View Full Version : Building a Lighting Grid for Studio. Need Advice.


Tyson Persall
May 8th, 2007, 07:08 PM
So where do you buy a lighting grid, and the parts that go along with it to rig lights off of it? Where can i get all that stuff to build a studio?

Beyond that, What do I need to rig lights to a lighting grid? I know the lights have the holes that hook up to a C-stand or they can be rigged to hang from the ceiling off the lighting grid.

From what i can tell about looking at lighting grids photos - some of them are just metal poles with clamps that attach that have the 1/2 inch pins that connect with the lights. Then there are special power strips that hang from the ceiling as well...

Craig Chartier
May 8th, 2007, 09:03 PM
you have a lot of open ended questions here. I'll take on the first and most vital one. Can your ceiling handle the weight? Grids are made with steel pipe and iron couplers. You can pick the spacing, you can rent the pipe cutters and threading machine and put it all thgerther yourself. However if it all falls down ( usually over time due to stress points ) it will probably hurt somebody, and if it is "hot" it might start a fire.

Have you looked into the laod bearing rating of your area?

Richard Andrewski
May 8th, 2007, 09:56 PM
Well there are homemade solutions and totally off the shelf solutions to this issue. A homemade solution is literally a pipe grid that you have made and hung on the ceiling (of course checking with a competent construction / building engineer to make sure that the ceiling will support the added weight).

I've looked at this myself before and I thought the best solution was to use free standing light trusses like those used at rock concerts on the stage above the performers. It's usually a welded mass of 4 long pipes with cross bracing between to hold them all together. You can get them in all different lengths.

This is nice because it doesn't depend upon the strength of the roof support at all as it uses one post at each side of the studio and the truss rigged across it. Just depends upon the floor for support so your floor must be adequate. Here's an example. This truss can be used for a clear span of 40 feet (how wide is your warehouse?):

http://cgi.ebay.com/4-92-foot-Square-Global-Box-Truss-Stage-Light-Stand_W0QQitemZ150120325907QQihZ005QQcategoryZ2994 4QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

You support this from the floor with columns of more of the same exact truss material. In effect your transferring the problem of ceiling support from the warehouse trusses and walls to your own new truss columns your adding and the floor (assuming the floor can support the added weight!). Get a qualified engineer to help you set it up and to understand all the loading factors and all that.

Here's another example of the same thing and how it was supported but its a much less beefy one that can't go 40 foot clear span:

http://cgi.ebay.com/KNIGHT-LIGHTING-TRUSS-Professional-Light-Stand-Truss_W0QQitemZ200106529539QQihZ010QQcategoryZ2994 5QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

You would put one of these sets of trusses/columns every few feet (maybe 10 feet) ideally to hang your lights from. If you do it right, you can take it with you later when you leave for that larger 14000sq foot sound stage in the future ;-)

Then, how you hang lights from that wil usually fall into two ways: 1). pipe clamps attached to the yokes of your lights or 2). Baby spud type mounts on the trusses and then female adapters on your yokes. I prefer solution 1 because it just seems more secure to me. For wiring and electrical issues, there are grid solutions that come in predefined lengths and include all the wiring and even have baby spud mounts on them. Have an electrician do the wiring, that way you're should be pretty sure everything will be to the codes in your area.

Another "fun" item to hang from a grid is something called a pantograph. It has other names too. Its basically a device that you hang from your grid and then hang your light on this device and it lets you lower it closer to the studio floor for lights like fluorescents which may need to be closer to the talent at times.

http://cgi.ebay.com/4-HEAD-PHOTO-STUDIO-LIGHTING-SUPPORT-RAIL-SYSTEM_W0QQitemZ190109937030QQihZ009QQcategoryZ386 0QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

They call it a "counterbalanced extension instrument". It includes an entire railing system and includes 5/8" baby spud mounts at the ends which is a pretty standard mounting for a studio light fixture which will most often have a 5/8" female stand adapter on it or a pipe clamp. If your light comes with a pipe clamp and you want to use a rail system like this, just remove the pipe clamp and replace with a TVMP adapter. Here's another example from Amvona:

http://cgi.ebay.com/PHOTO-STUDIO-LIGHTING-SUPPORT-RAIL-SYSTEM-CMR-A3304_W0QQitemZ200106543625QQihZ010QQcategoryZ3008 8QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem



You can see this can get expensive quickly to correctly outfit this stuff. Just use good stuff and be careful. You don't want any of this falling down as that wouldn't be pretty...

