Need quick set-up lighting solution for one-person crew

[Michael C. Ray]

I shoot small business video's for a variety of "subjects" from doctors to salons, restaurants, warehouses, smoke shops, spas you name it I have more than likely shot it.

I run as a 1 person crew, on site for no more than 2 hours and are limited in what "gear" I can bring do to most business being open, people and time constraints

I switched cameras now a PMW EX1R and am having real problems with pulling the proper light in open spaces ...

I dis like an on camera light as you can see the light move when the camera pans

I don't have time to run a soft box and move move move

I am wondering if a ring light attached to the tripod camera shoot through would throw enough light
to get the "grain" out I get from time to time ...

Please ask any questions to enable maybe some help dialing this in ...

Thanks

[Doug Jensen]

Nothing onboard the camera is going to look good so get that out of your head right now. If you need fast, cheap, and versatile video lighting to basically just illuminate a room -- you can't beat a Lowel Tota light and an umbrella. Total cost with a light stand is less than $200 and it is very portable.

[Michael C. Ray]

That is exactly what I was after ...

Could this Tota be placed a corner and left there through the shoot?

Like I said I cant move it a lot, and really don't want to have to keep adjusting it - simply something to fill the room

I have a complete small LED 3 light system that is too much hassle and does not do what I need

Cost is relative to product ...

[Gary Huff]

If you want to fill the room, then you'll need something more robust than the Tota. A 1K fresnel should work nicely.

[Mike Watson]

You can spray the Tota at the ceiling and it'd be a nice reflective bounce.

I use 1x1 LED's with v-mount batteries - with no plug-in, it REALLY cuts down the amount of set-up/tear down time. Just move it where you need it.

[Gary Huff]

Originally Posted by Mike Watson

You can spray the Tota at the ceiling and it'd be a nice reflective bounce.

Just one Tota with an EX1 doesn't strike me as enough, given my experience with them. I do the same with my Aputure 1x1 LED panels (about 1K), and usually use at least two. But that's with a C100 Mark II, which is a lot more light sensitive.

[Robert Benda]

A dimmable on camera light might be useful in certain spots as a sort of fill.

For filming people you can easily get by with one light and a clampable reflector.

Otherwise, yeah, having easy access to 2 or 3 lights to fill a space is really nice.

[Doug Jensen]

Originally Posted by Michael C. Ray

That is exactly what I was after ...

Could this Tota be placed a corner and left there through the shoot?
..

Absolutely. Get a 750w bulb for the Tota and a Lowel umbrella and you'll be surprised at how much light it puts out. It will fill the room with a good soft flood of light that can sit there all day if you want. It's plenty.

[Doug Jensen]

Originally Posted by Gary Huff

Just one Tota with an EX1 doesn't strike me as enough,.

With a 750w bulb it will be plenty.

[Doug Jensen]

Originally Posted by Mike Watson

You can spray the Tota at the ceiling and it'd be a nice reflective bounce.
.

Five problems:

1) Ceilings are often t0o high in a business environment to get the intensity you want.
2) You risk melting stuff (seen it done)
3) You introduce unwanted colors if the ceiling is not white.
4) The angle of the ceiling is not efficient for reflecting the light and cannot be aimed.
5) Paint is not as reflective as an umbrellas so you lose a lot of your footcandles.

[Mike Watson]

Hey, no arguments Doug, but we're dealing with a guy who has a perfectly good 3-light setup and "doesn't have time" to use it. I'd rather see him invest the 5 minutes to light a room, but I'm not here to argue with him, just to offer the best I can with the limitations he gives me.

You can for sure start a fire with a 1K tota, I've seen it done. For a guy working in a hurry with no helper, I'd rather see him reflect off the (almost always white, almost always flat, almost always 9') ceiling than use an umbrella, which in my experience have a magnetic attraction to people walking into them and knocking them over.

[Doug Jensen]

I agree completely that the real solution is to budget a few minutes in the schedule to do proper lighting!! But I would say in my experience the umbrella placed in a corner of the room is a lot less likely to get knocked over than a naked Tota. Those things are almost invisible when faced the other way.

Many ways to skin this cat.

[Michael C. Ray]

I'd rather see him reflect off the (almost always white, almost always flat, almost always 9') - I honestly wish that was the case, would make it a wealth easier

The company I sub contract for wants everything shot natural light / no lights on site until recently ...

but we're dealing with a guy who has a perfectly good 3-light setup and "doesn't have time" to use it

90 minutes on site / clients never done this before / 10 question interview / B-Roll / paperwork - So NO I do not have the time to do a 5 minute light set up working around customer / clients ....

I did not ask for an argument either, I asked for advice on how to approach my issue

The limitations are place on me by the contract / clients - Just trying to figure out how to make it work ..

[Michael C. Ray]

Thinking about this in honesty - The camera may be or is out of my league I don't have the experience to use it to as it can be used ...

[Doug Jensen]

The EX1 is not out of the league of anyone who wants to spend a little time learning it.
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