What do you "really" need in a lighting kit?

A box full of practicals (at least bulbs) as noted above is also a life saver. I have various wattages in a box I always carry, from 15 watt to 250 watt. First thing we do on set is go swap all the practical bulbs. Generally taking them all down to 15 watt if they are in frame.
 
gonzo_entertainment said:
A box full of practicals (at least bulbs) as noted above is also a life saver. I have various wattages in a box I always carry, from 15 watt to 250 watt. First thing we do on set is go swap all the practical bulbs. Generally taking them all down to 15 watt if they are in frame.
Click to expand...

15 watt CFLs (~60 watt equivalent)?
 
I'm sure they are 15 watt household bulbs. CFL's arent very good to put in your practicals because you can't dim them to taste.
 
I am going through and testing many different kinds of lights and bulbs. If you are shooting guerrilla fictional narrative, after you get a base kit of big, powerful and versatile pro-style lights, it is handy to have a bunch of other lights that can be put together rather inexpensively to give you much more versatility. This is especially important for low budget night exteriors, or in large spaces.

I have read a bit that Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC and Shane Hurlbut ASC have put together and used "Batten Lights" made up of long strips of sockets in which they put various standard medium base incandescent bulbs. Deakins says that he used a light like this on "Jarhead" and there is behind the scenes footage of Hurlbut using on on the short "The Last Three Minutes" http://www.hurlbutvisuals.com/blog/2010/05/the-making-of-the-janitor-sequence-from-the-last-3-minutes/ Working from that, I have been getting some bulbs for testing. One if the ones I just got is this one, a 500 watt R-40 shaped incandescent that is made as a replacement bulb for swimming pool lighting.

The specs here:
http://www.1000bulbs.com/product/2925/HALCO-104042.html

It is also available on Amazon

http://www.1000bulbs.com/product/2925/HALCO-104042.html

I have some 4 socket rigs that are rated for up to 500 watts per socket that I want to test it out in. I will be doing the performance testing this week and will probably post the results in another thread. Just thought I would through that out there. When it comes to lighting, there are many ways to skin a cat... so to speak.


BTW, I don't care for CFLs that much any more. I hate the green spike and am not sold on that "Equivalent Light output" hype. The warmer ones are, in my opinion, just plan ugly, light wise and the high power daylight ones just don't give out enough light, in many cases, and are pretty unwieldy to use in medium base or mogul base sockets. I am open to suggestions about them, but they just seem to be more work to man handle into a useable light than I want to put into it.
 
While lights like the source 4 are a great tool to add to your kit, be aware that ellipsoidals are generally heavier than other lights needing a more heavy duty stand.
 
David G. Smith said:
I am going through and testing many different kinds of lights and bulbs. If you are shooting guerrilla fictional narrative, after you get a base kit of big, powerful and versatile pro-style lights, it is handy to have a bunch of other lights that can be put together rather inexpensively to give you much more versatility. This is especially important for low budget night exteriors, or in large spaces.

I have read a bit that Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC and Shane Hurlbut ASC have put together and used "Batten Lights" made up of long strips of sockets in which they put various standard medium base incandescent bulbs. Deakins says that he used a light like this on "Jarhead" and there is behind the scenes footage of Hurlbut using on on the short "The Last Three Minutes" http://www.hurlbutvisuals.com/blog/...the-janitor-sequence-from-the-last-3-minutes/ Working from that, I have been getting some bulbs for testing. One if the ones I just got is this one, a 500 watt R-40 shaped incandescent that is made as a replacement bulb for swimming pool lighting.

The specs here:
http://www.1000bulbs.com/product/2925/HALCO-104042.html

It is also available on Amazon

http://www.1000bulbs.com/product/2925/HALCO-104042.html

I have some 4 socket rigs that are rated for up to 500 watts per socket that I want to test it out in. I will be doing the performance testing this week and will probably post the results in another thread. Just thought I would through that out there. When it comes to lighting, there are many ways to skin a cat... so to speak.
Click to expand...

Definitely post your results, this looks awesome!
 
RyanT said:
I'm sure they are 15 watt household bulbs. CFL's arent very good to put in your practicals because you can't dim them to taste.
Click to expand...

Yes.
So you don't have to blast 3K of light on the guy sitting at the desk to not have his desk lamp blown out. You put a VERY low wattage bulb in it which then motivates some of your key light. Can do the same thing with a dimmer, but then it goes very yellow on you. It's easier to just swap the bulb.
 
paulears said:
These are very strange questions - I don't think there IS a standard kit. It's a case of looking at the set - and selecting kit, which means either using your own kit which may not be ideal, or renting in the right stuff. I used to do lots of stuff with a 3 redhead kit. It's rarely used now because we now also need to light green screen background, or add decorative lights for the set.

Corporate work means what? presenter to camera with real background, green screen, presentations, arms, meetings, promos - etc? Each needs something different. Tungsten variable beam width Fresnels with barndoors, or open face Redhead types, Softlights with tubes, tubular tungsten, or LED panels? So much different kit now. I tend to think now that buying a 'kit' or a 'set' is no longer a product that will actually do everything anymore. You go to the client to shoot a piece to camera in their office with the intention of it looking 'busy' - but it looks a mess, so you decide to green screen. Different process, different ideal kit.

Everything is too variable nowadays for stock lighting with minimal kit. Variety being the important thing if you need to purchase, not hire. My lighting stock keep growing and growing with every different job seeming to need different kit!
Click to expand...

By 'kit', I meant, a unique "base" of fixtures that one might carry around with him, depending on which field.

My basic kit for movies is some fresnels (2k,3 1k, 2 750, 1 500, 1 200), Source 4 1k spot (Very useful as has been mentioned), par64, some scoops, stands, and small grip items bounce cards etc.

ggrantly said:
The answer to the thread title what you really need in a lighting kit is "control". No matter what lights you get, without a way to control them, you are lost.
Click to expand...


I've discovered this to be very true, and have had to go extra lengths to control light than I would have thought. flags, duvetyne, dimmers, and Neutral density gel have become my friends
 
Last edited:
maranfilms said:
I LOVE LIGHTING, I could talk about lighting setups, and watch pro gaffers work all day, I just love it.
Click to expand...

I'm looking to get some time in watching pros create lighting set ups for cinema. One of my thoughts is to try and get connected to a film set or two in Toronto (I live pretty close.) But on the other hand, I'd be happy to find some videos online, or even purchase DVD's. I watched the Lighting for Film and Television DVD (bought it from DVXuser), and it was a great intro to basic concepts and the equipment available. But do you have any suggestions on resources for watching guys light professionally for film?

I'm a full time photographer, and I've been to school and paid attention - so I'm familiar with the basic principles of lighting. But I'd like to watch some pros light specific for narrative.

We watched Pride and Prejudice (2005) the other day, after a DP told me it was his favourite film from the past few years. The lighting and camera work in that movie is BEAUTIFUL. If I could find some resources that showed the how to on something like that, that'd be awesome!

Stuff like this, except 24fps of it, and higher res :D

022.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top