Taping in front of the capitol

M

mjvolzer

Member
My coworker has to shoot a project in front of the capitol. We have a permit to set up the camera, tripod, lights, and maybe a silk, however, we can't run any power out to where we will be shooting. Our generator is too big and too loud for us to use out there. Anyone know of any quiet power supplies we could use to power a couple lights for a day long shoot or of any good battery powered lights that could work in this situation for a day long shoot. Our main worries are going to be size and noise.
Thanks,
Mark
 
William_Robinette said:
What exactly do you have to shoot?
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It'll be a spokesman. I think he'll be reading off of a teleprompter, but I'm not sure about that. I figure if it's a sunny day they'll use the sun as the key and diffuse it with a silk then they'll need to add some fill and a back light. If it's cloudy and they can get away with it they'll probably use just a key and a backlight. It's not my shoot, so I don't know all the details, I'm just trying to help her out with a way to power some lights without getting shut down by secret service.
 
Is the spokesperson Black or White? The Capitol is a pretty hot background and the best views of it are affected by the position of the sun at that time of day. If you're shooting from the west end of the Capitol, which you probably are considering your lack of AC availability, it can't be an early shoot because the talent would be heavily backlit. You should be able to rent a power truck that can park close enough to your location to power you (along the mall) so you can use anything you want. Does this help?
 
Unfortunately she doesn't have the budget to rent much of anything that big. Our only hope would be battery powered lights that we can rent cheaply, a power supply we could rent cheaply, or I'd have to convince upstairs to let us buy something and charge it to capitol budget (I think I could swing this if I can find the right equipment be it lights or power supply).

I'm not really sure where on the Capitol they'll be shooting. The client just keeps saying in front of the Capitol. I'm assuming that she means on the West side since that is the image people think of when they think of the capitol. Since we are having to jump through a ton of hoops to get this done. I'm trying to come up with as many options as I can considering the constraints.
 
How about reflectors?

If it's a sunny day, you've got all the light you want from that conveniently placed (93 millions miles away) thermonuclear generator.


- Mikko
 
If you can find out your shoot's exact location (the permit you received should have those details) then I can probably help you a little better.
 
I would try to use bouce light as well.

I once put a 4200w generator inside the bed of a pickup truck with some building insulation, with a cap, and left the window on the back of the cap open. It worked okay for me, although it was probably more dangerous than I'd care to admit.
 
Capt Quirk said:
I would really find another way to phrase this subject, before Homeland Security comes through your door ;)
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Unfortunately, but a bit of truth here.
I too would consider Professional "Shiney Boards" with good combo stands and plenty of sand bags for this. Not a DIY foam board set up. Although, on a sunny day, foamcore may do wonders for this setup, especially if they(the foamcore) is just out of frame. My suggestion is, just make your setup looks like you have some professionalism, and not just jumping out of a van with silver car window-heat deflectors and handholding a sony Pd-150 type camera. Look pro-not gorilla...,
Or you'll be asked to leave by DC metro or Capital security for filming another " Micheal Moore" type film.
Keep your permit with you at all times.
 
I'll see if I can get that info, but the client (as most government types are) is holding on to most of that stuff and like I said above it's not my project. I'm really not worried so much about specifics. This client has been VERY squirrelly (to give you an idea of how squirrelly this project was started over two years ago). It would not surprise me if on the day of the shoot I got a call saying that they want to shoot on the other side of the building. I don't want worry about having to bounce sunlight or anything that I can't control. To an extent I can control having enough light to balance out the sunlight or bump it up if need be. All I really want to know is if anyone knows of some battery powered lights or a small battery powered power source that I can use to run some lights for a day.
 
filmat11 said:
Unfortunately, but a bit of truth here.
I too would consider Professional "Shiney Boards" with good combo stands and plenty of sand bags for this. Not a DIY foam board set up. Although, on a sunny day, foamcore may do wonders for this setup, especially if they(the foamcore) is just out of frame. My suggestion is, just make your setup looks like you have some professionalism, and not just jumping out of a van with silver car window-heat deflectors and handholding a sony Pd-150 type camera. Look pro-not gorilla...,
Or you'll be asked to leave by DC metro or Capital security for filming another " Micheal Moore" type film.
Keep your permit with you at all times.
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I can't use shiny boards. The client has seen examples of stuff and we can get clearance to have a camera, tripod, silk, some lights and a SMALL power supply. That's all. I need to know if anyone knows of some battery powered lights or a small battery powered power supply that I can run some lights off for a day. That's all. I can't have shiny boards or foam board or cables of any kind running from a power supply.
 
Outdoors, this 200 joker will not offer you much as a key light. Perhaps a fill or even just enough for an eye light. This light would need be be just out of frame, depending on the ambient light, time of day and sun's position in the sky. A single piece of "Opal" gel will soften the lights hard delivery on the face.
 
Filmat11 has the right idea. I would use a magliner and carry a car battery with a 12v-120v inverter plus all of the stands and other stuff. We shot on a city bus one after noon and run several 200w peppers w/blue gels- and this set up worked well. I'm not sure how long it could run a pocket par and telepromter. I would also bring 2 scrimjim frames one for an overhead silk and a 1 or 2 stop net for the background this will help the hmi get just a little more punch. Good luck
 
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