Does poor man's lighting really work?

Spartacus said:
Do you have anything to show to back that up...?
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Not specifically with just Home Depot lighting, but I've used them before to compliment a scene.

HD lighting is what it is. Its a light source, the same as any professional light. What professional lights give you that HD lights don't is control. You can control HD light too, but it takes extra materials to do so. Light is light (excluding temperature differences). Its how you control it that makes something look good or bad.
 
If I didn't know better, I'd say some of us are snooty.

:)

Seriously, not of all of us are doing Hollywood epics, nor do we have the budget.

Light is light. How we control it and with what sources is the art.
 
Indy... as noted from the posts above the answer to your question is, "Yes" and "No"...
My two cents is that yes, you can build some very handy lighting gear by using your head and going to Home Depot, however, I don't think that this should be your first stop, especially if you are just starting out. Your are right, the cost of professional lighting does seem to be very expensive. As noted, correctly above, the best money you are going to spend is on professional lighting. My suggestion is to buy at least one lighting kit to start yourself out.

The first lighting I ever bought, in 1989, was a Smith-Victor K-63 kit, with 3 650 watt open face lights, with two way barn doors, stands, and a case. While these lights are **** lights and very hard to control, I have not had a project since that I did not use them at least once. Now, with a piece of foam core and S-V light, or two, I have an excellent soft source.

I would suggest getting something like this:

http://www.briteklight.com/tw600colikit.html

I don't have any experience with this company, but for $329.00, you can not beat that, even at Home Depot. However, I would be willing to bet that if you got a kit like this, you would still be using it 20 years from now.

The above being said, I have to give it up for one item you can get from Home Depot. I would grab four or five of the scoop work lights, with medium base sockets, for your kit. This is another light that I bought for a special situation that I have now come to rely on. With the spring clamp you can put them anywhere and with the medium base, you can put anything from a photo flood to a compact flo into for what ever effect you want.

Any way, just my two cents.
 
DavidS is absolutely right about the investment in a small, professional light kit to get started.

HOWEVER.

The Britek is not professional lighting. To the contrary, they make the worst lights on the planet. Do not buy Britek at any cost.

Instead, check out the continuous lighting packages at B&H or through your local Barbizon if you're in a smaller market. Decent brands you should consider include the following. Also, consider the second-hand market. Ask your local rental house, staging and AV companies if they have any older fixtures they're liquidating. Most older fixtures can be cleaned up and come functional from the seller (unlike Britek). Snap!
  • Smith-Victor - They have both softlight, umbrella and focused instruments. As stated, a solid starter fixture that will likely outlast a few generations of your other gear
  • Lowel - The "DP" kit is renowned as a good, inexpensive product. Rifas are used by lots of news crews
  • Altman Pro Line "L" - As good as the ubiquitous Arris, which are bulletproof for years of location work
  • Arri - The "new" gold-standard in video and plenty of film packages. Light, efficient and well constructed.
  • Mole Richardson - The studio standard
  • Bardwell & McAllister - The studio runner-up. Lots of used ones with years of good life still floating around
  • LTM - The "Peppers" are common in the field and come in small, managable wattages. Great construction
  • DeSisti - Spendy, but second-hand ones can be found at bargain prices. Again, savvy clients won't look down their nose at premium fixtures that look like they've been well maintained over their lifetime - even if they're ancient
  • Kino Flo - For flourescent, they're the brand you see everywhere. For good reason. Many of their simple, elegant fixtures are light enough to be taped to walls and don't break.
e
 
Don't forget Cool Lights.http://coollights.biz

Richard is a forum sponsor and prolific, helpful contributor. His portable lightweight fixtures are in most ways equal to Kino Flo divas, and surpass them in some ways, for far less money. He also sells a nice low cost fluorescent softbox with a 200w compact fluorescent in a mogul base.

His 150 watt HMI frensel (alas, sold out currently) is a brilliant idea, for a tiny fraction of the price of any other credible HMI on the market. His upcoming HMI 575's will be similarly innovative and price-busting.

Finally, he sells some Arri clone fresnel tungsten fixtures that are very well made, at least equal to the "Blueline" clones, Filmgear, and similar.

The only downside currently is that Richard manufactures in batches, and when he's out, he's out until he can get back to China and load another boatful. :-)

I own two of his portable Diva-llike fluos, the 250w fluo softbox fixture, a 150w HMI, and a 300w tungsten Arri clone. I've used professional rented gear for years, and I consider these fixtures "no-compromise" for a very favorable price.

I never liked Home Depot shop lights, although I have used them. Not very bright, very hard to control the spill, the yokes are dangerously unbalanced, and the stands are rickety and prone to failure.

I do like the Lowel DP with barn doors and a soft box, so you can use it hard or soft. Lightweight, packs a punch, easy to repair if you ever have to.
 
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I'd add that as a DP you really want to be able to light with *anything* and get the result you are after. That is and has been my goal and I do this all the time. I have all pro gear and rent pro gear and at the same time I'll use anything I find laying around if it suits my purpose.
That all said any one who would willingly tie at least one hand behind their back by buying light fixtures from home depot because they are cheaper and using them in a pro setting really needs some guidance in their thought process for a number of different reasons: time spent lighting, control of the light source, taking 3 steps to do something that can be done in 1 and so forth.
 
