3 point light starter kit

L

Legion6789

Active member
I've been stumped as to which direction to go with my first lighting kit. I read the FAQs here, bought Barry Green's lighting video and googled around, but there's so many options that I'm not sure what the best way to go is for my situation, especially since I have no experience with lighting.

Some of the things I'm not sure about are: Can you mix light types (ie. fluorescent with halogen and LED)? Or will that play havoc with white balance? What wattages do I need? Is it better to have more wattage than you need and use scrims/diffusers/etc to attenuate the light, or have specific low wattage lights?

It's for narrative film, no interviews. I'm only looking at lighting for interiors, so nothing for outside. I'll be shooting 1 to 3 people at a time. I need to be able to plug everything into standard wall sockets, no special 230V outlets. I'll be shooting with the 5D Mark III and Canon f/2.8 24-70mm and Canon f/2.8 70-200mm lenses. I'd like to keep the cost of the kit below $3000. I'm in Toronto, so two of the biggest retailers near me are Henry's and Vistek.

Some of the kits I was looking at are below:

http://vistek.ca/store/ProVideoLighting/256575/arri-lighting-6503-compact-fresnel-kit-wheels.aspx - I know Arri is a well recognized brand but it's only giving me 3 lights and I wonder if I'm paying more just for the name. Are 3 650W fresnels going to give me enough versatility?

http://vistek.ca/store/ProVideoLigh...ing-150300650-compact-fresnel-kit-wheels.aspx - Another Arri kit, but instead of 3 650W fresnels, you get one each of 150W, 300W and 650W.

http://vistek.ca/store/ProVideoLighting/125307/lowel-solo-kit-omni-case-0186z.aspx - Lowel isn't a brand I'm familiar with, but that could just be my own ignorance since I'm new at this. This kit seems to offer a lot more gear than the Arri kit, but I'm not really clear on what a "Tota" light is, or an "Omni" light. The stands also seem kinda short and I'm wondering if that would make some lighting situations difficult.

http://vistek.ca/store/ProVideoLighting/216441/lowel-super-ambi-kit-w-0186z-case.aspx - Another Lowel kit, not sure which one is better. This one has a "Pro light". Again, not sure what that is.
 
Rent . . . until you have a better feel for what you need to buy. Every project has its own needs and until you have that "feel" for what your projects really need I would suggest discussing each project with a rental house and take their recommendation for a while. Then you will be capable of determening your true needs.

As to mixing light sources, yes you can mix but you will have to gel some units in order to match their output color temps.

Also, you're not going to be able to plug many tungsten lights into a wall outlet. Most circuits are wired with 15 amp breakers. 3-650w fresnels will pull over 18 amps and you'll drop a breaker.

Check things out with a rental house. Don't be too eager to run out and buy equipment until you have the experience to make wise decissions. Good Luck.
 
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I imagine there are over a thousand threads here asking the "first lighting kit" question - search and you'll see for every time that question's been asked, there are pages of opinions.

I would start collecting frame grabs, fashion ads, architectural interior shots, classic photos, old-master paintings that turn you on. Heck, make folders for outdoor, indoor, high-key, etc and hit google images. Or see if you can make a rough "look and feel" storyboard for your script from tears & swipes.

Then look at 'em and figure out how you would light them. If you don't know what a Tota is or whether 3 650 fresnels are right for you, you may not be at a place where spending money wisely is possible right now. (Not trying to be demeaning, just honest).

I'd say hit eBay used lighting and try to get some sort of open faced light that used work-light style bulbs (cheap lamps and swap 'em from 100 - 750). Or heck, a couple work lights. Find a used fresnel in the 650 range, and maybe a 300. Find something that will be safe in a china ball, and get some lamps for practicals, and start testing and experimenting. Biax flos are the cheapest daylight sources with a nice kick, but hard or focused daylight gets pretty pricey, so I'd say learn on tungsten. Learn about bounce and diffusion. Read every post on Roger Deakins' forum. Google American Cinematographer photos of working sets with the greats in charge. Deakins writes often about running into a mall for bed sheets on a shoot - it's NOT ABOUT THE GEAR to a great extent, until you start lighting up an entire street at night.

But... you say "narrative film" and you want a "three point" kit (which seems like "interview"-thinking). Locations where real lives are lived don't have three-point lighting. Look at life and the best recreations of life, figure out how the light is working and try to emulate it. But if you shoot a feature or short with the knowledge you have now, you might not be very happy with it. See if you can find someone to DP it with the idea they'll be teaching you.
 
I'll echo the advice from above about renting before you buy. There are a ton of different ways to light a scene and each DP will light the same scene differently. Renting allows you to experiment with different units before you make the commitment.

And literally everything Michael said..

Or better yet, use a small portion of that $3k and hire a good gaffer with a truck to work with you on your film. =)
 
Renting sounds like a good idea, in theory. However it's far too expensive. I come from a music background so maybe my expectations are different. But I can rent a $3000 guitar for a month for about $100. Renting a single Arri 650w light for a week is $100. Renting a 3 light lowel kit for a week is $240. That's just light and stands, no softboxes, no scrims etc. Scrims are $120/week. I can see those prices being ok in the context of a production where everything is planned and you know how many days you'll need each item. But in my case I'm trying to learn how to use them, so I need time with them. I just don't like the idea of dropping $1000 on rentals not used in a production.

