Idea for lanter-style ring light?

R

RickyC

Well-known member
Steadicam shot, or dolly shot. Need to make a big ring light around the camera, maybe 4 feet diameter in total. Any ideas of what we could use?
I'm thinking make a circular frame out of kino tubes, then wiring to put silk over it, or something along those lines.

We prefer it to be daylight
 
In a pinch I've made one out of TONS of LED ropelight. Worked ok, also I've made a triangle out of three kino 12" tubes and diffused that, and it made for a nice catch light in the eyes.
 
robmneilson said:
In a pinch I've made one out of TONS of LED ropelight. Worked ok, also I've made a triangle out of three kino 12" tubes and diffused that, and it made for a nice catch light in the eyes.
Click to expand...

Hey Rob, long time no speak! Triangle isn't a bad idea

Thanks!
 
And I thought I'd seen big ringlights on a mobile camera---4 feet?!! Very curious what your usage will be with this.

FYI I use Literibbon, from Litegear. Much brighter (and more expensive) than rope light, can be fully dimmed within their system. It comes in straight lines but given the large diameter, could easily be "convinced" into a circle.
 
Yeah man, what's up....btw I've been talking to this dude about shooting his post apocalyptic short in Houston. If that happens, and he has a budget I'll try to bring you on. It sounds like it could be a real fun shoot.
 
CharlesPapert said:
And I thought I'd seen big ringlights on a mobile camera---4 feet?!! Very curious what your usage will be with this.

FYI I use Literibbon, from Litegear. Much brighter (and more expensive) than rope light, can be fully dimmed within their system. It comes in straight lines but given the large diameter, could easily be "convinced" into a circle.
Click to expand...

Meant to go around the front of the camera, something pretty big. 4 feet may be too much, maybe 3 feet. You know what they say, bigger the light source softer it is!
Maybe for a night scene, a walking shot to add fill infront of the actors


robmneilson said:
Yeah man, what's up....btw I've been talking to this dude about shooting his post apocalyptic short in Houston. If that happens, and he has a budget I'll try to bring you on. It sounds like it could be a real fun shoot.
Click to expand...


I think I heard of something like that, but it was a while back. Sounds good!
 
Ahhhh OK. If the concern is softness, you don't need a large ring light in the way that you normally do with an off-axis source, because it is effectively shadowless regardless of the size of the unit. Where you will see a difference is in output level and the size of the reflection in the eyes and other reflective surfaces.

I've used the Ringlite Mini many times and even at 10.5 in diameter, it's quite soft. One example: https://vimeo.com/24728340, around :32 is a Steadicam shot with that unit (continues throughout the video).

A huge ringlight will be very cumbersome to deal with, especially on Steadicam. If you are not able to power the lights off the rig directly, that means head cables or stingers coming off the rig which will play havoc with the stability of the shot.
 
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