Flickering Light Effect (Florescent or incandescent)

[Michael Kosciesza]

I'm lighting a kitchen scene in a few days and was wondering how I can get a florescent light fixture to flicker? I already know that fluorescent lighting flickers super fast that the human eye can't see but I need to create a effect.

Is there some sort of adapter I can buy or wire the fixture in a certain way? I looked online but can't seem to find a suitable solution.

Also, it doesn't have to be fluorescent , a incandescent light bulb may work too but fluorescent lighting looks a lot cooler.

Thanks.

[Carlos Cebrián]

There's a cheap solution that I had use in some short films. If you put the fluorescent on a dimmer, playing with the dimmer there's a point where the fluorescent flicks. You can burn the reactance, so don't do it with your expensive Kino-flo, you can do it with domestic fluorescent and you must have a pair of backups reactances. I hope it helps.

[Michael Kosciesza]

There's a cheap solution that I had use in some short films. If you put the fluorescent on a dimmer, playing with the dimmer there's a point where the fluorescent flicks. You can burn the reactance, so don't do it with your expensive Kino-flo, you can do it with domestic fluorescent and you must have a pair of backups reactances. I hope it helps.

 

I'll build a dimmer box today and see how it works.

Thanks for the helpful advice.

 

I'll post some photos from the set and let you know how it went.

[Phil Rhodes]

Kino's won't do it, at least the ones I've used won't. You need a conventional switch-start iron ballast for the classic effect, which probably also means you can't have flicker free light from it - something to bear in mind.

 

P

[Carlos Cebrián]

I'll build a dimmer box today and see how it works.

Thanks for the helpful advice.

 

I'll post some photos from the set and let you know how it went.

 

 

Ok, good luck Michael!

[Phil Rhodes]

Careful with triac dimmers, too - basic ones may not have adequate protection against reactive loads, such as an iron fluorescent ballast.

 

P

[Kevin W Wilson]

One trick I used in the past that worked was to put the bulb in the freezer to chill it down several degrees. Popped it into the housing and got instant flickering bulb. The flickering will only last as until the bulbs heats up to room temp.

 

Not the most elegant solution but it worked when I didn't have any dimmers. Wouldn't recommend it as a consistent lighting solution but it works in a pinch.

[Joe Fugallo]

You could use a tungsten light and put it on a flicker master and use color correction gels to get the look you want.

[Josef Heks]

Try riding the dial on a variac