If you could only take one light to a shoot...

hi all,

if i had the choice of using only one light from my kit
i would take.. "the light that makes everything look really good"

cheers
 
david

they probably do stock them ....but i have to warn you the bubbles cost an arm and a.... leg

cheers
 
36K!!! Fire that sucker up and you'd blow fuses for blocks!!! Let the fun begin!. Well actually, that would pull ONLY 300 Amps..... Park the genny in the back!
 
hmmm...Most of what I shoot is small narrative work, whether commercial or for the web. I might say a 200w CFL with a 30" china ball. I love a large soft light.
 
apardo said:
I will definitely run away from Kinos, Kinos are a problem solver, so If you have a DP with no experience he might use a lot of those lights, but from my point of view Kinos make a really flat light, and you will get a really flat kind of look, I definitely will say that just keep away from Kinos and use them as a second light source not to create a scene just to fill something.
Click to expand...

Um, all lights utilized on a shoot are problem solvers. The generalized problem: need light. Kinos are fantastic tools, and while they may not be your favorite tool, asserting that the use of a lot of Kinos is an indicator that a DP is inexperienced is a silly ass comment. Kinos are ubiquitous at the highest levels of production.

Yes, they are a soft light / high intensity soft light source. That's the point. You know, like firing an HMI into a light box, but without requiring as much power, taking up as much space, creating as much heat, so on and so forth. A Joker-Bug HMI is a great tool, too, but try putting one in a Light Bank and taping it up on the ceiling or wall in a confined space or architecturally integrating it into a set. Just sayin'
 
This is a great thread... there are so many different ways to do our jobs. And it varies from person to person, coast to coast, continent to continent. To paraphrase Denis Lenoir in "Cinematographer Style," "the American gaffers don't like 2k blondes because it does nothing well. In Europe, we love them because they do everything. Not so well, but they do everything." It's fun to keep track of all of the different working styles and methods.

For me, if it was a doc shoot I would bring a Divalite 400(or comparable) and a couple of flexfills. For a fiction piece, it'd depend on pre-pro. The 2k blonde has always served me well, so I'd likely take that first. It's really hard to give an unequivocal answer without context, though.

~~Dave
 
Daylight Balanced - ARRI 575w HMI

Tungsten Balanced - ARRI 1K Fresnel

Lightweight, durable and both of my ARRI's seem to overpower my rebuilt Moles of the same wattage.
 
"Interior dialogue scenes, mostly mediums & close ups." One light only.

Okay, a fat man: 4' 4 bank Kino Flo. Daylight tubes. Not the perfect choice but the best overall choice.

Runner up: 1K fresnel

But,

No budget: 24" China ball, daylight CFLs, 400W equivalent

Big budget: 575W HMI w/ 36"X48" Chimera​
 
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