Generator

Chris Messineo

Chris Messineo

Veteran
I have a shoot coming up that will be in the middle of the woods.

I would like to buy a generator to power some lights and a production monitor.

Can I just buy one of those big ones I see all the time at Home Depot or do I need something special?

Chris
 
Those won't work for a few reasons. One, they don't put out a constant amount of energy, so it highly possible that your lights would dim and brighten throughout the shots.

Also, those things are so loud, you would need to have it really far away and tons of stingers.
 
Are you going to be shooting MOS? Those home generators are LOUD! (We have one since we live in hurricane country and even housed it sounds like a jet engine revving up for take-off.) So, if you aren't going to need sound, it would probably work fine. Otherwise you will need a quiet genny, which, depending on where you are located can run pretty high for rental or buying. One thing we've done on a couple of films - we rented an RV for our production office/honeywagon/dressing & makeup rooms/etc. and used its genny when we needed a quite one. Hope this helps.
 
CMessineo said:
Honda has a series of quiet generators.
Click to expand...
"Quiet" for the cottage is not the same as "quiet" for film. I think 55dB is pretty loud for a sound sync filming.

Those RVs go for about $120/day (maybe a little more with generator). Not that their generators are much quieter, but they are housed inside/underneath the cabin, so they are muffled.

As far as the uneven output - that would be a concern, but I thought you could get something (line conditioner?) to even that out. Don't know enough about this stuff.... :(
 
XCheck,

Thanks for your input, I am definitely not an expert on this stuff.

Supposedly, the honda generators are excellent for providing a steady stream of electricity:

http://www.hondapowerequipment.com/...opup/eu2000_InverterComputerFriendly_name.xml

I think I will take the plunge, worse comes to worse and I can use it on my subpumps at home.

Seriously though, I did some quick searches and without spending 10,000 I haven't been able to find any better options,

Chris
 
55db is about the noise level of a Konvas 1M or Arri IIC (cameras whose noise levels are referred to as "coffee grinders" or "sewing machines").

So yes, that's darn quiet for a generator, but really loud for shooting dialogue around.
 
Here's what we did on the last shoot I was on. This is not a reccomendation, just some insight. We purchased a generator from HD, with a couple hundred yards of stingers. We boarded, sound proofed the area around the genny, and shot our scenes, with sound. There were a couple shots here and there (not many) that will require post work due to genny sound bleeding.

HD has a very cool return policy, not that we returned all of our stuff including the stingers...but I thought I'd just mention that they have a very cool return policy. Dissclaimer: Buying/Returning in this manner is an unethical practice...

I know I'm telling you exactly what everyone is suggesting you NOT do, I'm just informing you of options that have worked in the past succesfully.

Is there more troubleshooting involved? Of course. Is it a pain in the ass? You betcha. However, if you're a broke-ass filmmaker willing to do whatever it takes to get your shots off, it's a viable alternative. Once again, not a recommendation, just an fyi. I'm sure there's oodles of con's to this method, but I can state as a fact that it CAN, and has worked in the past. With the right creativity and sound savvy, it can be done with an HD generator.

(let the beatings begin)
 
Barry,

I agree, 55db worries me, but I am thinking if I put it about 75 feet away from the shoot (long extension cords) and put a cardboard box over it (with holes punched in it) and I use our shotgun mic (facing away from the generator), I think it might work.

The script I am about to shoot is all outdoors - I realize this might be ghetto, but I need to come up with a power solution.

Chris
 
If you can get it that far, I'm sure it'll be fine. I should drag my Konvas out 75' away and see how noisy it is from that distance.

I'm interested in that generator too -- the EU2000is, I think the model is, because you can link two of 'em together and double the power output, which seems interesting. So yes, I'd love to hear your report.

I don't think cardboard will help. Soundproofing needs to be done at different levels for different frequencies. Cardboard could help cut high frequencies, but high frequencies don't travel distance very well anyway. What you're going to be facing is low-frequency intrusion into your audio, and the only way to stop low frequencies is with mass. You'll probably want to make the box from at least plywood. Or, if you don't mind getting a little pricey, you could line the plywood with thin lead sheeting -- that should totally stop the sound waves from coming your way. They sell rolls of stuff, like AcoustiLead, for soundproofing booths.

I haven't done this, so recognize I don't know what I'm talking about, but I'm thinking you'd want to get it as far away as possible, and build a box that encloses it except that obviously you have to let air in and exhaust out, so maybe one side (away from you) is open, and the rest is enclosed, especially lined with the lead sheets. That should make for a darn quiet generator, and the box itself doesn't have to be very big because those particular generators are really small.

Just tossing out some ideas -- I haven't tried any of this.

Please keep us posted!
 
I think I will buy it this week-end and I will try a quick sound test.

I will try and put something up for you all to check out.

I too am intrigued by the idea of being able to get more power by running two in parallel.

If I can make this work, it would be a HUGE help.

I'll let you know,

Chris
 
I've rented those generators and I highly recommend them. They're extremely quiet for generators and can be used for filming as long as you use a few long stingers and do a little shielding (like putting it behind a car). The big drawback is that they don't put out that much power. 2000 watts is pretty puny, so it doesn't take much to max out the power. It was pretty inexpensive to rent, so you might want to check out rentals before you buy.

The one I'd love to buy (or rent next time) is the Yamaha EF30iSEBC
http://www.portable-electric-power-...inverter_super_quiet_ef3000ise_ef3000iseb.htm

A little more power and the battery option lets you draw an extra surge of power when you start things up.
 
Check the quality of the power output as well. For tungsten it's not necessarily a big deal, but I've got a Coleman 1200w inverter that does a poor job of supplying power for fluorescents. They sorta work, but they buzz horribly. Ideally you'd get a very, very clean sine wave or simulated sine wave (at least better than the Coleman!)
 
Thanks for all the tips.

I've read a bunch of reviews online and I think these Honda's might just work.

We'll see this week-end,

Chris
 
Well, I ran out at lunch and purchase the generator.

The guys at the shop were very cool, even gassing and oiling it up fo me.

We fired it up in the parking lot and I couldn't believe how quiet it was (for a generator).

I'll film some tests with it this week-end and share them with you all.

Chris
 
Chris,

Did you ever do any tests with this generator? I'm curious how well it worked out, I'd like to see if it's worth my purchasing for some upcoming projects.

Thanks,
Larry
 
Larry,

I did use the generator and it worked out great.

You need to keep it as far away from the shoot as possible, I use a 100 foot heavy duty cord purchase special and rated to carry the load. I also position the generator behind a tree or object to deflect as much sound as possible.

Then I find if I use my shotgun mic aimed away from the generator I hear nothing. It is a pretty sweet setup.

Chris
 
I wonder how well it would work, having it far away and digging a hole for it.

Too much effort for the results? Hmmm....

Dan
 
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