David S.

Check the fuse on the ballast. That might have went. Make sure head cables are still fully attached Most importantly, make sure the front face of the lamp is closed tightly, I'll bet this is the problem. All HMIS have a micro switch that prevents the light from turning on if the door and latch are not properly in place. The first time it didn't work is because the lights don't hot restrike and need time for the globe to depressurize. Is it a magnetic or electronic ballast?

A lot of good advice here. If I may add my own comment, I try and make my shots have contrasting color. Your shot is a little "monochromatic" orange or warm. It's a nice warm feeling but not the whole frame. Just my .02

Why do you say white balance is overused? If it works and no ill effects can be seen who cares if it turns up the gain on certain channels. About being lazy, consider his situation: He's under budget constraints. Simply asking for cool white tubes instead of daylights won't cost anymore. It will also save time and money trying to experiment and find the "right" gel cocktail to correct for the dog's breakfast of color temperatures out the window in the BG. I would think there are too many to deal with and trying to make a compromise between them all will only sacrifice the lighting for the main character on the bus.

You should consider yourself fortunate to have so many sunny days. It's alot cheaper and easier to achieve desired lighting ratios in hard sun (grip work) as opposed to expensive and time consuming HMIs that need to be added to flat, overcast days.

There's more than a number of ways to tackle this. Considering that you are shooting tape, here is the way I would do it and have done it in the past. I always keep things as simple as possible and it always looks best. Simply use your kino fixtures and replace the bulbs with either warm or cool white bulbs that match closest to the bulbs in the bus. Then simply white balance away to your desired effect and let the back ground lights fall where they may. Simple clean and effective.