What's a good Key, Fill, Back light solution
 

I'm about to do a lot of traveling and before I get out to some shops I'm looking for some advice on what others are using for Key, Fill, Back light solution's while traveling. This is all about interviews only.

Thanks

My travel lighting kit is a Coollights LED 600 Spot through a small Chimera as a key, a Coollights LED 600 Flood bounced into a 42" white Flexfill and my hair/rim light is a Coollights LED 256 through a small softbox on a 20" aluminum grip arm.

I also bring an Arri 300 watt fresnel with barnedoors, scrims and a dimmer to paint backgrounds. LEDs are not good for throwing patterns on walls, etc.

This entire kit with two light stands (I work the fill LED from the floor into the Flexfill) fits into one fairly small Storm hard case.

Dan

Dan which Chimera are you using for the LED600?

Hi Dan,
What are you powering theses lights with? and also are you using 56k or 32k

I have considered led lighting but was a bit concerned about the throw length of light if I need to get back from my talent.

Would you have a picture of your setup that we could view.

Cheers

Hi Michael:

Using a small Chimera Quartz with a homemade speed ring. Coollights makes their own slip-on soft box for the LED 600s.

Simon:

I usually just plug them into AC although I do have a big Bescor lead acid battery that will power them for about 5 hours. The LED 256 also works with a Sony or Panasonic camcorder battery. LED's have similar fall off to fluorescent although a bit longer throw. I only use LEDs with diffusion or a softbox.

I'll see if I can dig up something as far as setup images.

Dan

There's an older thread on "suitcase" kits, I'll look for it.

My favorite traveling light is a Lowell Rifa 55. A light, fast, bright softbox, it can be relamped for 110v and 240v countries, sets up super-fast, looks great.

Currently, when traveling, I carry two of them and a Lowell Pro as a backlight, couple stands, some lightweight Lowell grip equipment.

There's a theme here - it's all Lowell. I've got other lighting, and have used all kinds of stuff from ace to 10k, but, the Lowell stuff sure is good in a suitcase...

Here's a thread, http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/photon-m...ing-space.html, and here's another http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/photon-m...ssignment.html, both are addressing flying with lighting for interviews as checked baggage.

Thanks Seth,
Hey thanks guys. I like the cool lights and this is maybe what I'm after.
Also I own and use two Rifa 55's with a Lowell Pro for backlight but the cost of globes for the Riffa's is costing me a small fortune as I keep breaking them when traveling.

Thanks

The other factor to consider is that when I travel, it is typically to shoot interviews. Invariably, it involves being shuffled off to some really small, less than ideal room. Fire up 1,000 to 1,500 watts of tungsten and the temperature in the room instantly climbs by 10 to 20 degree F. Talent is sweating and uncomfortable, you are frustrated because you don't have the time and or resources to black out the windows or that pesky skylight, then your BGs go all blue. For me, tungsten has been relegated to studio use or narrative use and for a BG light. LEDs suck at throwing patterns or making a slash of light on a wall. So I still typically include an Arri 300 fresnel in the kit for BGs. But it is not used on talent and one 300 watt fresnel doesn't significantly heat up a room like two or three larger wattage instruments.

I have found that LEDs just work much better for interviews when traveling. No bulbs to change or break. The LEDs work well on any world voltage with the mere addition of a plug adapter. The fact that they are daylight balanced, dimmable with minimal color shift and in a pinch, can be easily adapted to tungsten by merely slipping in a resin color filter behind the barn doors makes it just too easy. I used to use a Rifa 55 when traveling, it does the job, but it causes heat, the bulb issue and you are limited as far as ambient light color temp.

Dan

I don't understand that, having never broken one! I have the original, non-modular lamp heads lamped with tungsten, I carry a couple very well-packed spares.

I can't disagree with anything Dan wrote above, regarding the drawbacks of tungsten. And, I really haven't spent any time with LED lighting.

Still, I don't think anything touches the Rifa for size and weight of a complete soft source. I do carry some 1/2 CTB for everything, only rarely pull it out. It's not complete correction to daylight, but gets close enough for my purposes, without completely killing the output.

Certainly a large part of this comes down to my personal preferences, and, that I've not spent the money on LED fixtures... and never been tempted to air travel with my flo fixtures!

Hi Dan,

how do the Coollights LED 600 compare to Kina Flo's?

I shot this with available light, it didn't look as good as I'd hoped. I tried some CFL Softboxes with about 300 watts of 5600 but they didn't have much of an effect in the dinning room for example. I don't mind flat lighting as long as it brings the level up so that the outside isn't so blown out.

I would go with Dedolights for a tungsten kit - very light, dimmable, easy to control, almost indestructible.
Fast setup - you can setup in 5min. Good kits with all that is needed in one backpack/case.

As for a LED - check the ianiro led54 - Very bright real 5600k, very tough built, battery operated, dimmable, no weight at all. Can be used as one very bright light or more (up to 3) lower wattage lights. Good throw and you can control the beam with different lenses. I used those in small rain no problem. Just don't forget to diffuse them.

double post

Hi Chuck:

Kinos are different than LEDs. Kinos have faster falloff rates, are softer, bigger and bulkier. I have two Diva 200s and I use them all of the time. Bottom line is that there is still no perfect lighting solution. I shot a small, intimate outdoor concert, shot at night, last weekend, lit it with twenty six tungsten lights but I put tungsten tubes into my Divas and ran them on the floor in front of the talent as an underneath soft fill. Worked out great.

LEDs are great for travel and for interviews, but I don't use them as much for larger, narrative setups because when I put the softbox on my Coollights LED600, I have to physically move the softbox very close to the talent, which is not usually desirable for narrative setups.

Dan