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Matching a lighting set


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Hi

I am a cinematography student who's working hard to reach the mastery of lighting skills. And I hope you guys can help me on my project.
So basically I'm planning a Photo-shoot Session for a film composer, it will be set inside a large room. The room has windows, but I'm planning to block the light coming through them.
It won't be a beauty session, so I will be shaping light and shade to describe what he basically does (scoring music for drama/horror/comedy/action...)
The look I'm aiming for is like in the photos below:

https://www.google.com/search?biw=1920&bih=968&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=UENLWumLA4H0kwXb9IDADQ&q=hans+zimmer&oq=hans+zimmer&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0l10.44302.45638.0.45920.11.8.0.2.2.0.280.1019.0j4j1.5.0....0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..5.6.850...0i67k1.0.qJT85Gfb5_4#imgrc=S0ALyCnNi5jj3M:
https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1920&bih=968&ei=B0NLWum_CsjkUs7jhbAM&q=leonarodo+di+caprio+the+hollywood+reporter&oq=leonarodo+di+caprio+the+hollywood+reporter&gs_l=img.3...59179.70466.0.70825.47.18.1.28.0.0.248.2272.0j11j2.13.0....0...1ac.1.64.img..6.11.1627.0..0j35i39k1j0i10i24k1j0i24k1.0.uwHIutNSEQ0#imgrc=h-dn0OIyBa4GqM:

As you can see, the Key Light is very large and soft, and there is neither a fill light nor a back light...

So my questions are:
1- What lighting unit is best used for achieving that type of look? (Arri 650w, Arri 2k, Red Head open face, HMI 1.2k, KinoFlo 400,...?)
2- Does any lighting unit fit into any chimera soft-box?
3- Is a 150W dedo light enough to achieve the look I'm aiming for?
4- Can I mount a Chimera softbox on a 150W dedolight?
5- Any tips for controlling the light and achieve the look I'm aiming for?

I would be very appreciative for any help

Cheers!
Anthony

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There are lot of sizes and shapes of Chimeras with lots of adaptor rings for various lights from fresnels, pars, to even LED ARRI Skypanels (though I've never seen a Chimera for a Kinoflo).

 

The 150w Dedo is a very tiny light and I'm sure there is a small Chimera that could be mounted on it, but it wouldn't be very bright nor soft - light work as an eyelight maybe, or a hair light or kicker.

 

Your approach partly depends on the size of your space and your rigging options. Maybe you could rig an 8'x8' frame of bleached muslin or Ultrabounce in the center of the space, skirt it, and bounce two 650w fresnels into it, but maybe not. Maybe the ceiling is already white and you just need to tape a black skirt around the sides to keep a bounced light off of the walls. Maybe you'd rather mount a 4' 4-bank Kino or a Litemat 4 or 2L as a key, then use some practicals in the perimeter, or some weaker ceiling bounces for the background, etc.

 

If the room will have all the natural daylight shut out, then it's up to you whether to go for a daylight or tungsten balanced key. Might depend on the color of any practicals in the room and whether you want to mix color temperatures.

 

Also, if you have limited power, you might want to use Kinos or LED's, which pull less power. A 2K is great but you have to keep a 20amp circuit dedicated to it.

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Thank you David for the detailed explanation! And thank you Mark for pointing that out! Yes Lebanon is 220V.

I should have provided more information regarding the room in the OP...So here it is:

The room is large (10x30 feet). But the subject, along with the props, will be placed at the end of the room. So I won't be lighting the whole area, just 1/4 of it. The ceiling is white and the sides of the walls are also white. The practicals are tungsten based but the look I'm aiming for is a one-directional-key-light in order to get those compressed shadows on the other side.

 

So what I understand from you guys (correct me if I'm wrong), in order to achieve the look I'm aiming for:

- 1 unit of Arri 2K would be a better option than 2x 650w

- I should use a large bounce in the center of the space, either an 8x8 bleached muslin or an ultrabounce.

- If the ceiling is white, I should use that to my advantage for bouncing? Or should I put a topper flag to prevent bouncing off the ceiling? Wouldn't the ceiling-bounce illuminate the shadow parts resulting in a less contrasting ratio between the light side and the shadow side?

- Lighting the background would require additional/less powerful/softer lights...?

 

Thank you in advance! I greatly appreciate the time you put in helping me :)

 

EDIT: Would you consider diffusing a 2k Arri through a large chimera an option?

Edited by Anthony Mrad
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The Leo shot is a 12x12 Grid cloth with an Elinchrome 74" Octabank behind it using Profoto strobes.

Wow! it looks like you've been there. Thanks for sharing!

Do you know if it's a light grid cloth or a full grid cloth? And can I replace the strobe effect with a 2k Arri and an ultrabounce?

 

Edited by Anthony Mrad
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Full grid cloth. We can get a ton of light using strobes so it's a hard comparison trying to equate watt/seconds to constant light source wattage-lumens.

 

You should be able to get a nice source with the 2k and UB.

 

 

 

 

the 12x12 rag on a frame in front of an Elnchrom Octa 74" is a pretty standard lighting set up as it allows the Photog a little room to shoot a wide shot or switch lenses and do a tighter portrait without having to relight/move lights.

 

With celebrities and editorial there isn't much time given to the photographers.

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