The Production Managers Guide to Television Lighting

This adviser is a abbreviate addition about lighting. It is geared appear assembly Managers and assembly coordinators to advance their compassionate of lights they may be asked to adjustment for accurate jobs. Lighting cameraman may acquisition some locations of the history of some lighting articles absorbing so amuse apprehend on. This adviser will aswell advice with some of the abracadabra acclimated in TV Production.
In simple agreement lighting is breach into 3 capital types, Tungsten, HMI & Fluorescent.
1) How does Tungsten work?
Well ability is artlessly anesthetized through a actual accomplished wire coil, (called a tungsten filament) it heats up and glows 'hot' which in about-face gives off light. The colour temperature of the ablaze is about 3200k (similar to your bulbs at home)
2) HMI- what does it mean?
(Hydrargyrum Halide Iodide) lights accept the aforementioned colour temperature as aurora (5600K to 6000K). They aftermath about four times as abundant ablaze as a tungsten ball with the aforementioned wattage. HMI lights plan abnormally from Tungsten in that a atom 'jumps' or 'Arcs' amid two pins and that atom ignites a gas which is captivated beneath burden in the lamp housing. If that gas glow's it does so actual brightly. These lamps crave what's alleged a ballast. This is a abundant box that accomplish up the accepted and passes the top voltage to the lamp via a abundant assignment 'header cable'. (Remember never to attending into an HMI if it's on, it'd be like searching anon at the sun!)
3) Fluorescent- is that like band lights?
In a abridge yes these are based on the aforementioned assumption as calm band lights. They are accepted because they are ablaze weight and accord off a admirable bendable light.
LIGHTS
Standard Account Ablaze Kit
The kit we're a lot of about asked to accommodate consists of four tungsten lights: an Arri 650-watt or 800-watt ablaze with a Chimera, an Arri 300-watt ablaze and a Dedo light. We aswell cover a gel kit with a ambit of gels and a reflector.
Here's a abrupt description of anniversary light:
Arri 800-watt ablaze (Redhead)
It is an open-faced (there is no lens in foreground of the bulb) tungsten light. For interviews, this ablaze is about acclimated with a Chimera (more on Chimeras in a minute) as a key light, the capital ablaze acclimated to ablaze a subject's face.
Arri 650-watt ablaze (mizar)
This is a Fresnel ablaze - it has a lens with aloft annular ridges on its alien apparent which are acclimated to focus the beam. It is about acclimated instead of the Arri-800 and in such cases is about provided with a Chimera. For interviews this is about acclimated with a Chimera as a key light. However you can aswell attach a gobo and this ablaze can be acclimated to bandy a carve of colour on the background.
Arri 300-watt ablaze (Mizar)
Like the 650-watt light, this is a Fresnel light. For interviews, it is frequently acclimated as a ample ablaze - a ablaze to abate any caliginosity created by the key light, about with some circulation gel (more on gels in a minute) to abate its intensity. These lights are aswell acclimated as a backlight in an account - a ablaze directed from abaft the accountable to highlight the top of the arch and shoulders.
Chimera
A Chimera is aswell accepted as a lightbox or bendable box. It fits assimilate a ablaze application what's alleged a acceleration ring which fits area the barn doors are captivated in place. You abolish the barn doors and put the acceleration ring in their place. The Chimera looks a bit like a box fabricated of white and argent material. It attaches to the acceleration ring and sits in foreground of the ablaze so that the ablaze shines through it. The aftereffect is to abate the light, arbor a acrid antecedent into a broadcast one.
Trivia: The Chimera Lightbank was invented in the U.S. by a area columnist and a backwoodsman to accumulation photographers with flat superior lighting on location. They founded the aggregation CHIMERA in 1980 and accomplish from Boulder, Colorado. Their articles abide to be fabricated in the U.S., sewn in seamstress's homes, and are alone inspected and initialed.
Speed Rings:
Gels
Gels are fabricated of gelatin and appear in altered colours on rolls. They are cut into bedding to fit and again army on the barn doors of the ablaze application crocodile clips (similar to clothes pegs alone they're metal). Gels are an capital allotment of any ablaze kit. They can be acclimated for colour alteration or to actualize appropriate lighting effects. Compassionate this requires a basal compassionate of colour temperature. Altered kinds of ablaze sources accept altered amounts of red or dejected in them and can affect the colour of the angel you're shooting. For example, tungsten lights accept a altered colour temperature than daylight. This agency if you were cutting in a allowance with lots of aurora advancing in and you capital to ablaze a accountable with tungsten lights you would accept a problem. One band-aid is to use colour alteration gels in foreground of the tungsten lights. These gels will accomplish the ablaze from the tungsten antecedent the aforementioned colour temperature as the admission daylight. Added gels are acclimated to broadcast or abate the light. Others can accomplish the ablaze added adulatory for account subjects. Some are acclimated to add colour to a ablaze antecedent and casting that colour in the background.
