YULLE99

I have never seen one of these before. I believe it is a beauty dish, which is different from a regular wide reflector in that they didn't shine hard light on the talent, only reflected light. The two rods probably held a reflector to bounce the light back into the dish. I am going to try to put in a photo of a modern example of this light (for strobes). The bulb in your picture (at 120 volts) is intended for the U.S. market, if that helps identify it. Bulbtronics & Mole Richardson has bulbs for this light (500 watts & 1000 watts), it has a 'Mogul screw' base. Daylight & tungsten color balance. If you are going to use the light at all, rewire it with a cable that grounds the light as well as powers it. For safety. Search 'rewiring lamps' here or on Google for info. If you want to use household bulbs in it, you can buy a 'Mogul screw to Edison' adapter or insert from some hardware stores; usually hardware stores that cater to people with older houses that still have 'Mogul screw' base fixtures in them. 'B&B Hardware' in Culver City has them in my area. If you want softer light from it, just put some Rosco 'Tough Spun' over it the reflector; some powerful magnets (prettier that using clothespins) will hold it in place, unless the reflector is aluminum. Tough Spun is made from spun glass & won't melt. The same kind of diffusion as Rosco Tough Spun is available from the bottom of your box spring mattress for free. It is used there to keep the bugs out from down there. So back to the light. How many inches wide & deep is the relector ? What is it made out of ? How high does the stand go up ? I wonder if it was employed at a cosmetics counter in some high end department store.

The Mole Biax has the ballast attached to the light, which makes it harder to fly overhead. Not impossible, just harder. The grid is silvered, which negates some of the directional power of the grid; which SHOULD be black. There MIGHT be a reason they are cheaper. I work with a DP who when they came out, bought three of them, worked with them, & replaced them with Kinos, which he loves. He found out the hard way about the potential pains of being an early adopter.

That style of sandbag is called a 'flyaway', They are for traveling. You could buy flyaways (instead of normal sandbags) & just fill them with sand to save on shipping charges, but they are less secure & more likely to burst at the recloseable juncture, especially if they are thrown, as some people do. Never throw a sandbag, that causes damage (rips & tears) that leads to them leaking sand. The smart shopper will just buy an empty sandbag, add sand & sew it shut to save money on shipping charges. Upholstery shops and cobblers (shoe repair) have industrial sewing machines that can handle that kind of sewing. By the way, sterile clean sand can be purchased at 'Toys R Us', or similar large toy stores. It is intended for sandboxes. You should bleach normal sand (such as empty lot sand) before you add it to the sandbags to kill any algae type plants from growing in it IF the bags ever get wet. Otherwise if they get wet, they can turn green from algae growth & emit odors you may not like. Putting 2 gallon ziplock bags in each section of the flyaway to put the sand in is another idea. You want a ziplock bag that is too large for the amount of sand used inside each section to allow the bag to shape itself over objects & move. Another idea is sealing the thread with the application of super glue to the thread to cause it to soak up the super glue & turn solid. In the clothes I have done this with, the thread outlasted the garment. These might be a stupid ideas though. Matthews flyaway bags feature velcro for closing the bag, but I prefer zippers. Velcro wears down & becomes much less effective over time. But Matthews flyaways are what I have. I much prefer my shotbags for most applications. I checked out the pictures of the Impact sandbags, they look like great designs, but I have never used them. Jay M. Hurd Los Angeles, CA- electrician, grip

42'' white chinese lanterns 4sale in L.A., Cali. New, never used. $40. each. Less for larger quantities. Same as the 30'' china balls. Just bigger. Makes a nice big source. I prefer Chimeras, but these are a lot cheaper, with no expensive speedrings involved. You can also leave these in the shot, Hong Kong style. I haven't figured out how to ship them yet. I do not know where to get a box that big yet. They come in one, but that one is gone. Let me work on that.................. It shouldn't be an unsurmountable problem, shipping isn't rocket surgery or anything. I am in Los Angeles. You make it worth my while (if you buy enough), & I will deliver them to you, on set or whatever. Give me an email address, & I will email you a pic, if you need to see them first. I am at: yulle99@yahoo.com A 2K Mollette could be employed in one of these, no problem, but don't hold me to that. I juiced on a movie where we ran 2K through something a lot smaller. They tend to start fires in 30'' balls though. The talent was not pleased. By the way, china balls can be taken on commercial planes, they fit in the back of the coat closet in the front of the plane. I have done it with a few 30'' balls before, they went behind the clothes, in a garbage bag (post 911). It was Jet Blue, LA to NYC & back, unscathed. The expandable painters pole was a different story though. I get these from Japan, through a friend. I am a non union (some grip too) electric based in Hermosa Beach, if anyone was curious.