Please Suggest a Set of Reflectors
 

I'm going to start filming in about a week and need to put together a basic set of reflectors for my outside shots. Camera is a Sony HDR-FX1. I'd like to shoot wide open.

THANKS A LOT!

P.S. I know there are a lot of budget reflector ideas, and I'm all for them. But I also want to look somewhat professional, so buying the real thing is something I'm very open to doing. Thanks again.

Here
 

Here you go, American Grip, the best stuff you can buy. About $600.00 ea. for the 42" x 42" that you see on out door movie sets.

http://www.americangrip.com/reflectors.asp

Dan

I'm a big fan of the photoflex-style 5-way reflector. Gives you a lot of choices, such as silver, gold, white matte, translucent, flag, etc.

For example:
http://www.photoflex.com/Photoflex_P...nch/index.html

Wescott also has some of these, and there are knockoffs at your favorite retailer. A 32" and a 42", some clips, a light stand, a reflector arm would get you through a lot of one and two-person setups, and is very compact.

Not so good when it's breezy. Then, you need sandbags or a crew member.

Wind
 

Hi Seth:

I agree, I love my PhotoFlex reflectors, I have white, gold, silver, etc. but you also nailed it. Any kind of wind usually means that your light source will wave and quiver and look really weird on talent's face. In my experience, even with the reflector holders that clip the PhotoFlex in four different spots on the rim, they still wiggle around in the wind and it seems like outdoor shots almost always have at least a breeze. They are a large parachute that flexes and waves with the wind. I have had some major delays in trying to solve these issues.

The Hollywood style shiny boards are expensive but they work so much better. I was shooting on the set of Prison Break at a lake in Texas in the Spring and they were using half a dozen of these on a shore about 300 feet from where the scene was being shot. Each board had a grip stationed at it with a walkie and they just fine adjusted and tweaked to track the sun and change the lighting per the DPs commands. It's like everything else in this business, you can make your own with bead board and foil but you lose the yoke frame and mount that makes the Hollywood style shiny boards so functional. You trade convenience for cost. Same with the PhotoFlex. Great for indoors but can be a nightmare outdoors.

Best,

Dan

Seth,

I think the Westcott 42" six-in-one kit looks pretty good. I feel that square is probably easier to handle than round... or maybe the pretty model on their homepage subliminally sold me, LOL.

Specs: "6-in-1 Reflector Kits - include one Full Stop Panel, one Two Stop Panel and one reversible slip cover with Gold / Silver / Sunlight / Black"

They also sell a delux kit which adds an arm and stand: http://www.fjwestcott.com/fjw.com/pr...lectorkits.htm

Do you think this is a good way to go?

P.S. Dan, thanks for the advice, and if need be, American Grip is where I'll do some shopping.

Thanks everyone very much!

Agree, these work great for me

This is the style that has been working for me, great for interior use, and also good for traveling. Again, any breeze at all and exteriors need some weight on the stand and/or a crew member to stabilize. Over perhaps 8mph and you really need a person on it.

Right now, I travel with a 24" and a 32". I'll probably add a 42" one of these days. The larger the sail, the greater the effect of the wind.

Seth,

Sorry for being a pest, but I'm not sure if you're referring to the Westcott or the PhotoFlex. (You quoted my reference to Westcott, but listed sizes for the PhotoFlex.)

Thanks for your help!

Quite right, I'm using one photoflex and one westcott. I also have a 5'x7' chromakey green photoflex. They're all good, and I wouldn't hesitate to buy either brand.

; Thanks, makes sense :).

i like sunbounce products - use them for very fast shooting ... person on a reflector and person on sun swatter and you're shooting ...

http://www.sunbounce-usa.com/

Matthews also makes their Matthboard line of relectors. They're designed to be expendable, but they're less than half the price of traditional reflectors and they last quite a while if handled with some care in packing and moving. The yoke and frame only has to be purchased once.

Keep in mind that the full sized 42" shiny boards usually come with junior pins, so you'll need a stand for it as well.

Beadboard is inexpensive and sold in 4'x8' sheets, for about $30-$50, it can be cut up to smaller sizes, yet is less prone to distortion in the wind, like collapsible cloth reflectors. Grip with a Polito Bracket, Quacker Clamp, also known as a Duckbill, mount to a stand and you have a low cost, yet very effective reflector. As mentioned earlier you will need grips to "shake up the shiney boards" and keep them pointed at the subject. You can also "Hollywood" (handhold) the beadboard.

Beadboard has a hard silver side and a soft white poly side. You can use light diffusion to make the hard side not so hard.

The Matthboard expendable reflectors are really nice. About $120 - $160 each and come in Hard/Soft, Supersoft/Ultra Soft and Gold. The yoke mount ($120), stabilizes and relieves the stress of hand holding a heavy reflector. They are really great and can last a long time, if properly taken care of.

Thanks guys for the hlep.

A little follow up ?. For mostly one person in living room interviews, I wonder if the 42" Wescott kit is a little too big. Do you think the 30" should suffice? Or is it better to buy bigger?

Spend $20 bucks and buy some white and black Foam core.
That will provide an assortment of expendable reflectors, flags, and cookies.

Good Luck with your shoot!