Stil Williams
May 9th, 2007, 02:33 PM
Well there are homemade solutions and totally off the shelf solutions to this issue. A homemade solution is literally a pipe grid that you have made and hung on the ceiling (of course checking with a competent construction / building engineer to make sure that the ceiling will support the added weight).

I've looked at this myself before and I thought the best solution was to use free standing light trusses like those used at rock concerts on the stage above the performers. It's usually a welded mass of 4 long pipes with cross bracing between to hold them all together. You can get them in all different lengths.

This is nice because it doesn't depend upon the strength of the roof support at all as it uses one post at each side of the studio and the truss rigged across it. Just depends upon the floor for support so your floor must be adequate. Here's an example. This truss can be used for a clear span of 40 feet (how wide is your warehouse?):

http://cgi.ebay.com/4-92-foot-Square-Global-Box-Truss-Stage-Light-Stand_W0QQitemZ150120325907QQihZ005QQcategoryZ2994 4QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

You support this from the floor with columns of more of the same exact truss material. In effect your transferring the problem of ceiling support from the warehouse trusses and walls to your own new truss columns your adding and the floor (assuming the floor can support the added weight!). Get a qualified engineer to help you set it up and to understand all the loading factors and all that.

Here's another example of the same thing and how it was supported but its a much less beefy one that can't go 40 foot clear span:

http://cgi.ebay.com/KNIGHT-LIGHTING-TRUSS-Professional-Light-Stand-Truss_W0QQitemZ200106529539QQihZ010QQcategoryZ2994 5QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

You would put one of these sets of trusses/columns every few feet (maybe 10 feet) ideally to hang your lights from. If you do it right, you can take it with you later when you leave for that larger 14000sq foot sound stage in the future ;-)

Then, how you hang lights from that wil usually fall into two ways: 1). pipe clamps attached to the yokes of your lights or 2). Baby spud type mounts on the trusses and then female adapters on your yokes. I prefer solution 1 because it just seems more secure to me. For wiring and electrical issues, there are grid solutions that come in predefined lengths and include all the wiring and even have baby spud mounts on them. Have an electrician do the wiring, that way you're should be pretty sure everything will be to the codes in your area.

Another "fun" item to hang from a grid is something called a pantograph. It has other names too. Its basically a device that you hang from your grid and then hang your light on this device and it lets you lower it closer to the studio floor for lights like fluorescents which may need to be closer to the talent at times.

http://cgi.ebay.com/4-HEAD-PHOTO-STUDIO-LIGHTING-SUPPORT-RAIL-SYSTEM_W0QQitemZ190109937030QQihZ009QQcategoryZ386 0QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

They call it a "counterbalanced extension instrument". It includes an entire railing system and includes 5/8" baby spud mounts at the ends which is a pretty standard mounting for a studio light fixture which will most often have a 5/8" female stand adapter on it or a pipe clamp. If your light comes with a pipe clamp and you want to use a rail system like this, just remove the pipe clamp and replace with a TVMP adapter. Here's another example from Amvona:

http://cgi.ebay.com/PHOTO-STUDIO-LIGHTING-SUPPORT-RAIL-SYSTEM-CMR-A3304_W0QQitemZ200106543625QQihZ010QQcategoryZ3008 8QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem



You can see this can get expensive quickly to correctly outfit this stuff. Just use good stuff and be careful. You don't want any of this falling down as that wouldn't be pretty...

This has got to be one of the most comprehensive and helpful posts in a long time, massively impressive.

Bill Davis
May 9th, 2007, 05:34 PM
When I built my studio, I went with the IFF studio rail system.

Back then (7+ years ago) it was manufactured by the european arm of Manfrotto (Bogan) and was available through the local high-end photo stores.

Unlike a pipe rail, you don't need a wrench or a ladder to reposition lights. The rails interconnect with sections that slide relative to other sections. So I have twin parallel rails that run from one end of my stage area to the other - then three "cross rails" that slide relative to them. From the cross rails, I bought a variety of fixtures including sliding spigots, cable hangers, and a variety of light mounting solutions including the aforementioned pantographs (scissor supports) and adjustable hanging rods.

It's purpose built for what you're talking about. It's a light/medium weight track and rail system and the point of it is that DURING a shoot, without getting out ladders or wrenches - you can simply use a pole to remove the brake, move a light where you want it, and re-set the brake on that instrument in about five seconds.

