help with lighting !!!!

[africanmarty]

I baught 3 flood light and stands ( two lights per stand ) and together they are rated at 1000w ( 2x 500w) they are were cheap and work great, the only problem is that they are very bright and very hot ! infact too bright and hot to expect any talent to be under them for too long. There is only an on and off switch how can i solve this problem ?? i need the light power as i'm shooting indors and using my letus 35 so the cam and 35 adaptor are chewing alot of light and to add to the problem i'm using the no gain trick, so i require extra light to make the scene visable... what can i do ? i tried putting a bed sheet over the lights but then the light from them is not enough for the camera to view the scene... any ideas help would be appriciated.

this would be needed to shoot the new short i'm going to make script (unfinished) here :
http://hv20.com/showthread.php?p=37090#post37090

- Marty.

[CJDaniels]

if you bought the home depot style floods, you can get replacement bulbs with 1/2 the wattage if ou can get buy with it and it should be cooler. You probably can't move the lights farther back because of space, right?

[africanmarty]

correct i dont have much room at all it is a very small bathroom... i will see this w/end if they have some 250w lights ( keep in mind that these light will be about 2 meters ( maybe a little closer ) to the talent so do you think 250 will still be too strong ???

[CJDaniels]

You can't add a dimmer, it would change the color of the lights. The only other two things I could suggest is to:
Put a strong fan backwards behind them sucking out the heat, not blowing in.

Get everything and everyone set in place and then crank on the lights and shoot, and have them suck it up. Its like Hollywood of the old days, and they suffered with it.

[africanmarty]

a fan could help cool the room and remove some of the heat, but the lights would still be on the talent wich i think would be a bit much after a while... maybe they might have to "suck it up"

i was thinking maybe point the lights at the ceiling/walls and hope the bouncing light is enough to light the scene or try a frosted shower curtain in front of the lights or try daniels idea of swapping the lights for weaker ones...

...why is lighting so hard ????

- Marty.

[The Stevesy]

you should really look into cool lights. they're these newer fluorescent, energy saving dealies. They use a ton less energy than a halogen equivalent. For example, I bought a five 40 watt bulbs, they put out as much light as a 200 watt bulb each. So, all together it amounts to a 1K, while only using 200 waters.

http://www.eartheasy.com/live_energyeff_lighting.htm

[africanmarty]

it says on that website "Newer CFLs give a warm, inviting light instead of the "cool white" light of older fluorescents. They use rare earth phosphors for excellent color and warmth. New electronically ballasted CFLs don't flicker or hum"

[Erik Bien]

Compact floros will certainly be cooler, and having 250W bulbs for your worklights would make them more versatile, but I think you came up with the best idea yourself, Marty: bounce 'em! Off a nearby white wall or ceiling, a sheet of white foamcore from the art supply store, or your bedsheet. Softens the light as it saves your actors from melting!

[lordtangent]

Barn doors. You can build them yourself if you have the skill, or buy a kit from one of the manmy providers on the internet.

Once you have the barn doors on your lights, you can clip ND or diffusion on the lights to help knock down the amount of light comming off them.

[Erik Bien]

By the way, the poor man's answer to diffusion is baking parchment ... cuts a bit more light than 216, but won't burn. Only trouble is nothing sticks to it, so you'll need staples or wooden clothespins (C47s) to fasten it to your lights.