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Amanda Eckle

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Everything posted by Amanda Eckle

  1. Hey Akpe, You probably already shot this-curious what did you end up using?? Would love to see! For any future reference these small mattress lighting balloons are ones we commonly use in church's, theaters...etc-they are small and easy to move... they are 9'x9'x3' and do 5.2k tungsten, 1150w hmi, and 3575w hybrid. (image below for reference) it is a great fairly inexpensive option when you need flexibility and a good diffused light...and yes these are available pretty much anywhere (I've used them all over the US)...there is also ones that are 20'x20'x4.5' and do 24k tungsten or 9.6k hmi not sure what hybrid...
  2. Hey Marcus, Any location restrictions (is it notoriously windy/dusty and do you have any limitations on what you can put up there?)
  3. David S. I agree with David Mullen that a Balloon Light would be an excellent idea for your shoot-but where are you shooting?? (city wise). I'm a huge balloon light advocate (I'm a little biased as I've been working with them for the past year); but the helium advantage is always best as flying your light will give you a ton of flexibility (when you need to move it-guaranteed to take far less time then re-rigging or moving larger lights). You can always air fill them and rig them to condors too to save on helium cost if the balloon requires a very large output Anyways just thought I'd throw that in!
  4. I know LA Rag House and The Rag Place do make these do you mean 48" or 48'?? We've had them custom make some larger ones for balloons in the past...hope this helps!
  5. Guy- Good to know, I have never met Peter from ALNY since I'm mostly dedicated to the West Coast half of the US right now; but that makes a lot more sense. Like I said before I'd really recommend just calling Airstar direct; especially when it's something that needs to be worked within a budget. My East Coast counterpart has been with the company for a long time-he would be able to shed a lot of light on this stuff. Stuart- You are so very right. It still stumps me as to why this hasn't been available. Since I'm still in my 1st year here-I have been pushing this and hopefully we will have content openly available soon. The hope is to have it up by CineGear time ideally.... So Fingers Crossed! On the other hand if you ever find your self in Los Angeles though you can feel free to stop by our Office anytime and we are always open to showing units/ going over them getting some first hand looks at them.
  6. Hey! First post over here on the non lighting side... So I am looking into purchasing a new kit for myself-I do a lot of Independent Music Videos, Travel Docs....etc. Currently I have several GoPro's in my package, with a Canon 7d-the 7d I am pretty sick of at this point. I would like to upgrade to a Sony a7s ..or the a7sii, maybe even the r if I can get a good argument. I do a lot of lowlight with the Travel stuff so I need something pretty versatile. I've heard the rolling shutter is terrible though. I came across the Aja Cion; and I've never really heard of this camera but a few tests seemed alright outside of it's lack of dynamic range. I was just wondering on some opinions for these! If anyones used them in a Travel Scenario; or just any recommendations and facts I may have missed would be helpful. I just want to get the most bang for my buck-but also make some quality video (also any lens rec's would be awesome..i know the E Mount is a pain). Thanks!
  7. Guy- Well out of curiosity-doesn't everything over essentially a 2k HMI equivalent (I think the highest you can go on Edison is 1.2k/1.8k HMI Globe) required a 60Amp bates paddle out from the Ballast? Which would obviously have to go to a 65000 or 7500 Generator (unless you have a Distro or other source that can provide proper AMPs ? So I wouldn't count that as a " hidden fee"since any electrician using it should be aware of what they need for power. As for helium, this is an obvious cost to fly anything that you wish to not use stands or condors for; I don't think that's any surprise to anyone. Otherwise you can, as I already stated, easy rig to a Condor, Truss, Speed Rail...etc to eliminate Helium cost. As far as Techs go, production does not have to have a technician if A) someone already knows how to fly it or B) Production (or the Gaffer, BBE...etc) can ask for someone on their end to be trained...etc. Obviously it is better to have someone fly it with experience (just like with any other item that you must be trained in) as to make for a safe set. You can always contact our East Coast Manager Mack (Since I'm assuming the quotes you got were from Available Light or another Balloon Company) at our headquarters in Florida and he can handle whatever you need-if Balloons ever come up again on your end. Also when was that balloon class? Must have been awhile ago (or done by Available Light); since I don't think we've done one recently up there....just curious...I appreciate your responses I am always curious to the hesitation people have sometimes. Simon-Yes our UK Film Contact at Airstar London is Mark W...he might be able to direct you to someone over in Matla (I believe we have had balloons used out there for shows/films before..we also have a fairly large European Network). Otherwise he is a good person to know over in the UK for balloons for future reference; and you can always contact me whenever your shooting in the states! Phil- Our delivery fee (even in the UK, I'm sure) is very low (same with shipping). Unless it's last minute but I think that's for obvious reasons. Plus 75% of Productions in the area will just pickup (or have teamsters..not sure what the UK equivalent of that is) pick up the equipment at no cost from the facility. There is a lot of miscommunication I feel like is conveyed with this particular subject; and like I stated before I really want to get more info out there about this. So feel free to keep the questions coming if you have them.
  8. Also as a side note on this Topic-we do also have Air Filled Units (they don't accept helium); that run up to 4k HMI or 6k Tungsten..and some LED; that can easily be hung/rigged just about everywhere. Image for Reference below. They Don't require and operator and can be far cheaper than renting a balloon (if you have anywhere to rig). Anyways just thought I'd add that. Same Diffused Balloon Light w/o Helium basically. Version Pictured below is 1.2k HMI Units
  9. Adrian...definitely let me know when you do! my email's in my signature. and Stuart-there are ways around helium costs (even in Los Angeles...which is one of the cheapest places now to get it); but they are not nearly as high as they were a few years ago. I understand a lot of peoples hesitation with the helium; but it's really not as scary or as costly as it sounds. If you ever want to use them again let me know and I'll make sure it works with whatever your productions budget is... Guy- Actually we supply Available Light for their units (they are all Airstar product) ; -I know we have a few others in the Northeast, but currently our goal is to educate as many people as we can and train them so this is no longer a "niche"; but more available to the open market. I've actually flown out at my own expense and trained people for this specific purpose (mostly at grip and lighting companies, but also directly at productions as well). Also you should never be paying $900/Day for a 4k HMI (especially for just the unit??). That's insane. I just rented out a similar unit (2,4k HMI 10' Round) out of state and outsourced a technician there-shipping + unit+ tech was under $1500...also we don't do Portal-to Portal anymore (unless Union...and that isn't always a guarantee anymore anyways-it is up to Production). I know things in the "balloon lighting" business used to be run differently; but I've been with Airstar for about 7 months now and my main goal is to really get more education for everyone on this; and keep up with various productions needs and budgets.. Sorry I'm rambling now; but please shoot me an email if you want and I can get you more info if you'd like!
  10. For the record- Balloon Lights don't cost an arm and a leg. You can easily rent a Sausage balloon light-secured to a condor and only have a tech setup and tear down (instead of a full 10hr rate)....for under $1,000 I know because it's happened recently (although this is dependent on how much output you'd like...things that are upwards of 32k HMI tend to cost more for obvious reasons). I work for Airstar America; and I handle Low Budgets all the time-since everyone should have access to Balloon....not just big budget films/tv. I can work with whatever you need.
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