It ain't cheap. But time wasted when you have a full crew and a gaggle of talent and you're trying to re-light something is ALSO not cheap.

I figure the few grand I threw at it when I was building the studio has paid itself back in efficiency about a thousand times over.

Pretty good investment to my way of thinking.

YMMV.

Mark OConnell
May 9th, 2007, 05:49 PM
This has got to be one of the most comprehensive and helpful posts in a long time, massively impressive.

No kidding. The quality and quantity of information on these boards is absolutely amazing. Thanks to everyone who takes the time.

Richard Andrewski
May 9th, 2007, 07:27 PM
Building a studio has been on my mind for 6 years so I have a lot of information on all aspects of it ;-). When I finally settle down and do it, it'll be a labor of love and I'll do it in a warehouse most likely like the original poster. I'm too busy with other things right now to even attempt settling down.

The problem with most existing warehouses though is the "clear span" you get between columns. There are lots of reasons you don't want columns in the middle of a studio, but its much more expensive to have the proper self-supporting truss system on the roof (that doesn't require columns in the middle of the studio). Imagine all the stuff it has to support: the roof itself, air conditioning ducts and system, electrical conduits, perhaps fire sprinklers, the pipe grid, the lights and riggings, maybe even a catwalk or two, etc. The trusses can be enormous. In one studio I visited in Hollywood the trusses are 130' across and about 12 feet high so they lose about 12 feet above the grid to just the roof supports! There are enormous columns along the walls in that studio which help support the trusses.

It's a fairly daunting task to find an existing structure that will support all this stuff. That's why many end up building a new building. But there are certainly alternatives. Like the truss system I mentioned that uses the floor for support instead of the ceiling supports. Electrical services to the grid are quite a different matter and you could practically write a book on what needs to be done there to be safe.

We didn't even talk about a DMX distribution along the grid to allow automated dimming and instrument on/off, etc.

Richard Andrewski
May 9th, 2007, 07:32 PM
When I built my studio, I went with the IFF studio rail system.


That's one of the other ones I couldn't think of the name and was trying to find a link. So here it is:

http://www.iff.it/accessories_categories.php?id_main=9


But there's still another one I saw recently I can't find either. It had square conduits running the length of it and baby spud mounts at regular intervals.

Nino Giannotti
May 10th, 2007, 09:01 PM
We are really talking about two different things here, there are grids and there are railings. Grids are a fix number of crossing tubing while railing move to any XY position, for obvious reasons each moving rail is intended for one light only. Railing was very popular with portrait studios where they used only four or five lights from the railings. Railings are made to carry strobe heads that are usually lightweight.

TV studios all use grids and unlike rails they might have dozens of lights hanging from the grid. Over the year I built several grids and it can be done very (relatively) inexpensively. I use 10ft sections of galvanized ¾ pipes that you can buy at any Home Depot or plumbing supplies. For connections go to www.mcmaster.com and search for KEE KLAMPS. I don’t have a studio anymore but I still use grids on location when needed; now I use aluminum instead of galvanized tubing for weight. You can see some of my portable grids on http://efplighting.com/?Building_grids.

How much weight you’ll be able to support will of course depend on the ceiling that you’ll be attaching the grids to. You can attach a support every six to eight feet to just about any ceiling and if you do it right you should be able to hang any type of lights. For a variety of attachments go to Matthews at www.msegrip.com

Depending on the height of the ceiling you might consider also investing in a mobile platform ladder because unless you have many and many light you’ll be constantly doing a lot of repositioning.

Mark Hislop
May 11th, 2007, 11:02 AM
Tyson:

A couple of more points to add to some the existing excellent information.

Part of the lighting grid that you want to think about in your design is control. Are you going to install dimmers? (Highly recommended) How many circuits do you need, and how much current does each circuit require? (1 20 amp circuit at 110 volts supports 2000 watts of light). What kind of spacing do you need on your grid? What is the overall size of the grid. These are all design factors to consider.

I've designed and installed a few grids, including two in our studios. A traditional lighting grid actually consists of two parts...a structural part which supports the lighting instruments, and an electrical part, which powers the lighting instruments. The electrical part can connect to the lights via pigtails or sockets, and they can use a variety of connectors.

Our grids combine the two parts into one. We use 2" pipe, hung on 4 foot centers. The longitudinal pipes are the load carriers. The latitudinal pipes are the wire conduits, and have 4 x 4 by 2 boxes with quad edison plugs at 4 foot intervals. Each box has it's own 20 amp circuit.

