case for tungsten light heads only?

[Josh Bass]

Hey guys. I am living in the caveman's world of using tungsten lights. Whenever I take my "package" with me, it is an ordeal. I got all my stuff at different times, so I don't have a typical arri kit or anything, and therefore don't have the all-in-one arri case. I currently have all my fresnels/arrilight in this ridiculous trunk I got at Academy. It does the job but is huge and heavy, plus I have another giant bin for grip stuff and the Chimera and some other things. Trying to slim down/reduce weight load a bit.

Wondering if you guys know of a hard case (something that stacks well on a rocknroller/multicart--not so thin that it falls between the bars if stacked on the cart "skinny") that would fit four light heads (arrilite 750, B&M 650w fresnel, arri 300w fresnel, mole 200w fresnel, and their doors. I have an Interfit bag that has all my stands.

"Why not just get an Arri case, dumBASS?"

Couple reasons. One, I think they're a tad a unsafe for one person (especially if that person is tiny, 5'2) to handle without wrenching something that can never be unwrenched, and b, because I have too many stands to fit in a case, so I'd still need a separate bag, and I already have the separate bag, so why not ONLY put heads in the case?.

I'm thinking something along the lines of those joker kit cases, but I don't think those are roomy enough for what I have? Ideas?

Thanks.

[Charles Papert]

Take a peek at the Tenba Air cases...maybe something there would work.

Agreed on the Arri cases. They are bruisers. And very hard to get everything tucked away without multiple "what's keeping this from closing? Oh, that power cord I just pinched on the last attempt".

[Josh Bass]

But, Chaz, baby, you're hollywood royalty! Surely you don't have to worry about such everyman concerns as closing an Arri case? I always imagined when not shooting you were in a cooled room being fed grapes by an unpaid intern in a grass skirt.

[Les Wilson]

Look at Parker Plastics for bare bones flight rated cases. I sold one last year:
http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/private-...-made-usa.html

[Josh Bass]

Does it matter if I don't fly? (I mean, never say never, but have only flown for work once in 10+ years, and even that was kind of a riduculous BS project). I want the case to be something you could stack other stuff on (so not soft), but doesn't have to be flight-worthy.

Would that parker case work? Seems a bit iffy (8" deep).

[Tom Morrow]

B&H has a wide variety of soft-sided cases with velcro-adjustable dividers. I'd spend some quality time measuring everything and figuring out the smallest one you can get away with.

[Charles Papert]

Originally Posted by Josh Bass

But, Chaz, baby, you're hollywood royalty! Surely you don't have to worry about such everyman concerns as closing an Arri case? I always imagined when not shooting you were in a cooled room being fed grapes by an unpaid intern in a grass skirt.

Yes, The Bass, that's exactly correct.

[Brian Drysdale]

I recall an electrician using one of this company's hard cases for Redheads. They may have other sizes.

Make your own kit

I've got an Arri case for Redheads, the cables get caught all the time.

[Derek Heeps]

I still use Redheads all the time too . I've been using them all last week and will continue this coming week for a series of interviews I'm filming at various locations .

I have two kits - one is a 'Quartzcolor' Mini Redhead kit , with three 650W mini Redheads which fit , together with stands , barndoors etc into a small suitcase sized case - this fits easily into the boot of my car alongside other kit and is handy for most jobs .

I also have a kit of four standard 800W Redheads , these are a bit bigger , and the Calumet stands I have for them don't fold up so small . I keep the lights in pairs in two open topped plastic baskets I got in B&Q - these are small enough to handle easily and sometimes I just take two lamps along , but the baskets are stackable for storage or transportation in the back of my estate car . The lights fit in the boxes with barn doors fitted and there is room for gels , gaffer grips and other bits & pieces . The stands go separately in the boot , although the compact stands from my mini redhead kit do just fit diagonally into the boxes if I know the lights don't need to be rigged too high .

This is all fine if I am driving to a job , which is all I ever do .

If I was travelling further afield , and flying , I'd just find the name of a lighting hire company near my destination - lighting hire is very cheap and less hassle than lugging lights over a distance .

[Daniel Epstein]

I switched over from Arri cases to Lowel cases even if I put in other lights besides Lowel lights into them. They have several sizes but you should make sure the case you get fits the stands you are using. The 4 head case fits on my larger hand trucks as the base to put other cases on. The Arri cases do have wheels which the Lowel cases I have don't.

[Les Wilson]

Originally Posted by Josh Bass

Does it matter if I don't fly? ... I want the case to be something you could stack other stuff on (so not soft), but doesn't have to be flight-worthy.....Would that parker case work? Seems a bit iffy (8" deep).

IMHO Flight rating is a statement of durability. You can stack the Parker units. There are a variety of sizes by Parker Plastics. You build whatever interior padding and partitioning you want. I watched mine tumble off the top of an overfilled luggage cart as it was pushed to the plane. The important ting in any of these is the seam where to top meets the bottom. Zippers flex which translates to crushing even if the shell is "hard". I felt the Parker unit was built very strong with metal handles, seam and latches. I did have to install a handle on the top where you would normally find one but for some reason wasn't in the Parker design.

[Steven Digges]

Josh,

I have a thing about bags and cases. I love good ones and I have a lot of them. Road cases, shipping cases, carry on cases, pelican cases etc, etc.

For your lights I would look at this one:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/151551-REG/SKB_1SKB_H4816W_Large_ATA_Stand_Case.html
SKB calls it a mic stand case. Mine is not filled with mic stands, it has everything else that is too long or too big for my smaller cases in it. Light stands, c-stands, whatever, even my small jib at times. It comes with tie down straps built in or you could pad it yourself. It will work well for your Arri's.

I am not a big e-bay guy but it is worth a look. I found an empty Lowell case there I use for my "grip kit". That is tons of crap I never go on set without. It holds all kinds of stuff to make my lighting work.

Even if a case is not going to be shipped I prefer hard cases, especially in larger sizes like you need for your lights. No matter what size a case is, at some point I am going to fill it to capacity or over that. Large soft cases do not hold up to the punishment I put them through.

It is too bad you just posted this. Last month I sold 3 SKB projector cases (would fit your Arri's) at a yard sale for peanuts. I would have sent one to you for the cost of shipping. I no longer had room to store them. I only mention that now to say, deals are out there. I first put them on Craig's list really cheap. No bites. So when I finished my clean up operation with a yard sale I gave them to some guy for $20.00 a piece! He was thrilled, as he should be. I paid $20.00 for them myself in a rare freaky opportunity. I still have four of them filled with gear.

I buy very little used stuff but consider used for this. It is a hard case, used they are cheap. The circuitry will not be broken ;)

Steve