi JD, I work more and more at a Lighting Rental Place here, and it is complaint Number 1. We fall back onto the ancient Dedo 400 watt as a replacement. And we have many heads opened, and on three of them had literary everything inside substituted. The problem persisted... It's not the ignitor, which is ludicrously expensive, but then at least we would have known what caused the problem. So far, it remains a mystery...
  4. Beside the light that come out of the units, there is a Sound Problem. Jokers start to make sound after a few years. From the head, not the ballast/choke. Arri Heads don't make noise, sometimes the ballast/choke does, but you can block that sound easily. So that should be a big enough reason to avoid the Joker. Light wise I really like the advise given somewhere on this page to opt for a 1200 Par, which gives you through the lenses much more possibilities. And a good light.
  5. Only in Theorie can you calculate how much the ballast of an HMI draws, and yes, it ALWAYS spikes when starting up, even though the brand new electronic ballasts do that a bit less than the previous generations of electronic ballasts. The reason any calculation will be somewhat or a lot of in the Real World is: there are too many unknown factors. How much cable do you have on the floor before reaching the ballast. What kind a cable ?? (ALWAYS continue as long as possible with the most powerful cables, before splitting them up !!) How old are the cables ? How well maintained are they ? Is it freezing or rather warm/hot on location ??? European Power is different from North America, so maybe it is different for you over there (although I did not ran a mock in Montreal, Quebec, when shooting there…), but I always TRY to stay at a 2/3 load of the full capacity. Of course, sometimes that is not possible, money wise. The Link Guy Holt provided is great !! many Greetings from Amsterdam !!
  6. No one talks about our best friend (to be) ???? A half sheet of poly start (1x1 meters). One side white, one side with soft silver. And a poly-fork to put it into a gobo.
  7. Thank you, David !! There are some disadvantages to double- or triple wicked candles: -1- They are very expensive. -2- Quite a high percentage of them do not burn up properly, one wick going faster than the other. -3- These candles burn up FAST !! Which is havoc and hell for the art department and continuity and, yes, light, since a fresh candle gives different light than a candle which is half way down or almost finished...
  8. The sun IS and will always be our Best Friend. As for augmenting candle light: When we shot 'The Musketeer' ("from a script so bad the other two Musketeers ran off at once" as one critic said…) we bundled up Christmas tree lights and hid those for little eye lights or effect or a tiny fill where possible. Put it on a little shadow maker / dimmer with a chase. Just a tad !! Worked like a charm. Day for night shooting is always hazardous. Be aware NEVER to shoot day for night when it is cloudy; it will look ridiculous. Try shoot at dusk underexposed... Many greetings from Amsterdam, Eric
  9. It is very interesting to tackle Caravaggio and Rembrandt simultaneously. You'll notice at once that Rembrandt uses softer light. (And that the 'stories' that Rembrandt tell with paint are looking inward, where the persons Caravaggio painted are trying to leap of the canvas towards you…) Caravaggio is an inspiration to all, at the moment we can find the Italian tv-series 'Caravaggio' on dvd. http://www.amazon.com/Caravaggio-Alessio-Boni/dp/B003RHZ68Y/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top or http://www.amazon.co.uk/Caravaggio-Luis-Enriquez-Bacalov/dp/B001Q3E7IG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1388307976&sr=8-2&keywords=caravaggio+dvd D.o.p. of that series, or rather he prefers to be called Director of Cinematography, is Vittorio Storaro. One of the very best d.o.p.'s ever. And Caravaggio has been his hero since childhood. Caravaggio has influenced many painters too through the centuries. One of them is Georges de la Tour, who used a visible light source within his paintings, where as Caravaggio and Rembrandt hardly ever did. Usually candle light or a fire. De La Tour was a major influence on Nestor Almendros, another true Maestro D.O.P. (Oscar for 'Days Of Heaven'; THE cinematographer for the French Nouvelle Vague). Try to find his book 'A Man With A Camera' where he explains very clearly what he has done with each of his films. http://www.amazon.co.uk/A-Man-Camera-Nestor-Almendros/dp/0571135897/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1388308880&sr=8-1&keywords=the+man+with+the+camera (Terribly expensive, the book has been out of print for ages. I stole a copy once from a University Library, copied it from beginning to end in a copy shop across the street, and then took the book back to the library again…) Almendros started experimenting with lighting sets with a single petrol lamp or a candelabra. Exciting thing is that at the same time in England and without knowing it from one another, Maestro John Alcott was doing the same thing and created the look of 'Barry Lyndon' for Stanley Kubrick, which is said to have been lit without any lights, using nothing but candles and (bounced) sun light... Have fun and a wonderful Sunday, Many greetings from Amsterdam, Eric
  10. Sorry all, my fake headlights thing was meant for a genuine night shoot only. Day for night shooting is always hazardous. In the Netherlands practically impossible because we almost always have a lot of clouds during the day. (As we all know: if you see obvious clouds in the night, something is wrong. There are a thousand-and-one examples for this blatant mistake. One of them is the fun scene in LIFE OF BRIAN where John Cleese as the Roman Centurion teaches Brian to spell properly in Latin when his night watch catches Brian…) All crew members hate night shoots, and understandably so. They all to the same job they were doing if it was day time. But lighting crew and camera crew, they should have a ball ! Night shoots is so much fun !! Thanks for having me here !! Wob
  11. What we often do in the Netherlands is: mount two equal lights (2k's, or 1K's or Parcan's, or anything) as the headlights of passing cars on a Western Dolly or a Wheelbarrow or anything that moves nicely. Find an angle that makes it logical that cars pass there without actually coming across in the rear of the frame. Have your Best Boy fast-walk a steady course for practically all the night. You have extra backlight on occasion, not every time, but thanks to walkie talkies you can have it when you really need it. Sound effect of passing cars right from the start + this effect will make sure the audience is used to it BEFORE you really need it. Many Greetings from Amsterdam, (and excuse me if my English is not rock solid all the time …) Wob
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