Lighting Kit for School

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Permalink Reply by David Griffin on March 3, 2010 at 8:21am

what kind of projects will you be doing? in a studio? on location? you need portability? what about power supply? and what kind of filming are you going to be doing? do u need special effects lighting, etc?

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Permalink Reply by Oliver Wiehe on March 3, 2010 at 3:44pm

We shot in studio for a talk show and we shot in hallways for movies. (see Vombie Virus) No f/x lighting mainly we need lights that will assist in studio lighting and help when filming in hallways that are dark (remember schools use overhead fluorescent lighting it creates lots of shadows under eyes, nose and chin). There are plenty of power outlets in the halls and classrooms. Thanks for your help!

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Permalink Reply by David Griffin on March 3, 2010 at 6:11pm

so are you just looking to fill-in the shadows, or replace the hall lighting all together, leaving the lights off and running your own equipment?

I recommend Fluorescent lighting to match your school bulbs

and I would replace the school bulbs in the selected classrooms and hallways with bulbs of my own, matching the additional lighting you are going to be purchasing to give everything a nice even appearance.

When it comes to lighting, I say go with Variety and flexibility. get as many different kinds of lights as you can afford and get as many different pieces of equipment that is interchangeable with other pieces of equipment, and make sure they are all running the same temp bulbs

and if you are not doing photography, I would priority buy the lights like this:

buy 2 or 3 simple Light fixtures and Bulbs like this

then buy some umbrellas like this (one for each light you have):

then buy some flexible pole pop out soft boxes like this (one for each light you have):

then buy a large reflector and armature, and maybe a small reflector for the hallway

then buy the stands, and one for the reflector

then buy rolls of clear colored plastic that you can tape in front of the soft box if needed

and the rest of the money I'd put into the background / scene, or maybe also a panel of lights

thats what i would do

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Permalink Reply by David Griffin on March 7, 2010 at 7:38pm

I'd also buy black umbrellas with the silver lining to replace the white ones from time to time.

those white umbrellas work best with the light behind the umbrella and the top of the umbrella facing the scene, like a soft box.

the black umbrellas reflect the light back out from under the umbrella, adding much more versatility to your overall kit. It's like adding another set of lights, for the tiny cost of a few umbrellas

and on those pop-out softboxes above, be sure to buy a few yards of the white diffuser material to go over the front, if it doesn't come with it, to add even more versatility to your kit.

and I'd buy tripod dollies as well, so your lighting can be easily wheeled around.

I saw your video, you have a large crew at your disposal, might as well have them rolling lights around during scenes.

and it was a scary movie, and It should have had Color filters on the lights, so be sure to pick that up, and if your budget permits, I'd invest in a Fog Machine

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Permalink Reply by David Griffin on March 7, 2010 at 8:13pm

the lights i described above are just "shooting lights", you will need more lights for lighting up the scenes, halogens work for that , but then lighting up the back ground and environment is where a lot of colored clear plastic comes in handy, which isn't very safe in front of halogens,

as i was looking around your set, i guessed maybe 6 to 8 of those original fixtures and bulbs should suffice for your school shooting environment for back lighting, light coming out of doorways, lighting up props or back lighting eerie scene elements, etc

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Permalink Reply by Oliver Wiehe on March 8, 2010 at 12:38pm

thanks for putting the time into this issue. Your advice is very helpful. Do you know of any websites where I could buy lighting kits that come with lights, stands, softboxs and possible gels? Thanks for your help!

Oliver

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Permalink Reply by David Griffin on March 11, 2010 at 10:43pm

you could put together a list of what you would like exactly for your 1000$ and I will see what I could put together and ship to you from China, if you'd like

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