Lord of the China Balls

cardmaverick

cardmaverick

Well-known member
My solution to a rigging problem....

It worked! Nice and sturdy to I might add :)

I still have other fixtures to rig tomorrow, during the first day of the shoot, but I wisely choose to rig the biggest light a day in advance. Were shooting with 3 RED Ones. Next weekend I have another RED One film shooting out in the MD woods for three days, and that show has budgeted for a remote control helicopter camera rig, sweet!!!
 

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Pretty cool man. Looks good. Footage turned out good, I assume?

What kind of material are you using to skirt the china balls though? it almost looks like some sort of net material.
 
Thanks, no footage yet, we shoot later today. This was a pre light the day before, just how I like to run a show :)

The material around the balls is actually.....

trash bags!

Yeap, budget buster for sure, but the lighting quality is pro none the less. I'm using pro photo floods in those balls.
 
Nice, Chris, that's an effective and quick chicken coop. What size are the balls and how many watts are the photofloods? Did you have to make new fixtures out of ceramic sockets and better cable because of heat? Were the walls dark enough at camera level? TIA.

I'm going to copy this rig someday soon. (I may or may not give you credit <grin> )
 
Try a lantern lock.... Mogul base built in, 75$. best money everspent... I can stick a China ball ANYHWERE.... and have a solid foundation to build cutters an shape that lightexplosive badboy...

Still a great setup CardM.... very cool.
 
Thanks for the comments guys!

I'm using GE 500 watt photo floods in each (3200K). As for the cables, I got mine at Studio Depot, and no, they are not ceramic, they are plastic, and sold for use with 500 Watt globes. I've been using them for like 2 years, hours at a time with no issues. I'm very happy with them, especially their long length, great for this kind of rigging. Those are whopping 30 inch balls! This isn't my largest china ball rig. Once upon a time, I rigged 12 500 watt china balls over a set.... I'll have to dig that photo up someday.

Upon closer inspection, I think I'm going to cover up the top of each globe with more trash bag to further cut down on the spill ( you can see light bouncing off the ceiling), but not block the top vents.

As for the walls being dark... that whole part of this apartment was WAY too dark, as in no lights what so ever! I'm getting an f/2.8 at ISO 320 with that rig, which nicely meets the light level of the kitchens practicals. This is a multi cam one night feature film (highly experimental, I know). So the challenge was to light up a few rooms and not have anything be seen. Not for the faint of heart... I used frame forge to help me figure some things out, like lens selection, camera placement, etc... It also helped me figure out where I could place rigging support. It's being shot much like a sitcom, but I'm making it look theatrical via the lighting, and obviously the camera/lens choices.

I'm still debating if I'll rig more practicals or not. Right now the light is coming from a theoretical over head chandelier like fixture, and it simply looks real. Not bad, but tomorrow (err... later today), I aim to "heighten" reality a bit. Lets just say I dig contrast and well placed shadows, realistic light fall off, etc. The china balls without any trash bags was just way too plain and unrealistic looking.

Oh, and I now dub trash bags:

"Trash 'n tyne"

:P
 
Your light rig is indeed nice, but I would add more practicals by way of floor lamps near the couch, and /or a table lamp between the couches at the corner where they meet.
Your light is bright, but flat and you might need more negative fill, and add a few small 150's or 300's for "specials". Since your shooting with the Red, a 150 may not read at all, but well placed this or it's bigger brother(300 watt fresnel) would provide some edge light, hair light, or to light up any props that you might add to your set.

EDIT: I just re-read your last post, and it seems you have already identified your lack of contrast...sorry to point out what you already knew.
Is it a night shot, as in, is your story at night...??. If not, motivate much more light through or from the window, and dim your overheads 20-30 %
 
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This is supposed to be happening at night. I'm looking at rigging some soft back light for one of the couches that sits in front of the kitchen area, as it seems like I could make that look logical. I'm actually looking around my house this morning for a fixture I could bring with me, as the location itself doesn't have any small lights you could place on a table. Failing that though, I think the added trash bag on the top of the balls will help cut down on spill and create even more mood. Like I said before, the toughest thing on this shoot is the rigging, as you can see pretty much everywhere.
 
>I think the added trash bag on the top of the balls will help
>cut down on spill and create even more mood.

Yes it would, but I'd consider black wrap, or aluminum foil (budget). Foil would probably work best as it is not only fire proof, but it would block the light 100% and bounce it back into the china ball, increasing the output of the desired downward light.

Nice rig.
 
Thanks for the reminder! I have budget busted with "silver wrap" in the past. I'm looking at possibly doubling up the skirt, black trash bag on the inside, and aluminum on the outside. The silver can sometimes cause issues....

As for rigging extra motivational light (assuming I can get a prop to motivate it from), I have a ton of scoop lights that weigh very little, and a roll of duct tape

:)
 
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