Can I make a good DYI softbox?

B

boke

Active member
I'm currently trying to decide if I should rent some lights or try to make some DIY lights with stuff I can get from Home Depot. I'll be using these lights quite a lot so renting them doesn't look very good , also I live in Japan and its a lot harder to find descent lights to rent here and much more expensive. My question is if I try to make my own softbox (and other lights) is it that much inferior to the expensive ones? If it helps most of my footage (read all) will be viewed thru a computer screen.
 
Yes, you can just take some white 3/16" foamcore board, cut pieces to make a slightly conical box, and hot glue them together. Then just put lights at the smaller end of the box and cover the front with tracing paper or a piece of white ripstop nylon.

I've used clip lamps with the larger reflectors and then taped tracing paper to the face.

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Chris:

I have made those before but how do you keep 1k worklights from setting the foamcore on fire? It seems to me that those stupid worklights reach an even higher surface temp than real video lights.

Dan
 
Another idea is to use a still photography "white" translucent umbrella. They take a few seconds to unfold and stick in the yoke of the fixture. Use a little gaff to secure it.

I once ran a test to compare function & results, I put a Translucent Umbrella next to an ARRI kit with the Chimera soft box. The umbrella had some spill between the fixture and the umbrella but the quality of light diffusion was equal to the softbox. I imagine someone could figure out how to use blackwrap or some other material to control the spil if needed. The spill didn't get in the way of creating the desired lighting I was after. The umbrellas were 15-30 bucks vs. the Chimera $$.

These photography umbrellas will be readily available in Japan.
 
puredrifting said:
Chris:

I have made those before but how do you keep 1k worklights from setting the foamcore on fire? It seems to me that those stupid worklights reach an even higher surface temp than real video lights.

Dan
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I used to clamp a foamcore softbox to the barndoors on a 1K fresnel and I think the trick is to make the box large enough to not overheat. You can also cut ventilation holes preferably in the top and the bottom of the box also leaving plenty of space open where the box connects to the light.

Also, I seem to recall having issues with hot glue for obvious reasons, so I'm guessing there's a better option for an adhesive.

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10s said:
Another idea is to use a still photography "white" translucent umbrella. They take a few seconds to unfold and stick in the yoke of the fixture. Use a little gaff to secure it.

I once ran a test to compare function & results, I put a Translucent Umbrella next to an ARRI kit with the Chimera soft box. The umbrella had some spill between the fixture and the umbrella but the quality of light diffusion was equal to the softbox. I imagine someone could figure out how to use blackwrap or some other material to control the spil if needed. The spill didn't get in the way of creating the desired lighting I was after. The umbrellas were 15-30 bucks vs. the Chimera $$.

These photography umbrellas will be readily available in Japan.
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I started as a photographer and "back in the day" we ALL used umbrellas which in my opinion are still great tools. Really, with the right light, you can certainly get an identical quality of light to an enclosed box.

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10s said:
Another idea is to use a still photography "white" translucent umbrella. They take a few seconds to unfold and stick in the yoke of the fixture. Use a little gaff to secure it.

I once ran a test to compare function & results, I put a Translucent Umbrella next to an ARRI kit with the Chimera soft box. The umbrella had some spill between the fixture and the umbrella but the quality of light diffusion was equal to the softbox. I imagine someone could figure out how to use blackwrap or some other material to control the spil if needed. The spill didn't get in the way of creating the desired lighting I was after. The umbrellas were 15-30 bucks vs. the Chimera $$.

These photography umbrellas will be readily available in Japan.
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The problem with using still photo light coverings, is they are usually designed for working with strobes, which put out power, momentarily, but are not on continuously, and so there is virtually no 'heat' problem... most 'heat' would be using the finder lights. Some strobes have little fans to cool things down.

That being said, in a casual conversation with someone who was into video, I made the remark that my PhotoFlex softbox would stand up to the heat of lights used for film/video... the fellow replied that he used 1KW lights all the time...

Unfortunately I've not been to his studio to see how he set this up...

I recently used my big screens, basically a large 6x6 ft frame with a white translucent plastic covering to create a 'big' softbox effect with a 750 W light behind. It still had a bit too much directionality to it, but for the purpose of my student project it got the job done... In addtion to having 6x6 ft softbox, I was also able to sort of cover portions to cut down light in areas of the shot that I wanted much darker. I was attempting to simulate some form of 'soft night time light' through a doorway.

I'll put it up somewhere when I'm done editing and have submitted it for the class final... the collective group can then rag on me for any number of things...

As an additional note on 'umbrellas' for still photography. There is a version which has a canopy on the umbrella such that you can rap the canopy around the flash housing, thus cuting of any extraneous spill from the flash that doesn't go through the umbrella.

The problem there again is the heat of the continuous lamp for film/video, so one would have to modify that to hook on to some sort of frame that kept the material from the lamp itself, and then wrap the remaing covering in something that doesn't burst in to flames...
 
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The Umbrellas sit out a few feet from the lamps. The heat problem with Umbrellas is avoided because between the fixture & the umbrella is open space and the heat rises & vents preventing the umbrella from burning up. I was concerned with heat issues until I ran the actual tests using 500, 750 and 100 fresnels and totas.

The best thing about Umbrellas are, theyare very cheap and effective alternative to softboxes delivering nearly the same results. The only difference/problem is Spill; it isn't really too much, but it does increase ambient light somewhat. Run the tests yourself and see what it offers. A soft box has zero spill.

I've also used plenty of frames, usually 4X4 frames with frost or some diffusion material, and they work great because of such a large surface. They too have lots of spill.
 
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If I was to use an umbrella to light my talent on a green screen stage would I really have to worry about spill so much, if I have good seperation between the talent and the screen?
 
My answer is to run a test ahead of time and make sure everything works correctly; that's the best way to answer your question. You need to figure out the technical before you get talent involved. The day of the shoot is simply too late to figure out things. I would run some tests a week before the scheduled shoot with a stand in and make sure your able to get the look & pull the keys you need. An Umbrella will give you a nice soft portrait quality light.
 
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