Good points Philip. While I love what can be done with the Mini Max, I am all for making everything smaller, lighter, easier and cheaper.

My problem is that I just never know where I am going to be shooting and what sorts of rigging opportunities I will have for a backlight/hairlight. You can use a Mafer clamp, Cardellini, Putty Knife with a spud, C-clamp with a spud and I bought a couple of these really cool rigs, they are a plastic tube that on one end has threads like a lightbulb and on the opposite end, they have a 5/8 spud. You can screw them into any can light or track lighting fixture that takes a standard lightbulb and hang a small Arri 150 or Lowel ProLight from them. Between this entire bag of tricks, I an usually find something to mount a hairlight/backlight to but not always.

Dan

For head shots, it seems the best solution would be to clamp a light onto the background crossbar or stand to save setup time. Does anyone do this?

Hi Dana:

Yes, I usually use a 40" C-stand arm on a C-stand for single interviews and I have a Manfrotto 9' steel boom that I use when doing a full length shot or a shot with two or three talent in it. Problem is, to balance that 9' boom with a light hanging on the end of it, I need to use my steel combo stand that is huge and weighs about 35lbs itself, then I need to use an 8lb sandbag up in the air opposite the light on the boom as a counterweight and you can see where this all going. Big, heavy, time-consuming = old school. New school = small, light and quick to setup.

I am all about the new school these days. LEDs, small light grip gear, rigging in more clever, space saving and quick ways. There are about ten methods for hanging up a backlight/rim light and a boom is fine when you have crew and time but if you are with a small crew and little time, you have to think really creatively and figure out different ways to get a light up there quickly and painlessly.

Dan

Since B&H has changed some info, here's a direct link to the stand I linked early in the thread, the Bogen Convertible Boom Stand (aluminum) for $122.50:
Bogen / Manfrotto | 420NSB Convertible Boom Stand - | 420NSB

It weighs 6 lbs. and can be used as a boom or just a light stand. If using it as a boom you can still put a clamp on the main riser for a background or side light.

For people doing lots of interviews with similar setups, this is a very convenient stand. The boom will carry a small hair light or a small soft box.

For a counterweight there is usually some equipment or case that can double, so it's not necessary to carry a weight. Obviously, this needs to be worked out in advance. There are also bag counterweights that can be filled with rocks, sand or water.

Bogen also makes the same stand with a steel base. It holds more weight, it it also weighs 3 times as much (18.5 lbs.):
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...specifications

The Manfrotto 420B does fill a nice sweet spot for cost and use. It comes with a reversible 5/8" stud that allows for 1/4"-20 or 3/8" threading so you can hang other items as well, such as a shockmount with microphones. Here's a quick demo we through together on Vimeo.