when filming on location without outlets, what would be a good alternative lighting source?
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lighting options
- Thread starter Duck & Dog Productions
- Start date
I've been thinking about this recently too so it would be good to hear some of the more experienced guys here chime in. It was never a problem with my photography as I've got plenty of flash gear, but of course that's no good for vids.
It will inevitably come down to budget vs requirements.
Planning for my needs has lead me towards low drain/high efficiency battery powered stuff. Been looking into 50W LED floods which can be run from car batteries/inverter. 12v worklights are an option too.
It will inevitably come down to budget vs requirements.
Planning for my needs has lead me towards low drain/high efficiency battery powered stuff. Been looking into 50W LED floods which can be run from car batteries/inverter. 12v worklights are an option too.
For very cheap, you can get battery-powered LED panels (linkage) in varying sizes and mounting options. Many have a camera-shoe attachment as well as a 1/4" 20-thread hole to screw onto the top of lightstands.
They come in all shapes & sizes, and last quite a long long time. Obviously, keep a large stack of extra AA's on hand.
Bounceboards are always needed, regardless of where you are. They can be grabbed off the shelf for about $5.00 at Home Depot or similar, for a 2" x 4" foam board - white on one side, and silver reflector on the other. Found in the insulation section.
Do some math & make sure you're not going to drain your car battery fast with what you plug in. You can get deep-cycle batteries that might be more suitable, but if you're prepared to lug around a rack of those you'd probably just be better off with a small genny anyway.
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They come in all shapes & sizes, and last quite a long long time. Obviously, keep a large stack of extra AA's on hand.
Bounceboards are always needed, regardless of where you are. They can be grabbed off the shelf for about $5.00 at Home Depot or similar, for a 2" x 4" foam board - white on one side, and silver reflector on the other. Found in the insulation section.
Do some math & make sure you're not going to drain your car battery fast with what you plug in. You can get deep-cycle batteries that might be more suitable, but if you're prepared to lug around a rack of those you'd probably just be better off with a small genny anyway.
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i've been thinking about that but i'm afraid the noise from it (if it's gas powered) will be too much for the sound gear plus they might not allow those on the streets for filming, battery powered is an option due to its small size and quietness but those run about 5,000 to 10,000 a pop. i'm just worried that a led clip light won't be powerful enough out in the sunlight.
Yarp, I've got some LED banks already but they're not as usable in practice as a single higher-powered emitter/source of course. They have thier places, but ISL is a bitch.
I've not really seen much talk on the web among filmy-types regarding the possible applications of the newer high wattage LED lights yet, but would be interested in seeing what others have done with them. Given that they have fewer diodes in a smaller space, they are pumping out more lumens per emitter for better fall-off, and would be much easier to flag/direct/bounce etc.
Aye. I have loads of that sort of stuff for my photography. I have plenty of diffusion sheets, reflectors, flags, scrims etc...
Yeah, been looking into that too. For my current needs I only need to run one or two higher powered main lights and have considered a small generator. I should've mentioned that, sorry!
Led lights definitely can't overpower the sun.
Well, not at any convenient distance anyway. You can get some fairly quiet small generators. Place it far away from the mics and run some long cables. You can minimise noise with some baffles. Any low freq noise will still carry through though, unless you've got some impractically thick absorption panels. If it's a nice clean tone you can apply some surgical EQ to pull it out if needed.
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if worst comes to worst i can use some strategically placed bounce boards 
i certainly have enough manpower.
i certainly have enough manpower.
Car with an power inverter... http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=583328
You should be able to run some lights with what amounts to a quiet generator (depending on the car).
Multiple cars and inverters will allow for more lights.
You should be able to run some lights with what amounts to a quiet generator (depending on the car).
Multiple cars and inverters will allow for more lights.
Honda generators are very quiet and can be made almost silent with the use of soundproof insulation.
A large (5kw) inverter can be hard wired into a car and provide a fair amount of electricity. If you have the budget, put a second (high capacity, deep cycle) battery in the vehicle and run an isolator to prevent the inverter from draining that battery that starts the vehicle. Remember that the longer the wire run, the heavier the gauge of the wire needs to be. Always buy the thickest (lowest number) gauge cords you can get.
A large (5kw) inverter can be hard wired into a car and provide a fair amount of electricity. If you have the budget, put a second (high capacity, deep cycle) battery in the vehicle and run an isolator to prevent the inverter from draining that battery that starts the vehicle. Remember that the longer the wire run, the heavier the gauge of the wire needs to be. Always buy the thickest (lowest number) gauge cords you can get.
Power inverters with a car, or even better, a large deep cycle battery work very well. You definitely need to watch what kind of power you use though, high current inverters are expensive, and consume lots of batter power.
Also, you can try a propane generator. They run quieter, but especially quieter in the very low frequency noise that can travel far and through many obstacles put in their way.
CraigL
Also, you can try a propane generator. They run quieter, but especially quieter in the very low frequency noise that can travel far and through many obstacles put in their way.
CraigL