Looking for input on lights and set ideas....

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firehawk

Veteran
Hello. We have a room we plan to convert to use for shooting interviews, podcasts, discussions, lectures etc. The room is 16' long, 11' wide and 10' High but it has openings on 3 sides to allow for camera placement further out.
Plan is to move the long table out as needed and swap in various chairs, tables, couch, stools etc..
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I am specifically looking for input on lighting ideas. The ceiling already has 4 corner blocking to support extra weight. We have some 1.5" diameter metal pipe currently 13'6" long we were originally planning to hang 1' down from the ceiling but over time it has rusted (see pics).
There is power at the ceiling in addition to the lower corners of the TV wall and behind the TV.
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On the wall with the TV we are thinking of painting it black to match the ceiling,
and then construct some type of design on the wall for interest - current plan is a faux pergola.
See rough AI renders for pergola ideas (not so much colors and others elements the AI generated on it's own).

So what do you guys think as far as rigging lights from above? And for wall decoration?
I currently have a couple 1X2 Luxli RGB lights among others, and misc RGB tube and PAR RGB for accents and washes.
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Well - the steel tube means non-standard lighting clamps, and droop with heavier fixtures. How often will lighting be moved? I'd be very tempted to install 2 or three 48-50mm aluminium tubes end to end on the longest run, then fit a number of cross tubes. If you uses swivel scaff couplers or similar, one spanner gets lights to wherever you need. A small Zarges style ladder gets you quick access. The timber between the joists might be strong enough, but you need to calculate the weight of the lights, tubes and cabling then get it checked. The only snag I see practically is the ceiling height. tube at close to ceiling probably loses you 300-400mm of height and more if the lights are at certain angles. You can end up with tall people bumping into them - so check.
 
Thank you. Ahh I didn't even think about non-standard clamps being needed if using the steel pipes. We would ideally prefer to hang a few fixtures to light the talent and leave them alone up there as much as possible. We are thinking of lighting the walls mostly with hidden RGB lights for some color glows, washes, splashes etc... but we are very much wanting to hear ideas from DVXUSERs because you guys are far more experienced.
We will just have to work around the height limitation the best we can for that particular room.
 
Due to the room height limitation what would you think about hanging the bars closer to the ceiling for more clearance below? How little space do you think we could get away with from bars to ceiling space? I'm thinking life will be easier with standard alumimum type tubes?
 
I have this issue in my own studio and my solution was to make a floor suspended rig - ali scaff cut to just clear the ceiling - 4 uprights. Then at the top, a rectangle of tube with simple couplers - each one adjusted to push against the walls, with a small spreader plate to not damage the walls. Freestanding but totally rigid, and weight wise the floor supports everything. Instead of using UK standard lighting clamps which drop quite a way - all the lights are on swivel half couplers so are as high as they can be. Works really well and maximises height. I'm always very concerned about SWL - how much weight can your supports actually manage? You might get away with it, but what happens when somebody else figures they can hang a few LED panels, or maybe a mega projector. I could not be sure in my studio, so the annoyance of 4 vertical tubes was a small price. painted, they vanish anyway,
 
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Curtis Judd recently did a video overview tour of the his corporate studio along with the ceiling lighting. Look like lots of flat panels outfitted with soft box and grids.
 
Thank you. Been watching some of Curtis Judd videos and others. Looks like people are using 1-1/4" or 1-1/2" pipe tube diameter. I am thinking we hang it down 6" from the ceiling to keep it up high but leave enough inches above for hands to manipulate stuff. 4 inches might not be enough?

Can you share examples of clamps for attaching lights to the pipe tube?

I'm currently looking at some flat panel Amaran P60c with soft boxes and some amaran COB 60x, 100x, 200x with various size Angler soft boxes w/grid to hang and then use my larger panel lights on stands as needed to move around?
 
Set the lighting at a comfortable rate for the talent and bump up ISO at a comfortable rate for you Sony camcorder. Talent needs to feel comfortable with the lighting is the most important thing.
 
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gastage.com

Light Source Mega-Gridlock Clamp

Light Source™ Mega-Gridlock Clamp is designed for permanent pipe grid installations in studios and theaters. Joins 2 overlapping pipes together in a 90 degree joint. Grooves act as a wrench holding the nut from turning while installing. Installs with a hex key tool in a battery drill.
gastage.com gastage.com

better cheddar? ;)
 
That works, assuming you only ever want 90 degrees. Scaff couplers are really cheap and you can run tube at any angle - disadvantage is you need a spanner/wrench, as they don't have wing-nuts, but wing nut versions are available.
 

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In the uk kee klamp is a cheap and low profile tube joining system. Mass can add up

Kee lite is lighter! And more costy and ive stripped some threads
 
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