Cine Light Upgrade Help. What is your most used lights on production ?

[Andreas Gotfredsen]

I'm currently looking to upgrade my cine light gear and want to get a fresh perspective and know what others here really really using in there productions ..

Not using once or twice .. but the lights that you really use frequently

what is your most used lights that you use almost all the time ?


Thanks

 

[Michael Tiemann]

All the time: ARRI L7-C (when you need a fresnel, you need a fresnel) and Hive 200-C Hornet (super adaptable to many uses).

I'm always happy to use my K5600 Joker 800 when I need it, but I don't always need it. And it's a hot lamp, unlike the LED lamps above.

 

[Phil Holland]

^ Somewhere between my Gemini 2x1 and Hive 200-C are my most used lights. I have some Aputure 300Ds and Nila Boxers for some big bang hard light, but lighting scenes those are probably my most used two at the moment. I just grabbed a few 1X1 Geminis, too early to know if I'll be reaching for them or the 2x1s more.

I still have a smattering of HMI and Tungsten, but I made the switch to LED for my main kits a long, long while back. It's just been more of finding things that really work from there.

 

[Nick Gardner]

You always need a big punchy source. You always need some small pokey lights. You always need some sort of soft source.

The punchy light could be anywhere from a 1200 to an 18k depending on the situation. Likewise, it could be a 5k fresnel in tungsten world. it depends on what you are doing. I don't know of any LEDs that fill this spot yet.

The pokey lights can be LEDs, bicolor leds, or regular old tungsten, fresnels, open faces, or pars.

The soft source can be a big fresnel through a silk, an led soft light, a tungsten softlight, a par bounce, basically endless.

Me personally, like if I have to go do a job, and I throw one cart in the van for lighting , here's whats on it -

Desisti 1200w HMI Fresnel
2 x 100w daylight LED fresnel
2 x LED Dedo
4 x 18" x 24" falcon eyes Led mats
box of practical bulbs and assortment of dimmers

Obviously plus stands, c-stands, nets, flags, sand bags, etc.

Their are a million different lights and a million different scenarios. I tend to go for stuff that requires the least amount of additional grip gear. For instance if I am lighting a tungsten interior, I love mole richardson zip lights with the stackable eggcrates on a dimmer. Put one of those on a stand, and it's a soft light snooted down to go just where you want without any additional stands. Great for small interiors.

I mean, if you took 4 source 4 pars and 3 dimmers with some grip stuff, those lights can be made to do whatever you want them to do. Take the lens out, shoot it through a window. Put the VNS lens in, put it on a dimmer and use it to glow a painting on the wall in the BG. Bounce one into a piece of folded foam core for a key. Then you still have one left over for an edge.

I did a whole movie where all our key lights were source 4 pars bounced into 3'x3' alpine spruce boards made out of guitar tops. Really you have to figure out what you like and how to do it quickly (and sadly, now adays with less and less crew).

Nick

 

[Bob Gundu]

Shockingly the Intellytech LC-160 LiteCloth 2x2. I somehow use on every shoot. I bought the Chimera lantern for it and it became even more useful.

 

[Remington Chase]

Shockingly the Intellytech LC-160 LiteCloth 2x2. I somehow use on every shoot. I bought the Chimera lantern for it and it became even more useful.

Agreed, I got a couple of those on the group buy and am surprised how great they are. Use them more than my Gemini 2x1's because they are so easy.

 

[Christopher A. Bell]

Most of my indoor, lit shoots are interviews. It's now changed a little, but over the last two years it's gone from 'bi-color Astra's and Hive 100-C's' to 'bi-color Astra's, 2x1 Gemini's and 100 & 200-C's' to within the last month or two to '1x1 Gemini's and Astera LightDrops'*. This is just generally speaking for normal interviews. Each shoot has to be looked at individually and gear decisions based on that evaluation. I was on a four camera shoot about two weeks ago and we used a combination of my Quasar x-fade tubes, Astera LightDrops and some of the other guys Aladin flexible panels.

It's hard to get too much into "you need this, this and this" without knowing what exactly you shoot, but I feel that I can do a whole lot with just a set of Gemini's and Astera's.



*If you haven't had a good look at them, check them out. I absolutely love them and a few guys that I shoot with have said they are going to get them, as well. Even had a producer who doesn't really care much/know much about gear throw out "those are a game changer" when we used them for the first time.
https://astera-led.com/ax3/ I believe it was Travis that pulled together a group buy on the Tubes, maybe he can do one on these.

 

[Christopher A. Bell]

Shockingly the Intellytech LC-160 LiteCloth 2x2. I somehow use on every shoot. I bought the Chimera lantern for it and it became even more useful.

Agreed, I got a couple of those on the group buy and am surprised how great they are. Use them more than my Gemini 2x1's because they are so easy.

I picked up a pair on the group buy last year and they are good lights. Lots of bang for your buck. But I only use them occasionally, because they're such a pain to put together and break down, even leaving the diffusion in. I usually only pull them out when we're going to be set-up for more than a day. But they are almost always in the truck, because they take up so little room when packed in their cases. Two of them don't take up much more space than a single Astra would in a bag...

 

[David Mullen ASC]

Litemats
small tungsten fresnels (like the 300W and 650W)
tungsten Source-4 Leko
tungsten ParCans
Skypanels
Astera tubes

 

[Christopher A. Bell]

Litemats
small tungsten fresnels (like the 300W and 650W)
tungsten Source-4 Leko
tungsten ParCans
Skypanels
Astera tubes

I'm still a tungsten guy, at heart. I have several Pelicans full of 150, 300 and 650 Arri fresnels and Source Fours. Source Four's used to be the best 'bang-for-your-buck' in the industry. You could replace multiple lights with one well placed S4 with a good break-up. Now they are mostly special order from dealers and about double the price they used to be. Companies like Hive are selling refurbished barrels to pair with their LED's for more than entire fixtures used to cost.

 

[Justin Chin]

I always ask for at least 2 jolekos on my shoots. ALWAYS. So much so I constantly think about buying 2 myself. You have an HMI punchy source or a super focused leko.

 

[Ryan Hamblin]

Intellytech 485 light canon on 90 percent of shoots with a digitalsputnik DS3 kit. M18 here and there, but usually will opt to get 2 or 3 more intellytech 485s. sometimes the astera tubes. We finally got our DS voyagers in and they seem to be a bigger pain than they are worth, but have found their way into a couple shots.