Freedom of choice. What lights?

B

Bronsonsaurus

Member
So, I'm pre-planning a no-budget film.
I really have got everything other than lights. But, since I have a massive amount of friends who can lend me lighting equipment; one question remains: which ones to choose? The less the better, my crew is quite minimalistic.

-ARRI 2k
-2x ARRI 800 W
-Desisti Magis 2x 300W
-Desisti Magis 650W
-2x 800W Ianiro redhead
-3x 650W Ianiro lilliput
-6x 150W Dedolight
-Lots of worklights
-Reflector
-4x China lanterns and all sorts of bulbs

And yeah. I'm talking interiors mostly. So, from those, what should I choose to create the most convincing lighting?
And if I sound amateurish, I'm sure there's a reason for that. You are free to bash me. I'm keen to learn. :thumbsup:
 
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Can somebody please help? I should be making decisions about now.
Which of these lights would YOU pick to build the best possible kit? What lights can I safely abandon, if any?
 
The 800w he's referring to would be the Arri "blue head" open face which is like an Ianiro redhead but Arri's version. Mostly sold and used outside of the USA though like in Europe.

If you want small, I would go for the dedolights and the red and blue heads (800w). 2K could come in handy sometimes though but much larger in physical size of course.
 
There's no way we can answer this for you. Who's the director of photography? That's the only person who can know. If you're shooting 100% nighttime interiors on a DVX100, you'll get very different answers than if you're shooting 100% daytime exteriors on an HVX200...

Without knowing more, I'd take all of it except the worklights (bah!) And someone who knows how to use them. :thumbsup:
 
Well Barry he mentioned he was doing interiors mostly but I agree with you on the worklights. Although they are good to have if you arent paying for them. They are just sloppy open faces.
 
Thank you all.
I had hoped that I wouldn't have to tell you this, but our cinematographer certaily lacks knowledge when it comes to lamps and brands. He would rather not know with what he's working with, because that would effect his "sincere expression".
That is why he asks me, the director, to get the lighting equipment for him.

But let us not question his genius.
We all love him. No matter what lights we give him, he almost always creates miracles. He's a true visionary. He's our own Sven Nykvist.

However, he was nice enough to tell me some technical details. First of all, we're working with XH A1 with a wide angle adaptor (WD-H72). He's wholeheartedly against these DOF-adapters that many here seem to cherish. He likes things in focus. He always chooses small camcorders, because actors love it (not that it even was his business, but sometimes he hijacks and becomes the unquestionable king of the set. B*stard! But god how I love him!)
He himself is equipped only with three super clamps, gels and cords.
I assume audio doen't affect lighting that much, so we can skip that.

Chinaballs we have found to be quite handy, but our DoP sometimes says they diffuse too much. Trying to figure out what lights to get, I have learned a little about them.
For example: Isn't it so that one shouldn't directly light someone with these 800w lights, but rather bounce it? Wouldn't these Desistis be more appropriate for that, since they have fresnell-lenses?

I'm trying to maximize our lighting success. The better lights I give him, the better lighting our film will have. I would also like to mention, that from the light sources he's ever worked with, he will always prefer the sun. So it is just to be expected that even our interior shots will involve the sun blazing through a window. Most of the film is daytime exterior, but there is one scene at night exteriors as well.
But we also have a few interior daytime shots. Shall we really need anything else other that an reflector?

Oh, and to stretch this post to unimaginitive lenghts, the friend who owns the Arris, seems to be quite a less of a friend these days. He says that I should pay at least a "bit" for them. This disloyalty disturbs me. Not only I am gonna have him shot, I'm gonna steal his lights as well. :smile:
My Desisti friend hopes to get a tiny bit of money too, but that's fine. I've known him for just a couple of days.

So it comes down to this. Something shall still be squeezed out. What could it be? My DoP loves when there is just enough.

-Arris (owned by a greedy clown)
-2x 800W Ianiro redhead
-3x 650W Ianiro lilliput
-6x 150W Dedolight
-4x China lanterns and all sorts of bulbs

EDIT: This is getting more and more convenient. My Desisti chum left unexpectedly to Mexico.
So those are not an option any more. Would you consider the above set up to be reasonable enough? Is losing those Desisti Magis' really a loss?
 
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