Lightkit on the road

S

soul

Member
How would you use lights when your on the road or have to fly to another state (or country), could be documentary or also a music video. Would you bring your own lighting kit, would you rent at a local store or buy some cheap lights (worklights, etc) at a local store?
 
Depends on how much money you have. I bought a pre-fab light kit complete with stands, gels, gel-holders and a softbox, umbrella etc. Its great and very versitle. Its also $1,800. Its a bit of a pain to travel with, but you just have to hit the gym more often, and after a while you get used to carrying around a 45 lb box. At least the shoulder strap is comfy and it has a large sturdy handle/case.

Folks at the airport always think its firearms, but they haven't given me any problems... well they always look through it but thats TSA for you.

Renting would be a viable option, buying cheap lights at a local store probably wouldn't be a good idea if you can rent, cheap lights look.. well they look cheap, and you might spend more than you would if you rented a kit.
 
I'm with Recap. I've got a Lowel kit with a comfy strap -- though I'd recommend removing your lamps and taking them as a carry-on. No use in giving the baggage folks a chance to shatter your $15 bulbs.
 
Another option is to FedEx your lighting gear ahead of time. We've had to do that on a couple of shoots. If you have the time to plan ahead, it works well.
 
soul said:
How would you use lights when your on the road or have to fly to another state (or country),. . .?
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Watch that second bit...country.

For instance, if you bring USA lights here to Europe...plug 'em in and poof!

Going the other way, they'll have a nice orange temp to them. :)

Assuming, of course, you can jam an Edison plug into a CEE 7/4 socket, or vice-versa.
 
HorseFilms said:
Another option is to FedEx your lighting gear ahead of time. We've had to do that on a couple of shoots. If you have the time to plan ahead, it works well.
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I like this method, actually UPS ground has worked for me. I would rather ship this stuff (along with mics and cables) than carry them on. I do have a couple of small lights I keep with my camera. The whole flying experience has become a huge pain in the ass lately that I plan on using UPS or FedEx or what ever, more. Just make sure that you pack your stuff well (pack bulbs out of the lamps, I use bubble wrap.).

You just have to also make sure that you have someone on location who can recieve the items. What is cool about the shipping is that the movement of the stuff is trackable all the way from point to point, much better than airline luggage actually. A combination of ship some, carry some is the way to go, IMO.
 
Fedex/UPS is a good idea..although you have to make sure you can trust the reciever on the other end ;) . Different country, different voltage, different plugs, much easier to rent i thought. thanks for the input.
 
We always ship our stuff to the client we're working with, so the trust factor doesn't come into play for us. I agree, though. You should know who's getting your stuff.
 
I was thinking about this and called a local UPS store. They said that I could have stuff shipped to myself at their location and they would hold it for a fee of $5 a day. The representative said that arrangments would have to be made by each office.

I'd bet that FedEx/Kinko would do the same. I am doing some travelling this winter and that is good to know. Still, I would not send stuff of extraordinary value (cameras, ect.).
 
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