Lighting questions (well duh)

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Vampiresoup

Well-known member
I have been checkin out this site for some time and I have some silly quesitons.

Is a 1K 1000 watts?

What do you use a 2k zip for? And what the hell is a pepper? I've been reading the posts but what I've read mostly is "Pepper's a good light" What is it generally used for?

And to shoot a regular ole scene with two people sitting across from eachother at a table would 2 1ks and a 2k zip be enough? Or should I use a 2k zip and two 420 w redheads

If I plug all these lights in, am I going to blow my apartment up?

Thanks to anyone who can help me out and I apologize if this has been asked to death.
 
A 1k is 1000 watts.

A 2k zip isn't going to be all that useful for most applications and may trip your breaker. It's a soft light source, but it won't be as soft as a Chimera (or other softbox).

For just two people sitting across a table from each other, I think you'll be able to get away with a lot less light than you're thinking, but it depends on how you want the scene to look. More information would be helpful.
 
Vampiresoup said:
I have been checkin out this site for some time and I have some silly quesitons.

Is a 1K 1000 watts? Yes. and 2k is 2000 watts.

What do you use a 2k zip for? A 2k zip is a "softlight made by Mole Richardson that has two 1k lamps (switched seperately on one that works properly) that bounce onto a curved surface creating a bounced "Soft" light. In these days of Chimeras, and soft banks, it's not as soft a light as what is commonly used now.

And what the hell is a pepper? A pepper is a 100 to 200 watt mini fresnel fixture by LTM commonly used as a hair light or for tabletop shots. It's small and lightweight so it's easy to perch in small spaces. Very handy.

I've been reading the posts but what I've read mostly is "Pepper's a good light" What is it generally used for?

And to shoot a regular ole scene with two people sitting across from eachother at a table would 2 1ks and a 2k zip be enough? Or should I use a 2k zip and two 420 w redheads. 2 shot? Single shot of each person? I personally would use a few more lights than that to light a dialog scene.

If I plug all these lights in, am I going to blow my apartment up? Yes.....kidding. Most houshold plugs these days are on 15 amp circuits, or 20 if you're lucky. A 2k will pop a 15amp breaker, and if you put anything besides a 2k on a 20 amp circuit, it will blow. Find the circuitbreaker and see if you have 15 or 20 amp breakers, and find out whick plugs go to which breakers (Bathrooms and Kitchens are usually seperate from other household circuits) and plug each lamp into seperate circuits.

Thanks to anyone who can help me out and I apologize if this has been asked to death.
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NP, that's what this forum is for, to help people out.
 
here's some more info

here's some more info

Thanks for the quick replys! Ok here's the deal for the shoot. All I want is a wide shot and two cowboys/cus of the actors. That's about it. I'll pass on the 2k. Don't need to blow the circut and it's probably too much light. Thing is I'm working with a limited amount of equip. These are my rental options.

1k Redhead #1
1k Redhead #2
1k Redhead #3
420w LTM Pepper
420w Redhead
600w LTM Pepper #1
600w LTM Pepper #2
650w Redhead

I'm pretty stumped. I am cool with making mistakes, I'd just like the most info possible before I jump into shooting.

Thanks again for the help. I can't wait till I'm knowledgeable enough to offer advice. (If anyone needs information on writing, acting or videogames, I'm the guy to ask ;)
 
You really can't go wrong with the peppers. They provide a nice light because they are fresnels. Fresnels are the Hollywood staple for a reason. I'd get a couple of those.
 
Vampiresoup said:
I can't wait till I'm knowledgeable enough to offer advice. (If anyone needs information on writing, acting or videogames, I'm the guy to ask ;)
Click to expand...

Hey - at least now your knowledgeable enough to know what the 'clicking' sound coming from your DVX is :thumbsup:

Glad to see we didn't run you off with that one, Vampire.


I gotta go with Horse on this.
I don't think you need to overkill on the lights for this - better to get a few decent lamps and learn what you can do with them. Throw too much into the pot and you'll just overlight the whole thing and get confused and frustrated (that's been my experience anyhow). Also, more lights = more time between set ups.

So, I'd say go with two of the 420W peppers and one 600w.
Get scrims for all three of them - have some bounce boards handy, and something to flag the light with - and you'll be doing fine.
That should cover you nicely.

(then again, I'm no gaffer, so what do I know)
 
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