For someone early in their career, one of the best things to do is get friendly with a small-to-medium grip house. Most of our local places are very accommodating to people who want to come by and try out fixtures, ask questions, get familiar with what's available, and so forth. Volunteer/intern if you can.

At the least you will learn what you like and what various fixtures can do. You'll learn the nomencature...tweenie, midget, baby junior, bigeye tener, mickey, mighty, etc.

At best, you will also earn their confidence and favorable rates, or even the chance to borrow a few fixtures at no cost at all for occasional personal projects. Or you might get hired as a grip and observe some bigger shoots close-up. You may be offered scrap gels at the end of a shøot. You may be offered the chance to buy older used equipment at a drasticly reduced price.

I would never advise someone to just go out and buy a bunch of lights if they have the option to do the above.

But if you MUST buy lights before having much experience, the very first kit I would probably recommend would be a Lowel DP light with barn doors and a softbox, a flex-fill, and a 300watt fresnel Arri clone. That's it. Then get some light stands and C-stands, some sheets of foam core from an art supply store (white on one side and black on the other, some spring clips from HD, and a set of fractional blue gels and a couple of sheets of diffusion. Learn how to make that gear work for you in a variety of situations before buying anything else.

To be clear, if you already have or can borrow HD shop lights, there's no harm in using them, with the caveats Mark mentions. But remember that they are not so much "lighting" as they are "illumination." I would never advise anyone to buy a HD shop light. A waste of money, IMO.
Mark
 
I'd add that as a DP you really want to be able to light with *anything* and get the result you are after. That is and has been my goal and I do this all the time. I have all pro gear and rent pro gear and at the same time I'll use anything I find laying around if it suits my purpose.
That all said any one who would willingly tie at least one hand behind their back by buying light fixtures from home depot because they are cheaper and using them in a pro setting really needs some guidance in their thought process for a number of different reasons: time spent lighting, control of the light source, taking 3 steps to do something that can be done in 1 and so forth.
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What he said.
 
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I really like the softboxes I got on Ebay from Amvona, at least compared to Home Depot stuff. They are:

1) professional looking on the job
2) built well enough to last a while, if not abused
3) cheap enough to replace without breaking the bank, if abused
4) give me a great image
5) cheap replacement bulbs
6) Cool Lights 200w 5600K mogul base flo ($59) screws right in, giving me equivilant to 600w daylight

Put in a snipe for the middle of the night auction and get a medium softbox
with 3200K bulb plus a spare bulb, stand, casters and storage bags for about $65.
Much better proposition than the Depot!


The lights in use:

1206143292.jpg
 
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Erik Olson said:
DavidS is absolutely right about the investment in a small, professional light kit to get started.

HOWEVER.

The Britek is not professional lighting. To the contrary, they make the worst lights on the planet. Do not buy Britek at any cost.

Instead, check out the continuous lighting packages at B&H or through your local Barbizon if you're in a smaller market. Decent brands you should consider include the following. Also, consider the second-hand market. Ask your local rental house, staging and AV companies if they have any older fixtures they're liquidating. Most older fixtures can be cleaned up and come functional from the seller (unlike Britek). Snap!
  • Smith-Victor - They have both softlight, umbrella and focused instruments. As stated, a solid starter fixture that will likely outlast a few generations of your other gear
  • Lowel - The "DP" kit is renowned as a good, inexpensive product. Rifas are used by lots of news crews
  • Altman Pro Line "L" - As good as the ubiquitous Arris, which are bulletproof for years of location work
  • Arri - The "new" gold-standard in video and plenty of film packages. Light, efficient and well constructed.
  • Mole Richardson - The studio standard
  • Bardwell & McAllister - The studio runner-up. Lots of used ones with years of good life still floating around
  • LTM - The "Peppers" are common in the field and come in small, managable wattages. Great construction
  • DeSisti - Spendy, but second-hand ones can be found at bargain prices. Again, savvy clients won't look down their nose at premium fixtures that look like they've been well maintained over their lifetime - even if they're ancient
  • Kino Flo - For flourescent, they're the brand you see everywhere. For good reason. Many of their simple, elegant fixtures are light enough to be taped to walls and don't break.
e
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I agree with all the above. I used the Britek lights because they are the cheapest I could come up with with a Google search. Since I started out with Smith-Victor lights, they do have a sentimental feeling about them. If I were starting out now, and knew what I know now... I would save up my cash and get a basic Lowell kit. Check Ebay for sure.....
 
David S. said:
That works for those that live in cities that even have grip house.

Many of us do not.
Click to expand...

Understood. But if you do, it is a great way to go. It's something that a lot of guys don't think about, though. They just go buy a bunch of stuff before they know what any of it is or what it can do.

If I lived in a town without a grip house, I would try to find out if there are any other shooters in town with their own lighting kits. Same process applies: introduce yourself, offer some volunteer services perhaps, strike up a relationship that allows you to ask a lot of questions and get some hands-on experience.
 
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