Our 40 x 60 studio has 24 circuits, each "mirrored" at opposite ends of the studio, so we actually have 48 boxes controlled by a 24 channel dimmer. The whole thing probably would cost about 8 - 10K to build.

The weight issue should be considered, but usually is not too big of a problem. The lighting grid probably comes in a 2 to 3 psf. A typical drop ceiling is about half of that, and a "Hard" ceiling, like drywall, is about the same. We just hang our grid off of the roof trusses. The lowest load factor of any roof I've ever seen is 40 psf.

Hope this helps some.


Mark

Tyson Persall
May 11th, 2007, 01:13 PM
Here is a picture on the interior where you can see the ceiling...
Since A few people have been mentioning the Strength of the ceiling Structure and if it can support a grid with lights, ect. I'm no engineer so I know nothing about it - but maybe you can tell me... PS: all that junk in there is currently being removed...

interior:
http://www.definitiveproductions.com/StudioWeb/StudioWide44.jpg

exterior:
http://www.definitiveproductions.com/StudioWeb/StudioEx33.jpg

Mark Hislop
May 11th, 2007, 02:49 PM
Tyson:

That looks like a typical roof truss build from angle iron and bar. My guess is that you will have no problem supporting a light grid and instruments. But you will have to have that verified by local authorities.

Mark

Richard Andrewski
May 11th, 2007, 03:53 PM
That looks like an office/warehouse complex and thus a leased space right? If so, you may also need to verify with the leasing authorities if it's okay to make modifications to the trusses too. they'll probably be okay with it but you never know and make sure you get it in writing. Another thing to think about if this is a lease is, like I mentioned, what will you do when you move on? Will you just leave all this grid infrastructure behind, etc? Or will you want to take some or part of it with? This will all influence the style of grid you build and how "permanently" it is installed.

Kennedy Maxwell
May 11th, 2007, 04:30 PM
I have had, and worked in studios and on sound stages for 40 years and have yet to see a grid that compliments or aassists the job of quality lighting. You can sink a fortune into all of the accessories needed for a functioning grid; panographs, legs, sticks, stingers, adapters, splitters, and the list goes on.
With a grid one can only place an instrument on or beneath a batton, without time consuming rigging and gadgets, etc. If one has a grid that has 8' spacing you restrict placement of an instrument greatly. 4' spacing is better, but infinite placement is best.
Many "pros" wouldn't consider a grid. Use light stands, C-stands, and/or build a bridge for overhead placement and move it where ever you wants.
There is a tendency to think that a grid makes a studio. In truth, a grid generally detracts from the job of quality lighting.
Ken

Bill Davis
May 12th, 2007, 01:11 AM
Kennedy,

Sorry, but I have to totally disagree with you.

A modern rail system is built, not on a "fixed" grid, but on a system of sliding rails such that in literally 10 seconds one can position (with very few limitations) any fixture at any point in X/Y space. Add a pantograph to any light, and that light gains complete positioning flexibility in XYZ space.

The old ridgid "fixed rail" grids are a thing of the past. In modern rail systems, only one set of "top rails" are fixed. From those fixed rails, a second parallel rail system is typically mounted on double sliding trucks so each cross rail can be moved and locked in any required position.

I've worked with one of these systems for six years straight, and I've NEVER had a problem instantly moving any light PRECISELY where I need it, quickly and easily.

For what it's worth.

Nino Giannotti
May 12th, 2007, 08:40 AM
Bill, do you have any picture of the rail system that you are describing? I would be interested to know if there’s something new out there that I’m not aware of yet.

I’ve been in hundreds of TV and sound stages, some brand new, and all I’ve ever seen and worked with are grids. The only rail system that I’ve seen and worked with are in portrait studios and most were set-up for a maximum of five lights, normally four, and the movement of each light was restricted to a confined area or the rail movement will conflict with each other. In portraits the lights are mainly pre-set to a specific position and only minor adjustments of 2 to 4 feet are needed but in video that’s a different story, on TV production set I might use as many as 30 lights all independently positioned and I’ve never done a studio set-up with less than 15 lights. The problem with moving rails that I know is that each rail can only have one light mounted on it, logically if you have two lights on the same rail then both light will have to be repositioned together and not independently, that would mean a lot of moving rails for a studio or having to reposition lights independently thus defeating the purpose of the rail system. This is why I would be very interested to know if there’s something new out there.