As for hiring a professional, I wouldn't for our project. It's only 2 of us and this is a small, simple project for us to learn on. It's a 5 minute episode in a series of video game reviews structured in a narrative format to hopefully make it more interesting than a guy holding up a cartridge and talking into the camera.

That said, I might look into hiring a gaffer for a day just to show me their light kit and different setups, etc so I can get a better idea of what I need.
 
Better yet . . . . why don't you enroll in a production course at a community college or other qualified school, and learn to use and evaluate production tools with their equipment. You obviously have a desire to shoot something very special. How are you going to handle sound, camera techniques, blocking, editing, etc.? Most schools are loaded with all kinds of equipment and competent instructors. There you get hands-on experience with all kinds of equipment and you'll learn what you will need for your dream production . . . and you'll leard how to properly use your equipment. Don't attempt shooting a "narrative" production with limited knowlege of production. Yet we all have eagerly done it, once.
Good luck.
 
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Renting vs getting lights... It depends on the kind of production and shoots you are doing. I have a project that will require interview lighting, and will be shot at 5 separate times/locations. Renting for each one would cost more than I'd want to spend. So I looked at getting a simple personal light kit. Found this: http://www.amazon.com/Photo-Basics-403-uLite-3-Light/dp/B0028K2TWM

Is it AMAZING? Not really. But it's gonna do the job admirably, it looks good to the interviewees, and it was cheap. YMMV

Basically, assess your needs, the costs, and research equipment options (rent and purchase).
 
After reading your response to the sage advice above, it's clear your bent on buying. With that in mind, buy, learn, regret not having learned more before you bought, then buy again.

Good luck! :thumbsup:
 
I'm in the same boat and this is after I have taken a film production class and used their lighting equipment. They didn't teach us much about lighting beyond how not to blow fuses and burn down buildings and trip on cords. I shot my first film with nothing but sunset light, not even a single reflector.

For my second film I had one 1000w mickey, one 650, and a reflector.

I still feel like I know jack crap about lights.

Im thinking of the buy used route or the cheap amazon kit route. I just need more hands on time to experiment.
 
I ended up getting the Arri Softbank I Plus kit. It comes with 1x300w fresnel, 2x650w fresnels, 1x750w focusing flood, a softbox, barndoors, scrims, and stands for everything, a few accessories and it comes in a big hard shell case with rollers. It came with a handbook titled "How To Get The Most From Your New ARRI Kit". All the information I need, right there! And it comes with these sweet gloves that say "ARRI" on them. So now, if anyone accuses me of not knowing what I'm doing, I can just say "If I didn't know what I was doing, would I have these? No... no I would not."
 
David W. Jones said:
Buy used, save money.
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Often easier said than done. I find it's often really difficult since I'm not in LA or NYC. Right now I'm trying to dig up a couple of serviceable 40" two riser turtle base c-stands. None of my usual sources has any. Hasn't had any for months. So where can one find such basics as used c-stands these days?
 
kennedymax said:
Better yet . . . . why don't you enroll in a production course at a community college or other qualified school, and learn to use and evaluate production tools with their equipment. You obviously have a desire to shoot something very special. How are you going to handle sound, camera techniques, blocking, editing, etc.? Most schools are loaded with all kinds of equipment and competent instructors. There you get hands-on experience with all kinds of equipment and you'll learn what you will need for your dream production . . . and you'll leard how to properly use your equipment. Don't attempt shooting a "narrative" production with limited knowlege of production. Yet we all have eagerly done it, once.
Good luck.
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No offense, but the guy is asking what a good first kit is, your telling him to enroll in school, lol I see your point, but cmon, lights are so cheap these days, I would look for a kit that can be used hard or soft, whether it be softboxes, or umbrellas, I love tungsten, but their hot, and not very efficient. I would go with a mid priced cfl kit in the range of 2,400 watts combined. This will work for most situation, then add from there. it's that simple.
 
Let me add this, buy sandbags, I try to use double the weight of the instrument on the base of the stand, and in windy situations, either double that or use stakes if you can. If you go with a heavy Fresnel, it can hurt someone very badly, I can't stress safety enough with hot lights. And if you buy cheap china lights, it wouldn't be a bad idea to grab a small fire extinguisher as well:)
 
Bruce Watson said:
Often easier said than done. I find it's often really difficult since I'm not in LA or NYC. Right now I'm trying to dig up a couple of serviceable 40" two riser turtle base c-stands. None of my usual sources has any. Hasn't had any for months. So where can one find such basics as used c-stands these days?
Click to expand...

I've noticed the same. My initial idea was to buy used, but there's just nothing here in Toronto. The only light I could find was a 650w ARRI fresnel with no stand or barn doors for $450. You can get that new for $500, so hardly a deal.
 
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