Hey,

Can anyone tell me if Omni Lowell lights are sufficient to do a HDV shoot. Excuse my ignorance, but I am completely new to lighting and HDV.

Thnaks

Brian,

Need to know more about your shoot to answer your question. Things like:

Inside or Outside
Supplementing exisiting light or standalone
Lighting an one on one interview or a cast of thousands

Omni's are good general purpose lights but have limitations!

Hey Brian,

Yes, it would be helpful to know what situations you will using the Lowel tota. Know that you have the option of a 125W or 250W bulb and an umbrella will obviously make a difference as well.

Hope to hear from you soon regarding specifics.

Steph

Omni's are good, but I have had a couple of problems with mine. One of my omnis just wouldn't work anymore, and the other omni somehow became loosened from it's handle, so it would easily sag downwards (this was easily resolved by simply tightening up a bolt.) Keep in mind that you get what you pay for, otherwise, I consider the omni's to be decent lights. I'll be using them on my next feature.

Brian,

Need to know more about your shoot to answer your question. Things like:

Inside or Outside
Supplementing exisiting light or standalone
Lighting an one on one interview or a cast of thousands

Omni's are good general purpose lights but have limitations!

Both INT/EXT. depending on the scene there will be some existing light. Obviously at night EXT there may only be my light. I have 2 Lowell tota 650W lights and 4 Lowell Omni 500W lights.

So far from shooting with one light INT at night it seems way too much light unless I use filters and gels. I have not tried anything outdoors yet, but im also think I need a generator to do that.

A "typical" interior lighting set up would include a Key, Fill and Back light. Omni's or Tota's would work for these but as you mentioned, will need some controls. Usually some combination of barn doors, scrims and dimmers would be used. Again, it would also depend on the look you're going for and the size of the area to be lit.

Outside at night, no problems with these lights. Usually have more room to work with so you can increase distance to reduce light output on the subject. If you're using them as fills during daylight, you'll need to color correct the lights. That will significantly reduce output. There is a reason you see HUGE 10K lights on daylit movie sets!

I would like to modify Rob's answer just a bit- If there is any chance of a breeze, bring sandbags, and use them liberally. The stands that came with my kit were flimsy at best, and would fall over easily. As far as the light drooping, the plastic knobs will simply shatter before enough tension is achieved, especially if using an umbrella. Try vice grips ;)

Other than that, you're good to go!

Brian,

What are you using these lights for? What light source are you trying to imitate? If you want a sunlight-coming-thru-the-window look, these aren't enough. Why? COLOR TEMPERATURE. These are tungsten units, and the wattage just isn't enough. I mean you can put color correction sheets on a C-stand to up the color temperature, but then you would be cutting the intensity of the light dramatically. Depending on your script and the mood you are trying to get, an HMI Fresnel may be a good source for key.

Tell us a little more about your lighting plan, so we can provide you with better advice. By the way, have you thought about shooting day for night? There are a couple of companies that make Day-For-Night, screw-on filters. Please feel free to ask me any question you want in regards to lighting. I've had a fair amount of experience with film and HD lighting.

Jason

Brian,

What are you using these lights for? What light source are you trying to imitate? If you want a sunlight-coming-thru-the-window look, these aren't enough. Why? COLOR TEMPERATURE. These are tungsten units, and the wattage just isn't enough. I mean you can put color correction sheets on a C-stand to up the color temperature, but then you would be cutting the intensity of the light dramatically. Depending on your script and the mood you are trying to get, an HMI Fresnel may be a good source for key.

Tell us a little more about your lighting plan, so we can provide you with better advice. By the way, have you thought about shooting day for night? There are a couple of companies that make Day-For-Night, screw-on filters. Please feel free to ask me any question you want in regards to lighting. I've had a fair amount of experience with film and HD lighting.

Jason

Enough experience to help me shoot my film? =)
So far I will use natural sunlight if I need it to come through windows. I will try to stick with all EXT using natural light, and manipulate the light once doing INT.