Back to the original question. Why do you need a grid? Move in first and the see what your needs are. Mainly a grid is advantageous for a fix set, (anchor desk, kitchen, panel discussions, etc.) where the lights basically remain the same. If the set will always be different then a grid system will more of a pain to set up lights, you’ll really get a workout going up and down that ladder. Grid mounted lights will be useful mostly for lights that are placed across the camera view as stands mighty get into the picture. The lights on the camera side can be positioned on stands much easier and you can have much more control than on grids, even with a grid most likely you will still need lights on stands. You can easily create movable floor grids if necessary to keep the floor clear.

On the picture of your future studio you have what looks like an 18 or 20 foot ceiling, that’s way too high, you might have to drop the grid 4 to 6 feet and that means a lot of hardware and a lot of $$$.

Richard Andrewski
May 12th, 2007, 05:18 PM
Actually a 20 foot high (or even higher grid) is not uncommon but you'll definitely need a motorized system to drop the pipes that the lights are hung on lower when needed and that will be part of the extra "$$$" mentioned in the previous post. As I mentioned earlier, if this is a leased space you might think twice about huge investments in the ceiling which will just be thrown away by the next tennant unless they happen to want a studio just like yours.

Glenn Chan
May 13th, 2007, 11:38 AM
To go on a bit of a digression here... it seems like a grid+studio encourages certain ways of lighting a set.

When you hang lights on a grid, it will be far away from the talent and therefore can't be very soft. The classic lighting setup is to cross-key with four fresnels, which in my opinion looks unnatural since you rarely have four hard light sources like that in real life. Granted, not everyone is doing that now and there seems to be a bit of trend towards using fluorescent lighting (and it does save on electricity costs), which gives a softer light quality and looks more natural.

2- As Nino points out, it does take more time to put lights on a grid than on a stand. Though of course with stands it can be hard to position lights above a set.

Bill Davis
May 13th, 2007, 02:07 PM
Damn,

I went out into the studio and took snaps of my grid, but the board seems not to be taking images right now.

Here's the companion post I wrote. I'll post the still shots as soon as the board lets me.

____________
[QUOTE=Nino Giannotti;677872]Bill, do you have any picture of the rail system that you are describing? I would be interested to know if there’s something new out there that I’m not aware of yet.


Nino,

Okay, about the rail system...

First,
Nothing like walking out to photograph black powder coated steel against a flat black ceiling on short notice! Props to the flash designers on my Sony digital still camera! and damn you all for encouraging this - on the 6 megapixel originals I can suddenly see how god awfully DUSTY my pantographs are and now I'm compelled to to clean the damn things (drat!)

As to the rail system, it's not so much new, as a more modern european implementation of a traditional rail system with more “designed in” flexibility.

The features are these:

Unlike a traditional pipe system, ONLY the ceiling mounted parallel base rails are really "fixed." The sub rails are mounted on dual "swivel trucks" as you can see in the tighter shot below. (I slid 3 cross section ends together for the wider photo) These have friction brakes that are hook/pole operated (the aluminum pole hanging from the wire brake actuator) so you can hook them, pull down and instantly re-position the rail. Since the trucks themselves swivel, you can change angle of the cross rail at will. And that means you can also change the position of a light at one end of the cross rail, while leaving the position of an insturment at the other end of that rail relatively unchanged.

No, it’s NOT infinate positioning of each light, but it's flexible enough to get pretty close – My ceiling grid is my studio BASE. If I’m doing a standup spokeperson plot with 10 lights – I can probably do 8 of them from the grid (including the typical keys, rim lights, background lights and fills. If I figure I need two more “precision” lights, I take out TWO stands. That’s 2 stands rather than 10 and a HUGE impact on floor traffic in my small studio space.

Each cross rails also slides relative to the fixed rails allowing you to extend the cross rails out in either direction - which I use quite a bit for positioning lights a ways out from the grid. (see the "wider" photo)

Also in the wide shot, you'll notice that I've used their system for my cyc curtains as well. (the curtain rail is hanging on ceiling offsets under the orange fire sprinkler pipes in the distance.) On the other side of the studio, That single curtin rail is actually three parallel cyc rails the outside of which has spud carriages and a superclamp can rig a rim light (infinitely positionable) along that “circumfrence” rail in a flash.

For me, the BIGGEST advantage of the rail system is that it encourages an obstruction free studio floor during shoots. No cables to trip over. In fact in the wide shot, you'll see a bunch of yellow “home center screw hangers.” I use these to "overhead" my audio cables. So the ONLY time any cables come down from the ceiling is when I do the drops for the camera(s)

For me, it’s quick, adjustable, and very flexible. Yes, it has limitations. But what technology doesn’t. If you’re doing a fixed studio and want to land somewhere between a ridgid fixed grid system and a “you MUST use lightstands” system – I think this is a great solution.

