lighting equipment used in nature

[william howell]

So...

question for anyone who's filmed in nature... national geographic jungle style... besides using reflectors to paint with sunlight... what are professional (basically real world) standard lighting equipment necessities?

if you're away from the electrical grid for a few days... what do you use?

are there any cool advancements in battery powered lighting?

are there bright enough battery powered lights to do high speed filming of insects?

do you use tripods to mount them?

do solar powered battery chargers work well in the field?

I'm gearing up for a jungle shoot in a few months... and need to focus on the lighting... no pun intended...

any advice will help.

billy

 

[Clint Lealos]

I spent a month in the amazon for an Animal Planet show called "Night" some years ago. Obviously, most of our filming was at night, but I can answer some of your questions.

There have been some cool advancements in LED technology recently. Remote Phosphor light panels have been popping up and they offer far greater light output and higher quality light (CRI). Not sure about high speed flicker with these lights, but they certainly will be bright enough for it. Here is a link to one of the more popular units on the market right now: http://www.bbslighting.com/products/area-48-soft-remote-phosphor I would recommend at least one lightweight light stand for each light you bring with you.

A solar charger won't cut it in my opinion. If you have to charge big batts (bricks) you will need a small generator. Luckily these are pretty small and lightweight days. Honda makes the best ones. Good luck with your shoot!

 

[william howell]

Thank you Clint. VERY helpful info.