Assembling a Starter Kit: Red heads, fresnels, and wattage

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I'm an indie filmmaker that shoots narrative shorts, and am looking for some indoor lighting. I have a couple options right now. I already own a Lowel Tota Flood Light 750W and a china ball, and am looking to get some redheads and fresnels.

There are some kits on eBay such as the 3x 800W redheads + softboxes, which don't look half bad, but I'm wondering if I would actually use all three lights if I added a 650W fresnel and my flood. Would simply getting one redhead + softbox and a 650W fresnel be better? Or scratch the redhead and go for two fresnels?

I'm also wondering if I should get some lower wattage lights?

I'm very curious to how people assemble starter kits like these. Thank you for reading!
 
Avoid the Ebay Redheads. It has been discussed over and over here. Browse the web for Ianaro Redheads if this is the route you want to go. Pyramid Films also sells used and good quality lighting but their smaller watt lights go fast so give them a call and let them know what you are looking for. Also, while I am not personally a huge fan of Lowel you may consider Lowel Omni's or DP's as a safer option to Ebay Redheads.
 
Like Paul said, look on the Internet for used high quality lights, rather than poorly made low cost lights that may become a hazard.
 
If you're doing narrative, the last thing you likely need is a softbox. You're more likely to rely on bounce and diffusion, large flags and cards, etc. For interior-sized stuff along those lines, DIY is cheap and effective, as you'll often be just hanging materials over stands or using small frames.

That said, I'd take a serious look at how much tungsten you want to stock up on. It's hot, heavy, and pulls a lot of amps vs/ flo's, HID and HMI. And most modern digital sensors look a lot better using their daylight settings. Flos and the like are a big step up in many ways.

Check out the Cool Lights site - he's got some affordable flo units, and his HID fresnels are pretty cool - the cheaper hard light units have cold restrike, but I have 3 HID lights and a fresnel that's been modded to HID, and it hasn't been a problem for me. 2 and 4 bank biax fixtures are really handy and Amazon and eBay have decent units in the $180 - $300 range.

If you lean more towards daylight, you'll find you may still need some fresnels to gel down - Pyramid and eBay are good sources for used fixtures in the 650 - 1k range; pyramid always seems to have 2K units that can run on house power (big heavy lights though!) I've gotten some amazing lights on eBay, but you should check wiring, switches and grounds on anything used.

I'm generally using flo's for soft, open light (warmed up with gels sometimes), HIDs for hard daylight, fresnels with 1/2 CTB for warm hard light, and a few open faced tungsten fixtures when I need to really pump some lumens in. I'm much much happier than my tungsten-only days.
 
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Thanks for all the input!

I will look into those alternatives for redheads.

Michael, can you explain why softboxes are rarely used in narrative shoots? It's pretty much the only thing I'm familiar with; not that I don't want to change, just that I'm curious why bouncing and simple diffusion work better.

Thank you Paul for the link! Looking into Lowel's products, I'm thinking of now getting a used DP light and an as Arri fresnel (i've heard that these are supposedly well built in comparison with most other Chinese knockoffs). This'll leave room for plenty of light modifiers, diffusion, gels, etc.. Is a 1kW DP light, 650W fresnel, and 750W Tota enough to light most scenes?

Thanks again for all the help!
 
Seo said:
Michael, can you explain why softboxes are rarely used in narrative shoots? It's pretty much the only thing I'm familiar with; not that I don't want to change, just that I'm curious why bouncing and simple diffusion work better.
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It's about the size of an area that can be lit softly; a softbox 10 feet from the talent isn't that "soft" anymore. Ever seen a BTS clip from a major release with a softbox in it? I can't recall one myself. They're priceless for tabletop product, they're good for interviews (especially low-key style, with, say a 3' x 4' large box). I've never had a use for them in trying to naturally light a set though.

For some reason, people buying their first lights make them their first purchase - but for indie narrative stuff, you'd be much better off with some old theatrical open faced fixtures with barn doors (many of which take cheap "worklamp" style lamps from 200 to 1k watts), a couple old theatrical fresnels in the 300 - 1k range, and some bedsheet-sized fabrics in white, unbleached, and black... with a stack of full & half foamcore sheets in white and black, and as many stands and grip heads as you can afford. You could light just about anything imaginable with that, until you need to blast giant HMIs through windows or light a hotel lobby. (And I'm a huge proponent of going with flo's, HIDs, and larger fixtures which can be gelled blue as soon as you can afford them) but even a few shoplights and a beat up fresnel or two give you the tools to light like Roger Deakins (if you don't buy that, read his forum. He speaks often of running into dept. stores and grabbing bed sheets).

Softboxes can be useful with the diffusion removed, making sort of a big hard light with a giant reflector I suppose. But even for a dark, dramatic night interior, you'll often find an 8' x 3' strip of bounce (just white fabric or unbleached muslin) is what you need for a soft key.

Throw in the expense of a softbox for hot lights vs. a sack of fabrics and some black foamcore flags and they get even less desirable. Don't get me wrong - if I have to interview some executive in his wood-paneled office, I may hang a large softbox. But there goes my wide establishing shot...
 
