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Parcan's are great for flood, though they lack the controls of a Fresnel. I used them ALL the time in lighting design for theatre (and still on the odd-lighting design job I take), well, those and lekos, but Parcan's made up a good 80% of lighting in theatre. On a film set I see less of them - though I'm not sure why. Leko's are more handy than Par's though.

 

One of my designs with a Leko:

163472_1541306369678_1615032_n.jpg

 

One my designs with a Parcan wash:

168891_1541305689661_7933894_n.jpg

 

As you can see, I used the Leko more for spot and the Parcan as a wash fixture - which is really where they shine.

Edited by Landon D. Parks
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Got one sitting in the shop. ( we are 99% still photo lighting i.e Strobes)

 

Thinking geez- what a simple genius idea.. let's put a headlight in a garbage can.

 

Anyone got an idea how old the Parcan lights are.

 

Just curious.

 

 

 

 

Getting back on track in this thread.

An early patent: http://www.freepatentsonline.com/3116022.pdf

 

Excepted from elsewhere:

 

According to James Moody's book Concert Lighting, in the early days of Rock & Roll lighting, technicians adapted the film/studio Color Tran CineQueen PAR fixture; and then in 1966 Bill McManus convinced Altman Lighting to manufacture a fixture that moved the color media away from the lamp to extend the color's life. Recently discovered evidence shows that Ariel Davis Manufacturing Company sold a PAR Can as early as 1960

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Use them all the time. I normally pepper them in sometimes with a cooler or bigger soft sources. very often might sneak them in low as a lower sun hit, but still have a daylight balanced soft push. They're dead cheap to rent, so I always carry at least a few.

 

In fact, the longer I do this, the less fancy lights I seem to need. It's like Eduardo Serra once said, all the brings is a bunch of blondes and then book lights it. That said, There are exceptions of course. I'm in love with many of the newer LED things. They're changing the game.

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With higher ASA cameras today, I often look for a lower wattage version of my favorite go-to lights like the PAR64 firestarter and the Source-4 Leko but I am finding it difficult to get a good scaled-down version of these lights. The other day, I used one of the new "mini" Source-4 Lekos but it wasn't bright enough for the hot spot I wanted, I should have just hung a Tweenie and spotted it in full. And the smaller mini Parcans I've tried seem really flimsy.

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And the smaller mini Parcans I've tried seem really flimsy.

 

True that. During setup for Narnia (above pictures) that I did lighting design for, we had one of the cheaper PAR38 cans we just bought fall apart from getting 'too hot' during a run-through. Seriously, I don't mean it fell like the bracket broke - the entire thing feel into about 8 pieces and fell 20' to the stage below. LUCKILY no one was under it at that time. It had literally melted apart. We were only running 150w bulbs in it.

 

It was scary enough that I returned them all after that show and went with name brand, well built PAR56 fixtures.

 

If you're going to use the cheaper and smaller PAR's, keep an eye on them.

Edited by Landon D. Parks
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I keep a few PAR64 VNSPS literally in my pickup at almost all times (with the exception of right now where it's empty so as to move my apartment). I can always find a use for them-- even if that use is a simple as banging them off of the ceiling for a base ambience which is then augmented later on.

I love using them as a sun-streak-- normally with 1/4 CTB on them ,sometimes 1/2, depending on where i balance my camera.

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Parcan's are great for flood, though they lack the controls of a Fresnel. I used them ALL the time in lighting design for theatre (and still on the odd-lighting design job I take), well, those and lekos, but Parcan's made up a good 80% of lighting in theatre. On a film set I see less of them - though I'm not sure why. Leko's are more handy than Par's though.

 

One of my designs with a Leko:

163472_1541306369678_1615032_n.jpg

 

One my designs with a Parcan wash:

168891_1541305689661_7933894_n.jpg

 

As you can see, I used the Leko more for spot and the Parcan as a wash fixture - which is really where they shine.

 

We use par cans and lekos all the time on films and TV. It just depends on the scene, location and depends if it's the right tool for the job. Depending on the gaffer and DP, a typical shooting electric trailer will carry a half dozen lekos and par cans with a variety of lenses (lekos) and bulbs (par cans). And if it's a job with a rigging crew, they may be picking up lekos and par cans for locations work.

 

Best

 

Tim

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With higher ASA cameras today, I often look for a lower wattage version of my favorite go-to lights like the PAR64 firestarter and the Source-4 Leko but I am finding it difficult to get a good scaled-down version of these lights. The other day, I used one of the new "mini" Source-4 Lekos but it wasn't bright enough for the hot spot I wanted, I should have just hung a Tweenie and spotted it in full. And the smaller mini Parcans I've tried seem really flimsy.

Hey David,

 

Have you tried 500 watt or 250 watt par 64 bulbs instead of the standard 1k? Or 575 watt HPL bulbs instead of 750's for your higher ASA work?

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I've used the 575w Source-4's, I didn't know there was a 500w Par64 globe for a parcan, but I was hoping more for units that were 50% smaller and 50% less bright.

 

 

One gaffer I work with loves using source 4 575 watt pars or 500 watt par cans especially when you have to run them off a putt putt down the street from a set and theres no power there. There are some other odd wattages and voltages available if you want to search for options. There was a time when guys use to put in ACL Par 64's in Dino lights with a harness in series. They are 30 volt bulbs. I can't remember if that was before fire starters were available. But there are smaller pars available. There are Par 56,46,38,36,30,20,and 16. Maybe you can find the fixture you like that wasn't made in China but you may have to do some bulb research. Many tungsten bulbs aren't made anymore. Every time I talk to the sales people at Barbizon, less and less spot par bulbs, In the smaller par size, and medium base edison R bulbs are available.

 

Also have you tried experimenting with the Source 4 LED leko's? I don't think they are powerful enough to replace a Joe Leko, but they could be worth a shot.

 

And of course there are some LED par 64's available but I have not used any yet. Might be worth a trip to B and H or a larger theatrical house like 4 Wall to see what options are available that you may like. I know someone at 4 Wall if you find yourself in NY and need a contact to say hello and arrange a demo.

 

And I mistyped in a prior post. I think you can still get 300 watt par 64s. Not 250 watt.

 

Best

 

Tim

 

PS The gaffer I mentioned is one of the two guys who created the Ruby 7. I actually really like that light.

Edited by timHealy
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