Bulbs for lighting cost over $100?

[FilmBoy77]

i'm working on a short film and i have a lighting guy i'm working with and he has a lighting kit 9not sure what exactly) but he mentioned that i would have to buy the bulbs for his lights in order to get the look i want and said it would be about $110. does this sound fishy?

i'm just going to be in a hotel room and want dim lighting...i started to just rent my lighting from one of the video equipment stores around town but figured i'd just get a 'pro' in the lighting area.

also he is trying to convince me to hire him in for my outdoor daytime shoots and INSISTS i need lights in broad daylight. always starting off by saying "i know it sounds crazy but trust me on this"

i have a good handle on the hvx and audio but i know probably the minimal bare basics about lighting...close to nothing, lol. what's your opinion?

 

[ian hunter]

if your budget can't stretch to that price, then don't pay it.
but (depending what kit he has) those prices don't seem too crazy.
i have 2 HMI pag top light's and each replacement bulb is £140 (about $180)
yes that is for one bulb!!!!
also to get an even lighting outside i would put up an HMI or a couple of redhead's
Lighting is important and expensive!!

ian

 

[filmat11]

I guess , the way you have written the explanation, to some, it might seem fishy.
I would give the guy the benefit of the doubt. His request for bulbs is a unique way to cover the cost of any bulbs that he may need to replace in his lights.
All good gaffers, that OWN their own equipment should have spares for each unit.
But he is putting the possible replacement on your bill, to cover wear and tear/burn time on his fixtures....I really don't see this as a big issue, rental houses charge for insurance for just the same thing. Bulbs for them are just the cost of doing business, for gaffers that freelance, a burned up bulb, is just a hit to the wallet.
As far as "Just trust me on this".. he's right. HMI's or very large tungsten lights with blue CTB gel on them, will be needed for your daylight exteriors. It is possible that you MAY " get by" with reflectors and foam core"bounce" boards, but I wouldn't count on it. Using HMI's outdoors, or even indoors if near a window, is par for the course.
Stick to what you know, and you can spend more time with your actors. Let a pro do his work and handle the lighting for you....trust him, and your collaboration will work...Feel free to ask questions, let him know ahead of time where the actors will be, how long they will be there, if they are going to move during your shot and where. Show him where you want the wide shot from, and what your plans are for say.. over the shoulder shots, close up's..ect...Tell him these things before you knock out your first shot. He may need to hide lights near the ceiling and hide his cords, or he may need to rig his lights outside the window, depending on your shot needs and actor directions/movement. The more he knows, the better the shoot. Watch,learn and listen. Watching a pro do his thing is better than a year at film school.... Especially if they know their S H I T.

 

[FilmBoy77]

cool, i'll take you guys advice and let him do his thing. :thumbup:

 

[ian hunter]

"let him know ahead of time where the actors will be, how long they will be there, if they are going to move during your shot and where. Show him where you want the wide shot from, and what your plans are for say.. over the shoulder shots, close up's..ect...Tell him these things before you knock out your first shot. He may need to hide lights near the ceiling and hide his cords, or he may need to rig his lights outside the window, depending on your shot needs and actor directions/movement"
absolutely spot on.
also give him time to re-set all the light's between shot's:
just about every bulb that has blown on me, is when you try moving them when they are still hot!!!
ian

 

[puredrifting]

Not too much probably...

Not too much probably...

Hi:

Not sure what kind of lights he has, but of they are HMIs, $100.00 sounds cheap. The bulbs for the Joker 1200 PAR I used to own were close U.S. $500.00 ea.!

They are only rated at 1,000 hours too.

Best,

Dan

 

[thisiswells]

9not sure what exactly

MAYBE it's a Mole Richardson 9 Light FAY. Very Old School, but good nonetheless.

he mentioned that i would have to buy the bulbs for his lights in order to get the look i want and said it would be about $110. does this sound fishy?

Not really. If it's the light I'm thinking of, it's a 9000W light. The "FAY" globes (tungsten 1K's with dichroic coatings) are upwards of $35 each!

i'm just going to be in a hotel room and want dim lighting...i started to just rent my lighting from one of the video equipment stores around town but figured i'd just get a 'pro' in the lighting area.

I like the approach of suspending Kino Flo's on the ceiling of a hotel room for "top light" but there are infinite ways of lighting a hotel room.

also he is trying to convince me to hire him in for my outdoor daytime shoots and INSISTS i need lights in broad daylight.

OK, it's very likely that the lighting won't be the same every single day / hour / minute of your outdoor shoot. Having HMI lights can fix that problem.

always starting off by saying "i know it sounds crazy but trust me on this"

Ask for a reel.

i have a good handle on the hvx and audio but i know probably the minimal bare basics about lighting...close to nothing, lol. what's your opinion?

You can do a quite a bit with a 1200W HMI PAR (or Nine Light) on an exterior shoot, so long as you're only lighting "confined" spaces.