Alternative to Briese light

[Angelo Lorenzo]

I've been brought on late to the process with an upcoming commercial. Our director is in love with the idea of a Briese light (focusable parabolic umbrella) as the key light for a number of our set ups. Of course, due to rental cost this basically destroys the lighting/grip budget and limits our ability to have more practical things like a doorway dolly.

I would rather have an HMI bounced into silver speckle with some rim lights and some support from makeup with a bit of shimmer powder or glycerine.

Any other suggestions to get 80% of the Bresie look without the cost?

 

[Ketch Rossi]

Unfortunately Angelo, there is no such a Light as the Briese, this are an incredibly unique type of Parabolic Umbrellas that by design over pass any other such fixtures, by simply allowing to Focus the light trow by distance and spread, plus the truly great type of special material used to create the Parabolic Umbrellas, then there is the HMI Bulbs design it self.

So there is no other way to get the same nor near look as the Briese, and that is why they are so expensive.

Now, since you are in LA, there might be a way to get a similar fixture... Made by design in reflection of the Briese, the B2PRO... Several of them are in use at RED Studios Hollywood.

 

[Timur Civan]

Try a 12X with a tight spread eggcreate on top of Muslin.

 

[Ulf Krentz]

Angelo, what size and wattage Briese umbrella are you thinking of? Don´t be frightend away, it is not too difficult to match the light of the smaller parabolics but it will take more time to setup and of course it won´t make you look as cool as with the Brieses ;-) Additionally I´m not a fan of the catchlight unless you use it as a giant ringlight. There´s a lot of hype around Briese but in the end it´s just a light. The Briese stuff has its place, is very beautiful and well engineered, superfast to set up - but the ballasts are from B+S (the same as Arri), just with a proprietary electrical modification at a much higher price tag, the same with the HMI bulbs that have a modification at the lamp base so you are not able to fit a standard bulb. I don´t like that kind of stuff, YMMV. The ones Ketch mentioned look promising (I wonder if Briese is aware of them...), you may also have a look at the broncolor Para range - if they are available at your place.

Cheers, Ulf

 

[Michael Lindsay]

I have recently been using a joker 1.6hmi with a 5 or 7 foot octodome as a briese alternative.. It works for me but it isn't the same thing and in some situations the difference is critical.

 

[BRANDON JAMESON]

Broncolor Para.

 

[Dave Blackham]

So how similar is the broncolor in light output and operation ? Looks like Briese have more options.

 

[Ketch Rossi]

The names of the Parabolic Umbrellas are several, Broncolor, almost equally expensive as Briese, and closest for any others as ot th eactual incredibly well built system, but not the same, then there is the Profoto, not the same and for this their prices are much lower too.

Can you get a similar look in smaller units? Close but not the same. With larger units? NO, you can not, but you can work a lot in post to get close to that look, yet not the same at al.

The shadow coverage, the even illumination across, the capacity to illuminate over a shooter in front of the lamp which is in front of the subject to be illuminated, texture you get from the Briese it is extremely Unique to them, they are just simply put the most pleasing skin tone producing light fixture I ever sued.

It is not only about the reflective material and the particular shape of their Parabolic Umbrellas, it is how they are made and most importatnly it is th eFocusing Lamp system mechanism it self that makes them so absolutely unique, nothing else gets close to them IMSO.

B2PRO is an other story, they were in fact sued by Briese some years back, but since they are still in business I would imagine that they can do what they are doing, and in this sense, B2PRO would be the closets ones to Briese.


However, about the statement of the B2PRO only comes from having seen them in action at RED STUDIOS HOLLYWOOD, and since I have not shot with them myself, I can not make final comments about the quality of Skin tones and or light produced on final image, but I will most certainly work with them once back in LA soon... And will report...

 

[Ulf Krentz]

snip/


B2PRO is an other story, they were in fact sued by Briese some years back, but since they are still in business I would imagine that they can do what they are doing, and in this sense, B2PRO would be the closets ones to Briese.

snip/


Ha, creating something similar to Briese is walking on dangerous ground. Profoto and broncolor have also been sued with their first attempts.

How similar is the light quality of the others? Well, each and every size of the Briese focus refectors has its own characteristics and so have the paras. They also provide a focus mechanism, for sure not as elegant as the Brieses but working well. Briese splits the lighting element into head, spacer, bulb and counter reflector, you mount the entire head in its working position with the brons, therefore the weight is not as balanced. But it easily allows to mount other fixture you might already own as well, like the jokers. With the para 88 (which is truely amazing and just stands in line) you can additionally mount the umbrella to the head like a normal reflector facing the bulb to the front, similar to a briese without counter reflektor. The bigger ones are easy to set up with their cranking system (ever rigged a 330Briese?)

Cheers, Ulf

 

[Ron Steinberg]

Bron Para
Profoto Giant