what to get on a $3,000 lighting budget

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kagibson2

Member
we have a $3,000 budget for lighting a film. we also plan to use these lights for all kinds of freelance gigs. versatility is what we want.
so basically, what would be the first things you would buy for around 3 grand?? i'm talkin' lights, accessories... everything.
ideally, i would want to find a cheap enough HMI to be able to afford a nice soft kit along with it. whatever you guys think.

any advice would be appreciated.

thanks.

-kody
 
3000 isn't going to get you near enough lights to light a film. You're entire amount can go to the one HMI light your mentioned, or you can get a three or four light tungsten kit. Depending on what kind of freelance gigs your planning really would determine the best light kit to get. Lighting a movie though that money will get you a 5 ton truck for a week, if your a smooth talker.
 
then i guess we're kind of small budget. lots of people on here have been asking about a $500 kit. plus, considering i've been lighting short films on a $0 budget, $3,000 sounds kinda good. by the way, by film, i meant we'll be shooting DV, not on film.
tungstens might work. we'd be doing corporate stuff, interviews, maybe commercials freelancing.... basically anyone that pays us. the market here in indiana sucks. thanks for you input though.
 
Moles are the best lights in the industry. If your just going to shoot some interviews and commercials, like furniture and car stuff, then you might get buy with a Lowell kit, personally I don't like those lights, uneven spread, hard to control, open face without a saftey screen and not very rugged. The DV kit I think it's called may get you by for a while, but I'd go for the mole kit personally. Get one with a soft box and you'll be able to light most comeercail stuff (product only)
 
Why don't you search ebay for used items. You never know what you might find. HMI bargains can even be found occasionally.
 
Also, on this business about HMI, we've been talking about this a lot lately on this board and I wrote a Part 1 article about a DIY Metal Halide Fresnel I did. This first part explains what "HMI" really is (ceramic metal halide or CMH by any other name) and how you can find inexpensive alternatives if you don't mind a little DIY work. The part II article is coming up soon and shows the actual conversion process. Here's the link to Part I:

http://www.coollights.biz/wordpress/archives/31#more-31

Basically, what I'm saying in these articles is that you can buy an old fresnel from somewhere like eBay and take out the existing socket and wiring and replace it with a new socket, CMH bulb, wiring and a ballast and you'll have a great HMI for a ton less. For now, you can find some of these bulbs and ballasts on eBay too.

Later in the year, we'll be offering pro-level CMH fixtures on my Cool Lights website which will rival performance of HMI units for a fraction of the current price.
 

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kagibson2 said:
then i guess we're kind of small budget. lots of people on here have been asking about a $500 kit. plus, considering i've been lighting short films on a $0 budget, $3,000 sounds kinda good. by the way, by film, i meant we'll be shooting DV, not on film.
tungstens might work. we'd be doing corporate stuff, interviews, maybe commercials freelancing.... basically anyone that pays us. the market here in indiana sucks. thanks for you input though.
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One thing you'll find is that there are all kinds of what I call "keepers of the status quo" around. You can always find someone to tell you that you can't do something. This is too expensive, that is impossible, etc. Persistence and vision on your part can always show them that they're wrong.

Personally, I say you can do a lot with $3000 with some careful thought and thinking out exactly what you want.

For instance, question yourself about what you're going to be doing. Will you be doing it out in public and for paying clients? Well some light DIY might be okay but for the most part I'd resort to used pro level fixtures from eBay. When I say "light" what I mean is "stealth" DIY (haha), like my metal halide fresnel above. The paint job may not be so great, but no one can say that it's not a pro level fixture because the housing is obviously an older fresnel. I got that on ebay for around $40 or so and it worked fine with the 500w lamp in it but I quit using hot lights shortly after I bought it two years ago.

Perception is reality when you work for other people and you're a slave to that--not much you can do about it but get ahead of the problem and not allow it to happen in the first place. Bright yellow colored worklights scream "amateur" but are fine for people working on their own on a film or on in house productions. You said you may do some paying client things so you need something that will work in both settings.
 
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I would look around for a used Arri Kit and add a Cool Light 400. Then spend about 1/3 of your budget on some grip gear for controlling the light. A few C-stands, flags, cutters, flex fllls etc.
 
kagibson2 said:
so no one would go the flourecent route? that's what i was thinking about getting.
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That is what the cool light 400 is. Check out the post before mine, Richard provides a less expensive alternative to the kinoflo diva.
 
The problem with flos are the throw. They are beautiful soft lights if you can be in close but they have very fast drop off over distance.
 
What is your solution then for longer throw when someone is looking for a softlight? All diffused light has a short throw.
 
$3K

Manfrotto Kit Stands or Matthews Kit Stands. 3 x $70
C-Stands w/ arms and knuckles. 2 x $190
Sandbags. 3 x $35 and 2 Boa Bags 10lbs @ $40
Arri 150w w/ doors bulbs $300
Tota w/ 750w and 1000w $155
Photoflex speedring for Tota $80
Westcott (or Photoflex) 24x32 box $150
Photoflex grid for above $100

$1560 so far...

Reflector Holder (arm) $50
Westcott SQUARE white/silver (or better is white/daylight if they make it) $70
Harbor Freight dimmers (router controllers) 3 x $10
Extension Cords 5 x $20 (average)

$1835 now...

650w fresnel of your choice w/ doors and bulb $425
Westcott "road flags" kit (much cheaper then Road Rags) $200
20 yards of black duvetyne $40 + ship (google black duvetyne)
Various color effects and correction gels $100

$2600

With the last $400 I'd try to get a fluorescent daylight solution going for daylight key... or fudge the numbers/items however you like to give room to prioritize this a little more... you probably don't need $190 c-stands... although I'm not a fan of the Amvona c-stands that are really popular around here. I had bad luck with one on my very first use of it... and maybe it was a fluke, but that sent me running back to the established brands that weigh a lot less and cost (in my opinion) not really that much more (for what you get).

I'm also in agreement that the used market is a wise thing to consider... and let me add that my list above is my opinion on some of my own light tools and that is by no means the end of the list... it's just where your money runs out.

I'm a huge fan of the Tota... and the Harbor Freight dimmers... those are two things that I like to have several of handy... again... based on a price to results ratio when used indirectly, gelled to hard daylight, or in a softbox w/ grid.
 
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Well that's certainly a more detailed approach and more positive than the others but used will get you further for sure. Most of those seem to be new prices. For instance I just found this on Ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Pair-of-Arri-650W-Fresnel-Lights-Stage-Spot-Lights-650_W0QQitemZ170097058486QQcategoryZ3860QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Hell of a deal for 2 arri 650's for $399. And the guy has 99.4% positive feedback so it should be okay.

Sandbags:

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?from=R40&satitle=sandbags

Really inexpensive. Etc.

When you have a limited budget, even 3K which I don't consider all that limited, you can't have any limiting beliefs about your equipment and that it all must be new and bought from B&H Photo--except of course your CL-455 4x55w unit ;-) which you can get direct from Cool Lights.
 
Cool Lights said:
What is your solution then for longer throw when someone is looking for a softlight? All diffused light has a short throw.
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It depends upon the situation, for most interior solutions Flos are good. If it is a large interior situation I'd go for zip lights. If I need more control than what a zip will give then floods with a soft box. If outdoors I'd use pars or punch lgihts with diffusion. There's lots of ways to get very similar results, and that is a good list that Matt in StL put together.

G
 
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