Perfect for everyone? No.

But I can do a rough in plot for any typical studio job in an hour or less - single handedly - and without a single cable or stand to trip over.

WELL worth it IMO.

YMMV.

Bill Davis
May 13th, 2007, 06:48 PM
The referenced pictures

Charles Hurley
May 29th, 2007, 12:33 AM
2" Pipe & Cheese. Start there. Truss is useless in most studio applications as it weighs much more than several instruments, it is primarily used in concert settings where it is necessary to create a structure where none previously existed. With the ceiling in those pictures you could create hundreds of combinations with a handfull of 2" pipes and some steel cable and shackles. Good Luck, Charles.

Heiko Saele
June 4th, 2007, 12:55 PM
I have another example of a pretty nice rail system - though I think the rails itself are fixed and only the pantographs can be moved in a linear way. Unfortunately this is not where I work, the photos were shot during a visit at the rbb studios in Berlin...

Richard Andrewski
June 4th, 2007, 06:21 PM
If you can afford them, the rails really do provide the ultimate in flexibility and preserving floor space too.

Tyson Persall
June 8th, 2007, 02:23 AM
I was going to build a floorstanding grid, but then i realized...
What about telescoping hangers.

This is what i decided to go with (at least now) is buy a bunch of telescoping hangers, and attach them DIRECTLY to the existing ceiling beams.
(If you look at the pictures) These can drop the light down 14 feet , (avenger model) which should be in the exact right spot.

IF i get some metal pipe and slide it threw the beams in the ceiling then i can make a pretty cheap lighting grid, and have the lights drop down anywhere i need.

We already own a Fork lift with an attachment man lift that can raise a guy up to rig stuff.

This should work well i think... why not.

Richard Andrewski
June 8th, 2007, 08:29 PM
I was going to build a floorstanding grid, but then i realized...
What about telescoping hangers.

This is what i decided to go with (at least now) is buy a bunch of telescoping hangers, and attach them DIRECTLY to the existing ceiling beams.
(If you look at the pictures) These can drop the light down 14 feet , (avenger model) which should be in the exact right spot.

IF i get some metal pipe and slide it threw the beams in the ceiling then i can make a pretty cheap lighting grid, and have the lights drop down anywhere i need.

We already own a Fork lift with an attachment man lift that can raise a guy up to rig stuff.

This should work well i think... why not.

I'm sure that will be fine as long as the added weight can be handled by the roof structure. Telescoping hangers get you a similar effect to the pantographs that have been mentioned and shown in this thread. I've never used those but I imagine you need to be careful they are properly locked off each time so they don't slide down and hurt someone ;-) I'm not sure what kind of guards they have against that sort of thing.

Bill Davis
June 8th, 2007, 10:08 PM
Tyson,

You're absolutely correct that there are plenty of ways to rig lighting.

And something simple and cheap in home brew grip gear will often do EXACTLY the same job as a fancier system as far as function goes.

When you move up to something like a lighting rail system, you're trading MONEY for two things. Convenience and efficiency.

When I was starting my career and working predominantly with friends and other beginners - everyone could hang out for a whole day to light and shoot a scene and not only was it practical - it was FUN! Dragging a ladder to every light - even if I had to do it a dozen times to tweek all my lights was just part of the whole experience.

But a rail system started to make sense when two things changed.

First, when I had been working long enough and successfully enough so that I finally had a studio ceiling to HANG it from...

And second, when my TIME - and the time of my clients - finally became valuable to the point where production efficienty started to have a real economic impact.

Having the ability to grab a pole, move a light, use the pantograph to drop it six inches and go back to something else in 10 seconds is worth almost nothing in a studio full of volunteers doing work for little or modest money.

But the same tool, when it eliminates extra time climbing and moving ladders while a corporate CEO is standing around getting paid, literally, a million bucks a year - well, it just makes a darn good economic sense not to waste his or her time.

So the real question is does the kind of work you really do require this particular tool? O, perhaps, can having this tool HELP you get the kind of work you desire? If so, go for it.

If not, yep, it's a waste of resources. Buy some more lights, or audio gear, or a better camera with the money.

Learn those well, and the chances go up that someday you'll need something like a lighting grid.