Very helpful, thank you!

Would you recommend building diffusion panels like these? Those are pretty popular among photographers but I mostly hear of only diffusion gels and not panels in the filmmaking realm.

I think I'll pull the trigger on a DP light, along with flags and barndoors.
 
I think the main thing with panels is having a solid way to mount them; sometimes you want them as pictured (easy), sometimes angled and up a few feet, sometimes flat and overhead. When you start hanging panels, you also usually want more fabric attachment points than just corners or it will sag. (I use the westcott scrim jims, the fabric velcros onto metal frames).

I've been looking at some manufacturers of square PVC tubing and fittings for some real specialty ideas. It comes in black so it has a real "non DIY look". Here's an example. Conceptually, anything fairly sturdy that will hold the fabric well and can be mounted or hung (superclamps are pretty good for this) should work out OK.

Also, I find a lot of the time, I'm using white mesh and gauze vs. diffusion. With flo's it's just-right, and in the sun it opens shadows, cuts some light but still looks very "real" vs. flat.
 
Would I just clamp the superclamp onto the PVC frame, then attach that to a boom arm or something so I can position it?

That sounds interesting. But I assume since tungsten light is less diffuse I would want to use diffusion?

I won a DP light on an eBay auction, fit with barndoors, gel frame, and flags. Is there any misc lighting gear every gaffer should have, e.g. scrims, duvetyne, etc.?

Thanks for all the help!
 
With a decent size panel, you'll usually need two stands - superclamp with a round 5/8 stud in a grip head, one on each side, use the grip heads to rotate it... sandbags sometimes a necessity. And fairly butch stans help, c-stands or big babies.

And yes, for tungsten, diffusion - but with the lights you have, 1/4 stop is probably a good bet. You need the light far enough away (and set to flood if possible) to make as large a circle of light on the panel as possible, whether diffusing or bouncing.

Jeez, as far as must-have gear... on a tight budget: you can never have enough stands, grip heads, and booms (filmtools.com sells 5/8 aluminum tube in various lengths); lower cost aluminum tripod stands are just fine for flags and cards; for grip heads, B&H sells an off-brand that's dynamite, I think they're under 20 bucks - you often need one on the stand and one on the end of the boom. You can do a heck of a lot with white and black foamcore, which you can just clamp into the circular part of a grip head; those a-shaped clamps from the hardware store can be handy as hell, fill a dairy crate with 'em. For gels, full and 1/2 CTB and some diffusion sheets.

"Real" flags are nice to have, with diffusion, full black and black mesh - they're a little pricey but there's an eBay seller who has them affordably. Foamcore is decent for full black, but a couple mesh flags can be a big help. I use a huge canvas art portfolio bag to transport flags and foamcore.

I bring a very big duffel bag with diffuse white fabric, unbleached muslin, plain white cloth, white and black cheap polyester net, and yards and yards of 72" black felt, which is cheap and lightweight. Black gaffer tape, black wrap, a pair of scissors. I also keep a roll of metal window screen handy which you can cut into full and half scrims and stick into a gel frame, even just wrap around hot lights - you can wrap fabric mesh around flo's, white to soften, black to cut. A little backpacking size first aid kit (if you're the only guy on set with a band aid or alcohol wipe, you're a hero sometimes)... a good dozen superclamps and studs for 'em. The stud that joins two superclamps together is the bomb, allows you to add a second light or a flag to a single c-stand. Sunscreen. A little canvas tool pouch with basic hand tools and electrical tape.

I have some duvatyne but felt is so cheap, you won't mind chopping a hole in it to make a circle mask, etc.

I like having several C-stands with the turtle base and a couple "butt plugs" (junior to baby adapters). The hole in the turtle base is actually a junior socket, the butt plug makes it a very low light stand, kind of handy. And turtle base stands pack easier. More expensive though.

There's really no end to it...
 
Wow, really great info, thanks so much! I'll take a few moments to process and Google. Thanks again for all the help! :)
 
Just a note about the Ebay redheads. I have had my set for about 2 years now and I think for the price they are OK. My only real problem has been the plastic on the wingnuts eventually cracking. Other than that I like the quality of the stands and heads.

I believe the ones I bought were imported from China and rewired for the UK market as the wiring on them is top-notch and very safe. For £200 they work great for me and I havn't felt the need to upgrade them. I try not to use hard light a lot anyway but when I need to these do the job!
 
I have a relative returning from China next week and I was hoping she could bring me some equipment, but I'm having a hard time finding lights that can be used on 120V. Buying directly in China is a lot cheaper (almost half the cost), so if I can find some suitable lights I'll have her bring back some. Of course, light stands, grip heads and the like are all originally from there anyway, so I'll have her stuff as much as she can into her luggage, haha.

I've used some pretty unsafe lights in the past and just don't feel like doing that again. Back when I used to shoot in China things were a lot more lax, but I feel like over here I should do things a little more properly. Put the "rules are for wimps" mentality behind me, haha.


BTW, quick question regarding clamps. What's the difference between a spring clamp, super clamp, and mafer clamp? There are just so many brands and types of clamps out there it gets really confusing. How do you know which ones to buy?
 
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