Grip question-- hanging fluorescents/heavier fixtures from drop-ceiling.

hemophilia

hemophilia

Well-known member
I'm not too familiar with all the grip knick-knacks out on the planet, so could one of you that is more familiar with the billion different little things that Matthews (and the like) make tell me: How can I hang something like a Kino Diva 200/400 (or something of a similar weight) from a drop ceiling?

I don't quite trust a baby pin to hold upside-down like that to a scissor clamp on the ceiling. I mean, I'd use a safety cable, but I don't like putting something in a situation where the safety cable seems like it may well come into play.

Suggestions?
 
I've rigged a 4ft 4bank off a ceiling clamp with a safety and it was fine. I wouldn't advise it but we didnt' have anything else and the DP really wanted it rigged that way.

If you can remove the ceiling tile and get a cardellini rigged somewhere up above that would be better.
 
Check the drop ceiling and see if you're rigging a clamp close to a cable or wire support that's holding the grid anyway... if so, then I wouldn't worry about a Diva 200 or 400... I've seen 1,000w fresnels rigged from a drop grid.

Of course it's YOUR call.
 
Remove or slide ceiling tile out of the way. Look for pipes ,beams or in a jam, electrical conduit. Attach a Cardellini clamp to pipe or other ridgid frame work.
Attach Gobo head to Cardellini, then use Gobo arm to support fixture. Depending on ceiling height above drop ceiling, you may be able to hide almost entire fixture into ceiling, but I prefer to leave some of the fixture out for heat issues. This set up , of course, may or may not work for your shoot, but I hate to hang anything heavier than an Arri 650 off of a ceiling tile grid.
Please use a safety chain....
 
Drop Ceiling

Drop Ceiling

Hang Lights from the boom... I did it few days ago and it worked fine.
 
There are a lot of options...

The intersections tend to be stronger than the centers so attach scissors near a corner...

Use two scissor clamps with gobo heads and arm between with 90 deg although this will add weight...

Remove ceiling tile and span opening with 2X4 with nail plate attached...

Two pancakes with nail plates attached sitting on adjacent tiles on either side of open tile...span with gobo heads and arm attach light to 90deg which is on arm...

Span opening with gobo arm carefully lay lightest shot/sand bag to keep from moving...

I've done all the above at one time or another...i'm comfortable hanging tweenie/650...a baby or 1k you just need to be smart and assess the stability of the grid as all are different.

Sometimes there are pipes/conduit(mentioned above) that you can use a cardellini/mafer and attach to but you have to assess the stability. If you can attach to a point near where the pipe/conduit is attached to something else that would be ideal.

Sometimes the answer is that you can't hang it...the risk isn't worth it and you need to go without or find an alternative...if you have the equipment you could do a suicide rig(c-stand attached to combo stand with lots of shot/sand).

Always use a safety cable...if you are in a hurry and noone is under the light and there are no crystal vases underneath, and there isn't a hardwood floor and you are willing to drop a light and blow a globe....well, you know what I mean...

Bob
 
Thanks for the responses everyone.

I was actually more concerned about the baby-pin holding upside-down, rather than the strength of the drop ceiling or a scissor-clamp attached to it. But seeing as how NO ONE expressed that same concern, and everyone was simply talking about rigging the light up to a stronger base than the drop ceiling, my concerns are somewhat quelled. I will of course have a safety cable attached to something robust. So the worst case is a Diva dangling from a cable, which isn't too bad.

Thanks again,
Kevin
 
No one addressed the baby pin concern because baby pins have an indented area that when screwed into, prevent the fixture from slipping out.

:-)
 
But you have to make sure the fixture's keeper gets screwed into that baby pin groove. Some people don't, and then you're asking for trouble.
 
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