Dedo Lights
These lights were advised by a German Director of Photography (DOP) called Dedo Weigert. Hence the name Dedo. They are baby and bunched and accept a ablaze achievement agnate to abundant beyond lights. They aswell action attention ascendancy of the axle of ablaze they produce. For interviews, they can be acclimated as a backlight or to highlight appearance in the accomplishments abaft the account subject.
Other Tungsten Lights
Arri 1,000-watt Fresnel Light
In the aforementioned ambit as the Arri 300-watt and 650-watt Fresnel lights, this ablaze has a lens with aloft annular ridges on its alien apparent which is acclimated to focus the beam. The 1,000-watt ablaze is about acclimated for allowance to ablaze an calm location.
Arri 2,000-watt Ablaze (Blonde)
Moving up from the redhead (800-watt open-faced light) you accept the blonde. This ablaze is about acclimated to advice ablaze calm locations although I accept accepted some humans to use it for allowance to ablaze an interview.
Fluorescent Lights
Kino Flos
Kino Flos are beaming lights army in distinctively fabricated accessories to authority two or four two or four-foot tubes. They accomplish a air-conditioned (in the "not hot" faculty of the word), soft, activity able ablaze that is accomplished for interviews and for lighting humans in general. They are acclimated as a key ablaze and casting a bendable broadcast ablaze over the accountable which is actual flattering. They are an accomplished another to application a tungsten ablaze with a Chimera. Another advantage is they yield both tungsten and aurora tubes so you can calmly use them in calm locations area there is a ample window or skylight that lets in lots of accustomed light.
Trivia: They were invented by the gaffer, Frieder Hochheim, and his best boy, Gary Swink, on the blur Barfly in 1987. These two innovators were alive in a awkward autogenous area and the DOP was application a advanced bend lens. This meant there was no amplitude to put a accepted lighting rig. The band-aid - beaming lights that could be hidden, calmly army and controlled with quiet limited ballasts. Because they don't calefaction up, they are accomplished if you're cutting in the aforementioned area for a ample time. They were a absolute hit with the casting and aggregation of Barfly and are now acclimated in movies and TV assembly all over the world.
We frequently accommodate Kino Flos to shoot interviews with celebrities and added top contour talent. They are accepted in account satiations as they do not accomplish the Sam calefaction that tungsten lights do. The ambit includes: 4 x 4-foot tubes in a fixture; 4 x 2-foot tubes in a accoutrement and 4 x 2-foot tubes in a fixture.
Diva Lites
Manufactured by Kino Flo, these are aswell beaming tube lights. They appear in one admeasurement alone - four two-foot tubes - and they accept a congenital rather than a limited ballast-dimmer. This makes them abnormally quick to set up and yield down. Like the Kino Flos, Diva Lites are superb for cutting interviews. They casting a bendable broadcast ablaze that is adulatory for aptitude and account subjects.
Production administrator benefit: Everything comes in one case so if you are aerial away there's beneath baggage, along the ablaze can be set up and de chic actual quickly, the lamp does not charge to air-conditioned down so the aggregation can blanket on time- no overtime! (sorry crew)
Kamio 6 Ring Light
This is a different ablaze that mounts on the butt of the camera lens so that you get a connected ablaze from the arbor of the lens. The aftereffect is a bendable ablaze that smoothes asperous edges and flatters the talent. It has a palm-sized balance that mounts on the camera and runs off the camera battery. The kit aswell includes a matte-box tray holder. We accept acclimated this ablaze in flat and on area for changeless shots and for tracking shots. In the case of tracking shots it offers a constant adulatory light. If the camera gets abutting to the subject, an adorable bolt ablaze produces a white ring in the eye which is actual flattering.
HMI Lights
They are primarily acclimated in calm locations with a lot of ambient aurora or outdoors during daytime hours.
Arri 200-watt HMI Light
These are carriageable HMI lights that can run on batteries or mains ability and are ideal for appropriation the ablaze on aptitude getting filmed outdoors. We primarily use them for pieces to camera or interviews attempt outside.
Arri 575-watt HMI Light
This ablaze can be powered with a mains accumulation alone and is a lot of about acclimated for lighting an calm area with ambient aurora or for lighting aptitude speaking to camera if mains ability is calmly accessible.
Arri 1.2K (1200-watt) HMI Light
This ablaze can be powered with a mains accumulation only. It is a lot of about acclimated for lighting calm locations with ambient aurora or for lighting aptitude central or outdoors, abnormally if it's decidedly ablaze outside.
Arri 2.5K (2500-watt) HMI Light
This ablaze can be powered with a mains accumulation only. It is a lot of about acclimated for lighting calm locations with ambient aurora or for lighting alfresco locations.
Hope this helps. Until next time, blessed shooting!