Location Lighting Kits

This section gives you explanations about the different lights available from the Asset Store (bookable via the SISO website: https://bathspa.siso.co/bsu/) including:

Types of lights available
Colour Temperature
Hard and Soft Light
LED Lights
Incandescent (AKA Tungsten) Lights
Fluorescent Lights

(Click the links on the side menu to see details of individual lighting kits.........)

We have a variety of lamps available from the store (CMG34), all of them have their pros and cons. It is good to work out which will be best for your project, based on the following criteria

Aesthetic : What sort of light does the lamp produce ? Hard or soft ?
Colour temperature : Daylight, studio,or adjustable between the two ?
Output : How bright is the light ?
Power consumption : Do I need mains electricity or can I run on batteries ?
Weight and size : Can I carry the kit easily, get it on a bus or into an Uber ?

Types of lights available

There are three types of lights here you can get from the store.

LED lights
Incandescent lights
Fluorescent tube lights

Colour Temperature

Colour temperature is sometimes referred to as ‘Kelvin’ which is a numerical value.

Lights that mimic daylight are about 5600K and indoor studio lights are 3200K.

Most of the lamps in TV Studio A and B are 3200K. You can set your camera to match daylight or indoors so the lights will appear white or ‘balanced’

Most of the LED lights in the store are ‘bicolour’ which means they can be switched from 5600K to 3200K.

The Incandescent lights are only 3200K

The Fluorescents can be either, by changing the tubes that produce the light.

Hard and Soft Light

A ‘hard’ light will create hard (defined shadows) either on the subject or on the wall or floor behind. This is because the light source is usually a small bulb.
A ‘soft’ light will make a soft (blurred) shadow if the source is larger.

If an LED panel it is a soft light. The sun is a hard light, whereas the sunlight that is reflected from the side of a building becomes a soft light.

Most modern TV and film dramas are lit with soft light as it is more flattering to the actors and often looks more natural.

Soft light spreads very widely and dissipates quickly ie it will not travel a long way. A hard light can be controlled and can illuminate something a long way away, like a spotlight.

Soft Light

Hard Light

Soft Light

Hard Light

LED Lights

LED lamps are new technology, all of the lamps in TV Studio A are LED.

These lamps use a fraction of the power (electricity) of Incandescent lights and don't get as hot. Small units are cool to the touch and are made of plastic. Larger units can still get hot and are housed in metal casing.

The LED lamps available from the Asset store are made by LEDGO, APUTURE (AMARAN) and ROTO. The light from the panels is inherently soft as the light source is made of many small bulbs spread out. The light from the spots is hard.

The LEDGO, ROTO and Small Single panel lights are bicolour which mean they can be either daylight or the warmer ‘indoor’ colour (Tungsten or Incandescent).

The APUTURE panel lamps are daylight only, as are the AMARAN 100D spots and the APUTURE 300d spot lamps

PROS

Low power
Will work on batteries
Soft light
Very safe
Dimmable

CONS

Soft light only
Not as powerful as the Incandescent lights
The bright dots are very distracting to actors/talent if they do not have a diffuser of some kind in front of them.

Roto (bicolour)

Ledgo (bicolour)

Aputure (daylight with an indoor correction filter)

Ledgo Single LED kit (bicolour)

Small Single LED kit (bicolour)

LED Spot Lights. Aputure 300d and Amaran 100d (daylight only)

Incandescent (AKA Tungsten) Lights

These are ‘hot’ lights which have a high output and draw a lot of power from the mains supply only. The definition of Incandescent being “emitting light as a result of being heated”. They are also ‘Indoor’ balanced, the same colour temperature as the lights in TV Studio A or B which is 3200K.

Examples are the REDHEAD KITS by SOL Ianaro, and the DEDO kits.

These have a colour temperature of 3200 Kelvin which looks orange compared with daylight.

These are considered very old fashioned now and when used direct on a subject (not diffused or bounced) are very hard lights which create very distinct shadows, and can be blinding.

PROS

Hard focusable light available.
Barn doors to 'shape' the light.
High output (very bright).
Good accurate colour balance on skin tones.

CONS

Very hot, can cause burns to fingers and pose a fire risk to property if not handled properly.
Have to use a mains supply, which is limited to two or three lamps in a house or flat.
BSU guidelines will not let you use one of these lamps in a bathroom or kitchen due to the high voltage and the proximity of water.
Will not work on batteries.

If used in a day light situation the light is very warm (orange) in colour. This can be corrected with blue gels (CTB- colour temperature blue) which drastically reduces the light output.

If not dealing with daylight, Incandescent light is very useful. BSU rules will not let you use anything bigger than a DEDO in each of the TV studios.

Redhead

Dedo

Fluorescent Lights

These are named Fluorescents after the fluorescent tubes they use, like you would get in an office, school or shop.

They use little power and do not get too hot. They are soft lights as the light source is relatively large.

To change the colour temperature the tubes in the lamp are removed and replaced to either 3200K or 5600K. The Asset Store techs will do this for you before your shoot.

These lamps were prevalent in the film industry but are gradually being replaced by large LED lamps.

PROS

Bright (4 banks particularly).
Soft.
Can change the color temperature.
Very good at balancing daylight.

CONS

Bulky (4 banks again) You will need a car, don't try and takes these on the bus. 1.25 m long.
The stand supplied is big as well (C-stand).
Will not use batteries.

4 Bank

KinoFlo Diva

Written by FR

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