I've decided to pull the trigger.. Any other thoughts

scotman

scotman

Well-known member
Hey guys over the past few weeks I think I've decided to pull the trigger on a light. I can only afford 1 right now. I'm going to do an arri junior with dimmer and stand, softbox too. I think it'll run like 500 bucks. Any thoughts or other options. I would rent a kit in the uk for like 130 usd but a little more money and I can own my own light.:) any last minute thoughts? Is it s smart ideas??

The china ball system was also a last minute thought:£ ???
 
Since we have no idea how you choose to use the light, we don't know if it's a good idea or not. Arri certainly make fine lights, however I prefer Mole Richardson myself. Especially for tungsten fresnels. But that's just me.

Also saying you are getting a "junior" isn't very descriptive. Are you getting a junior 150, 300, 650, 1k? What kind of stand do you plan to put it on? And what softbox? Frankly, I'd be shocked if you could buy ANY Arri, a decent softbox, dimmer, and stand for $500.

Do you have links to what you are planning on buying?
 
Buy it used. You will save a lot of extra dough and lights will last forever if properly maintained.

You can get a really good china ball kit for <100 bucks, so I would consider that in addition to whatever else you get.
 
I'll echo what other have said and add some more.

It always depends on what you're doing. If you find yourself lighting big spaces, one light won't do it, especially not a $500 one.

In my experience China Balls are amazing. Nice soft light over wide spaces, and usually the bulbs aren't that high wattage (+/- 300W fotoflood), so you can us a home dimmer instead of springing for an expensive film style flicker dimmer.

There are a lot of possibilities with $500, and Arri certainly makes good lights, but I would consider other options as well. We, as filmmakers like to emulate the big times and get the gear of the big times, but it's amazing how often I see bare light bulbs, or home made soft boxes being used instead of film grade fresnels. I would suggest you consider china balls (with a c-stand each) and maybe a smaller, used light. You can stretch $500 a long way.
 
WOW. Oh No... Now I am back to Square 1. Does anyone have a good website for China Balls in the UK. Is it something you can make yourself for a decent price??? Im usually in small rooms and doing single shot interviews. Nothing fancy I just want better lighting then stupid PAR CANS. :) Thanks for all the adivce thus far.
 
scotman said:
Nothing fancy I just want better lighting then stupid PAR CANS. :) Thanks for all the adivce thus far.
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Reflect a par can off a foam board and it will look the same as an Arri off a foam board. Push a par can through a silk, and it will look the same as an Arri through a silk.

Your light modifiers is where you make the "look", not the instrument. At least in most cases. I'd say work on that before you go drop a bunch of money on new lights.
 
If you really want fresnels I would look into used Mole Richardson lamps. Might not be as cosmetically nice, but I'm sure you can find a bunch of better deals than on older arri's.
 
Foam board??? Silk?? Any thoughts on where to get these? like when you say foam: styrofome?? silk cloth? any specific color. does having a dimmer come to any use at this point.

ill look up Mole Richardson just now.
 
Art stores or home depot. Just look for show card.

As far as silks go, you can just get a bunch of sheets of diffusion. If you look up 216, 251, 250, and opal, those are some of the commonly used strengths of diffusion. I've also used shower curtains with pretty good success.

Dimmers are good for practicals, but they do change the color temperature of a light. Unless you're just going to buy a few 12 dollar ones, or you want to do some TV or fire gags, I would hold off.
 
A junior is a 2k.

Check out ebay for used lights at a steal. I picked up some Colortran Baby fresnels for just over a hundred bucks a piece. And two Bardwell Mcalister Juniors for a hundred bucks each. You might be able to still get some Strand Babys for 90 bucks including shipping.

You don't need ARRI or Mole lights. Not only does it not matter whether it's an open face or fresnel shooting through diffusion or off a card (generally speaking), brand name doesn't matter either.
 
What great info.:) I guess I'm getting excited because I can get great lighting without spending thousands. My par cans are 300w , is that strong enough. I have 3 of those. My downside is I don't have stands:( to hold them up with.

I'm picturing ny set now. If I have 2 or 3 pars, if needed, how far should the light source be from subject. If I go to eBay to get any mcalister or baby junior, should I get a specific watt light.

From what you guys are saying the silk will change color but act as my softbox correct?? If I just need stands do you guys have a suggestion that can hold my pars up.

I'm so new to lighting and just want to get things right. Do you guys know of any diagrams available where I can see how to configure to get great results??

I've got a picture in going to upload. It's a background I'm interested in replicating. Also how does apple do their all White background interviews. That's a nice touch also.:)
 
jimpatro said:
brand name doesn't matter either.
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But it does matter. Name brand usually equal better build quality. Cheaper brands tend to use cheaper parts, and this can lead to equipments failing on set at the wrong time. Something like an Arri or Mole can take a lot of knocks on set and still hold up pretty well, and their resale values are excellent if you need to get rid of them.
 
