Re: 41 lbs light fixture

E

ectobuilder

Veteran
Re: 41 lbs light fixture

Looking for some encouragement to purchase a light fixture that weighs 41 lbs.

Looking to hear your story with light fixtures around that kind of weight. How manageable is this weight? The most weight I've used is 7 lbs, so I can't imagine how hauling a 41 lbs fixture would be and how the overall experience would be.

The actual dimensions aren't that huge, would fit in my car easily, so it is just the weight I am worried about.

Please let me know!
 
That's somewhere near the weight of a 4k head, which is manageable for one person. You'll need a steel 2k stand to support it.
 
recently used a 2.5hmi which was 31lb

personally I felt it was at the limit of sensible portability/set up for a single person

google safe lifting weight etc.

S
 
ectobuilder said:
Looking for some encouragement to purchase a light fixture that weighs 41 lbs.

Looking to hear your story with light fixtures around that kind of weight. How manageable is this weight? The most weight I've used is 7 lbs, so I can't imagine how hauling a 41 lbs fixture would be and how the overall experience would be.

The actual dimensions aren't that huge, would fit in my car easily, so it is just the weight I am worried about.

Please let me know!
Click to expand...

we had ARRI 6K PAR's on a shoot a while ago - heavy beasts. Managable if you at least have a crew of two people. Powering them requires more electrical infrastructure than 2.5K's (at least here in europe). You'll need decent heavy duty stands with cranks, heavier sandbags and whatnot.

and... the bulbs are $$$ :)
 
ectobuilder said:
Which light stand did you use with it?
Click to expand...

I dont know came from the rental house. The stand was steel and matthews about 3 times the mass of my normal C stands..

Again something that was best managed by two people.

By managed I mean removal from van etc.

Overall my experience of this light/stand combo was that it 'changed' the shoot style completely.. both offering some interesting options in terms of illuminance but also just not quick to rig in the manner of my normal redhead dedo kino kit.

Clearly the thing was a hazzard if used improperly and needed a professional to manage (I did have a gaffa and he had a lumpy assistant) but I still had to load the kit alone from my studio to unit base.

S
 
Guess it depends on your own physical condition as well... working out helps a lot, not just for work hours but your general health.

If you asked me little under a year ago I would have said that I thought a 5k arri head would be best lifted by two people. Today I have no issues lifting up 70 pounds if I had to.
 
You can be a macho idiot or not.

Most important is if you have people working under you you are responsible for them in the workplace and should take that responsibility seriously.

S
 
ectobuilder said:
Looking for some encouragement to purchase a light fixture that weighs 41 lbs.

Looking to hear your story with light fixtures around that kind of weight. How manageable is this weight? The most weight I've used is 7 lbs, so I can't imagine how hauling a 41 lbs fixture would be and how the overall experience would be.

The actual dimensions aren't that huge, would fit in my car easily, so it is just the weight I am worried about.

Please let me know!
Click to expand...

I would place 40b barbell weights on a stand and see how manageable you feel raising and lowering that amount of weight by yourself.

That is if you intend to use this light single crew.
 
Too heavy for one person to manipulate safely. Can you image how you would feel if you dropped that on someone?
 
What kind of light is it? What kind of car do you have?

I understand safety is always a concern if you're lifting heavy things by yourself, but one thing I've learned is that there is usually a smart way to do it when you're understaffed. Really the hardest part is getting the lamp out of or into your car, as that's the only time you would really have to lift it. Either way, here is a good way to head up a lamp without having to do a dead lift up onto the stand...Usually we say we're going to "Iwo Jima" it on there. Hopefully this picture will help you understand.

http://www.iwojima.com/bond/lflage.gif

Keep the light on the ground or in your car, put the pin on the stand, which is laying flat, then just tilt it upright. I've done it with lights from 6k's to 18k's and it works great when you don't have enough guys for a deadlift or you don't have a lift gate.

Other than that, get removable combo wheels so once it's on the stand it can roll easily. Then also get a furniture dolly, so if you can't head it up right away you can just stick it on there and wheel it around. Depending on the kind of car/truck you have, you can just get ramps and roll it up in there.

Once you get it onto the stand though, you're fine. I often times find myself having to push around T-12's by myself and thats a little over 60 pounds and probably a much larger head than you're dealing with.

I feel like a lot of people have just assumed you won't have the manpower to deal with this though. What kind of productions are you trying to do here? All the things I'm suggesting are making it possible, but man, you are gonna work for it.
 
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