Low(er) Cost DUAL Lite-Panel Mounting

[Daniel Patton]

Well... okay, "Low(er) cost is relevant to your budget, but you get the idea.

Our company is investing in production equipment with new lights, teleprompter, better tripods etc.. Like a lot of you, we are still on a budget, so every "dime" we save helps our bottom line "dollar" in the end.

After the purchase of our Lite-Panels we soon realized that some form of light stand was needed for use in our studio, we didn't want to attach them to the Camera and light flat. We ended up using a DR-Pro boom mic stand and it works great! Any fair mic stand would work well for this, we just got the DR-Pro's local while we shopped for sound panels. At $29 - $59 for a boom stand plus $10 for a dual mic (or lite in our case) pivoting bracket, it was easy on the pocket, especially since Lite-Panels alone can consume a lighting budget. Also, the mic stand offers a lot of flexibility in positioning the lights. We used the Lite-Panel provided shoe mount to attach them to the boom's pivoting "T" bracket. At it's lower setting the boom with lights stand at roughly 3.5 feet, and extended up it is 8+ feet. That helps when you are trying to get your key light up high and extended out towards your talent. Note: the flat washer in the pics was not needed, it was left over from a failed mounting attempt before we got the "T". Here are some shots...

http://www.danielpatton.com/dv/lite-panel00.jpg
http://www.danielpatton.com/dv/lite-panel01.jpg
http://www.danielpatton.com/dv/lite-panel02.jpg


In case you are wondering why we would kill a perfectly good lighting budget on two small lights... easy, HEAT, or lack there of. Our shoot room is not that big and heat from too many light sources can quickly drive you out of the room, in search of cooler ground. Besides, your customer will appreciate the “no cook approach” surroundings when doing talking heads, etc.. One panel was not enough for our application as a key light, unless you are right up on the talent with it. A dual setup however was perfect. It’s odd how well those little buggers can project such a soft shadow, yet almost spot-like affect.

If you are considering Lite-Panels, feel free to pick our brains (what’s left anyway), as you will have several considerations when going this route.