Thanks I love the site. Very fun. Maybe I can convince my wife. So let me ask you guys this question.:::

One light and accessories. Brand New. (I cant find anything good on ebay UK) What do you get. Bearing in mind if I can get similiar effects from Silk and Foam that I can with a softbox, etc.

Thanks
 
scotman said:
Thanks I love the site. Very fun. Maybe I can convince my wife. So let me ask you guys this question.:::

One light and accessories. Brand New. (I cant find anything good on ebay UK) What do you get. Bearing in mind if I can get similiar effects from Silk and Foam that I can with a softbox, etc.

Thanks
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This sort of goes back to lighting 101.

Softness of light is based on direction of rays and size of the source in relation to subject. I suggested a china ball earlier, because it will barely cut into your budget and it's a nice soft light with lots of uses. That being said, a china ball will never be a hard light, whereas any hard light you get can easily be made into a soft light (bounce it off of foam, the ceiling, shoot it through diffusion, etc.).

If you have par cans, your $500 could buy you a lot of control. Flags, diffusion, c-stands, muslin, bead board can turn those pars into lots of different lights. In my opinion (and others will certainly disagree, to your benefit) being able to control the light you have is more important than getting one really nice light.
 
scotman said:
One light and accessories. Brand New. (I cant find anything good on ebay UK) What do you get. Bearing in mind if I can get similiar effects from Silk and Foam that I can with a softbox, etc.

Thanks
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I don't think anyone has asked this: Is this your job, hobby, a little of both? Because I think it matters to clients (at least a little) what gear you turn up with. For example, you could light your interview with a shop light, but that might send the wrong message to the person sitting in front of the camera, that you get your gear at a hardware store. If it's just a hobby then I think you have more latitude.

Short answer: Don't buy anything yet until you have educated yourself a bit more.

Perrone sent you to the Lowel site. There's also a Vortex Media DVD on interview lighting that is widely respected. I've watched mine several times and learn something each time. Many people would say that having a large soft source for the key light is appropriate for interviews.

A Lowel Rifa is a good first light. I'm not sure if you can achieve the same effect-with as little fuss-with a Par and silks etc. Someone else would have to comment on that. I'm very pleased with my Rifa and use it (or a comparable product) for all my interviews. And it can run tungsten or CFL bulbs if you are concerned about roasting your subject under the tungsten.

Stick with name brand gear, even if buying used. If you want to do it right, lighting is not cheap. Even a $100 Lowel Pro light is not just $100 when you factor in the stand, bulb and gels etc. It's better to pay a little extra and buy the item only once than to save a buck now and have to replace it 6 mos from now.
 
Unless someone is selling gear used I am back to my original lighting ideas I had a few months ago.

This is what I am thinking of getting:)

Either

1.http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/72020-REG/Arri_531600_650_Watt_Plus_Tungsten.html

or
2.http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/72030-REG/Arri_531100_Plus_1000_Watt_Fresnel.html

I am still to look at stands, but if need be I will get barn doors. Other than that I can save a fortune just using silk and foam with this light. OOOh I need to find a dimmer too.

So light, stand, dimmer. this is a hobby I do. I use a lot of video stuff with my church. I am the pastor and love to give the people GREAT QUALITY. I know its expensive but there is a difference between the handheld videos I used to make and my DVX with Redrock adapter. One of my last bits is adding good lighting. :)
 
scotman said:
Unless someone is selling gear used I am back to my original lighting ideas I had a few months ago.

This is what I am thinking of getting:)

Either

1.http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/72020-REG/Arri_531600_650_Watt_Plus_Tungsten.html

or
2.http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/72030-REG/Arri_531100_Plus_1000_Watt_Fresnel.html

I am still to look at stands, but if need be I will get barn doors. Other than that I can save a fortune just using silk and foam with this light. OOOh I need to find a dimmer too.

So light, stand, dimmer. this is a hobby I do. I use a lot of video stuff with my church. I am the pastor and love to give the people GREAT QUALITY. I know its expensive but there is a difference between the handheld videos I used to make and my DVX with Redrock adapter. One of my last bits is adding good lighting. :)
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My personal opinion...

Get the 1K, skip the dimmer. Get a decent stand. Barn doors can be handy to have depending on use, but behind a silk will be essentially useless or nearly so. For bouncing off a foam board the doors can be helpful.

Instead of a dimmer, buy a couple scrims. A full, and double and a half-double. That should sort things out and be a world cheaper and easier.

Buy a C-Stand (or get two and omit the light stand) and you'll be able to shape your light a lot better.

I will say this again. I REALLY think you ought to learn to shape the lightts you already have rather than dumping hundreds of dollars into a fresnel. And frankly, if you are just going to push the light through a silk or bounce it, buy an open faced light and save yourself the money.
 
PerroneFord said:
And frankly, if you are just going to push the light through a silk or bounce it, buy an open faced light and save yourself the money.
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Better yet, just get a fluorescent light. For soft light I don't bother with soft box or bounce anymore since a tungsten fixture sucks up power and generate a ton of heat. Fluorescent saves you time and power if you all need is a soft source.
 
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