Lighting Gell - Grip truck owners.

[David Ross]

I am putting together a small 1 ton grip truck and wanted to ask what are the basic full gel rolls to have on hand. I am planning on having the following rolls but wanted to ask some of the truck owners and or DP's and Gaffers who work off grip trucks what they are really using. Here is my list. ND 3, 6, and 9. Full CTB, 1/2 CTB, 1/4 CTB and 1/8 CTB.

Full CTO 1/2 CTO 1/4 CTO and 1/8th CTO.x

Of course I will maintain a wide assortment of colors. The ND, CTB and CTO are pretty much a given and i already have those on hand.I can only afford to purchase 3 new rolls of diffusion. So if you had to choose 3 rolls of diffusion what could you not live with out!

 

Thanks

 

DR

[John David Miller]

I like:

 

Silent Half Grid Cloth

 

1/2 Density Soft Frost

 

Opal Touch Frost

 

But I think for a typical 1 ton package you may want to stock:

 

216

250

Opal

 

 

You may want to consider:

 

1/4, 1/2 Plus Green and Minus Green

Heatsheild

Soft or Super Soft Silver Flex

Thin Silver and Thin Gold

Sun 85

129 White Diffusion

251 White Diffusion

Hampshire Frost

Silent Grid Cloth

Silent Quarter Grid Cloth

RoscoScrim

 

I'd carry them all, even on a 1 ton package. Your truck will rent for a fixed amount a day but the expendables are usually billed as used. You will maybe get $300 a day for a 1 ton grip package in Los Angeles but if 3 rolls of gel are used that sam3 day, you can bill $375 just in gel.

[michael best]

If you can only have 3 rolls of diff. I would go Opal, 250, 216. I know with a 1 ton space is a huge issue, but having 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, and full + and - green is a good idea. If you can find away also have Hampshire and 251 to the list 129 is great but in a 1 ton you tend not to have many big lights so it won’t be used that often. Also you may want to invest in 1/4, 1/2, and full grid as well, but on the west coast most camera men use the white diff over grid. Heat shield is a good thing to own. Soft Silver Flex, Thin Silver/Thin Gold, and Rosco Scrim are huge money makers when used... John is right Gel/expendables in general are a huge money maker for grip trucks, Tapes, sprays, beadboard, foam core, and black wrap are where most trucks make there money as the basic grip package on the van might only make 200 a day and the lights need maintance and up keep. While I have seen owner operators sell the same piece of foam core 8 or 9 times to different productions.