How hot do interview lights really get?

[Aaron Koolen]

If you've read my other threads, I'm looking for a lighting solution mainly for interviews. Now I'm toying with the disgusting prices of flouros because of their cool running, but of course the price is insane compared to tungsten jobbies. So I was wondering what you guys who have actually done lots of interviews think of the temperatures that arise during interview shoots. I am talking about indoor ones here as I would assume outside wouldn't be an issue, generally.

Seeing as so many people use tungsten, you'd think it was fine, but maybe it's just a traditional thing. That's what's been used for years so people use it..

So, how hot does it get inside for you guys?


Aaron

[Richard Alvarez]

How hot do interview lights get?

How long is a piece of string?

It all depends. What is the room temperature, what is the talent wearing, what is the distance from light source, how long is the interview....? All these add up. Eventually, if your hamburger sits under the warming lights long enough, it's gonna get warm... and stale.

Basically, all things being equal, - clothing,ambient room air, duration and distance, Flo's are going to be cooler.

[Allen Brodsky]

There are advantages and disadvantages to any solution, but in my experience tungstens do not get so hot as to cause discomfort to the interviewees. I haven't used fluorescents, but they are obviously cooler, on the plus side, and draw less power. They have their negative points, also, including relative cost, larger size=more awkward to transport, and faster light drop-off. You can achieve a good interview lighting set-up with a single softlight and a reflector. Using a 500 watt bulb provides a nice light without making people sweat.

[Jacques Mersereau]

It depends a lot on where you are doing the interviews. Small offices/rooms
can get hot in a hurry. No one looks good sweating on camera.
If I had the money, I would probably go with 2 Flors (softbox style) for doing
interviews and a small fresnel for back light. Others like to add an additional
small fresnel for an eye light and a leko for background "patterned" light.
You can keep going from there.

Lighting is an investment. You pay (too much) for what you get and there
are good and bad things associated with different lighting instruments.
That's why there are so many kinds out there. Each satisfies a different
need and nothing does it all IMO.

[Ryan Gohlinghorst]

Heat hasn't really been a big issue for me in the past. I always set up my lighting well before the talent arrives, then I turn them off until just before we're ready to roll. I find that it helps a lot. I've been using a 1k w/softbox, bounce fill and a 200w kicker. Use of a background light varies depending on my situation.

[Aaron Koolen]

Thanks guys. Appreciate the help so far. I guess for me, budget plays a more important role, simply because all my work currently is for free/cost otherwise I would just get some flos and some tungsten lights (I do have a couple of small 150w peppers)


Cheers
Aaron

[Robert J. Wolff]

Ryan.

I am wondering how long before the shoot you turn on your lights? I have found that I have to have them on @ 1 hour before, so that they reach max colour temperature. Other wise, I have to re-white blance the camera('s).

Or, perhaps you have not had the problem?

[Ryan Gohlinghorst]

I've never noticed a problem, but I don't usually have an hour to wait either. For most of my corporate/college shoots, I'll have to sqeeze in 5-8 different interviews in different locations and a bunch of B-roll in about 12-14 hours. If I'm lucky, I'll have 2 days to do it (but then it's usually more interviews than that).