Starting Kit for Lighting Video
OTech reader, Willie, recently had some questions in regards to a basic lighting kit to build up on. Willie is shooting mainly music videos right now. I’m sure he will expand the usage of the kit for other types of video as well, so what are his best options? Of course, requirements for a basic kit are versatility, cost and quality. Let’s consider a few factors on two common starter kits CFL vs. Halogen.
Temperature
Red Heads are halogen lights and rated around 3200K (tungsten). They draw more energy than CFLs and therefore produce MUCH more heat. Hot lights get very hot, very quickly so you must handle them with gloves and be certain that any equipment you are using with them, like softboxes, are made to withstand the heat. If you want daylight temperatures, you can color correct with a color temperature blue (CTB) gel. In the image above, we are using a Red Head as a hair light with a CTB to match the temperature of the 5500K CFL lights. Without a soft box, halogen lights are more contrasty and have a more of a spotlight effect, which is sometimes a desired look.
CFL lights are rated around 5500K (daylight). They are cool lights that do not produce very hot heat and require less power. These can also be color corrected with gels to become a warmer light source with color temperature orange (CTO) gels. Although, the nature of the light fixture might make it a bit more complicated than color correcting the Red Heads. With or without Softboxes, CFL lights are more diffused and softer (less contrasty).
Portability
Both of these starts kits come with carrying cases and CAN be portable, however, in my experience with both, I’d say the softboxes are a real pain in the ass to break down and set back up. The Red Heads on their own can certainly be transported much easier without the softboxes and don’t require you to remove the bulbs when packing up for travel. The CFL versions have 5 bulbs in each light head and should be removed when transporting the light head. Another alternative is LED light panels like the new popular 600, 900, and 1200 LEDs. These are directional light sources that can run on BATTERY power. These are the most portable, and easiest to transport, but also the most expensive. I did a comparison with the LED 900′s and the CFL Softboxes HERE.
Intensity
These Red Heads are 800 watts each for a total output of 2400 watts. There is an inline dimmer switch to reduce light output, an adjustment to focus the beam from wide to spot, barn doors, light stands, and include softboxes to make the light diffused.
3 Spot & Flood Light 2400 watt lights Constant Continuous Video Studio Kit
The CFL lights use 45 watt bulbs (5 bulbs in each head) equivalent to about 2800 watts. CFL bulbs individually are not dimmable, however you can change the intensity on these lights with the 5 independent switches that each light is dedicated to within the fixture. (Each fixture houses 5 bulbs). The CFL lights are used in conjunction with the softboxes they come with so they are a diffused light source.
3000 Watt Lighting Kit 3 Stands + 3 Softbox
Cost
You get what you pay for. If you are spending upwards of a few thousand dollars, you are generally going to get amazing quality lights with a lot of functionality. I personally can say that I am very familiar with both of these light sets. We use them in the studio and for setups that don’t need to move around a lot, this works for us. The cost is very low considering what you get. I don’t think believe you need to break the bank to get something that works. Just understand how to properly use what you have.
Factor to Consider
Red Head lights don’t produce the flicker or banding that CFLs can create. There are much more expensive versions of CFL lights available that are manufactured specifically for video. These types of CFL lights are flicker free no matter what shutter speed you are set at. HERE is a video example of some I saw at #PMA2012.
If you are shooting at 24fps and have your shutter speed dedicated to 1/50th for the film look, the CFL kit I’m suggesting will work just fine. For the OliviaTech videos we produce, we mostly use our CFL lighting kit and shoot at either 24fps at 1/50th or 30fps at 1/60th. Neither of these settings has caused a flicker in our videos.
For an in-depth look on this banding issue, check out this video from cheesycam.
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Thank you so much Olivia I really needed this information and this article has essentially helped me to select a kit. I also want to say thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule just to prep this entry for me. I think I speak for us all when I say that this blog is a Godsend. I don’t know about the rest but I’m definitely going to be a lifetime supporter of this blog and your work! Thanks again friend!
Out of curiosity, how hot do the red head lights get? Right now I have access to a couple halogen Lowel kits that I can borrow from my school, but they aren’t dimmable. It also sounds like when Emm demos the red head dimmer, the light was making a ton of noise…is that typically the case with that set? Thanks!
Hi Zach, the Red Heads do not make a lot of noise. Not sure exactly hot hot they get temperature wise but hot enough to give skin a serious burn. Also, when new, they’re known to give off some smoke. They cannot be handled without gloves and must be at a safe distance from anything flammable. Be very safe when using hot lamps and make certain that anything used with them is flame retardant.
Olivia, I have the cfl kit and, as everyone has warned, breaking down and transport is a pain. Is there anything you know of that works as a carrying case for cfl bulbs, like a pelican foam insert? Just the ability to transfer bulbs into one case rather than individual styrofoam would help with breakdown and travel speed. Thanks again.
Hi Jason, I wrote up a blog post for you! CLICK HERE
Olivia–THANK YOU!! Great post! Just to confirm:
these are the ones that do not flicker (for video) and won’t burn the place down correct? HERE
Gracie, the lights in the link you provided are not manufactured specifically to be flicker free. However, this does not mean that they will flicker in video. We use standard CFL bulbs in our studio and have not experienced flicker during video recording. You should be just fine with these.
Ok, so if I use this:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0050K3DW2/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=otcsolo-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0050K3DW2
WITH CFL bulbs, i should be fairly flicker free with video correct?
You always do such great posts–but this is probably one of the best!! Been SO confused with lighting…and just looking for a reliable –affordable and decent start kit. THANK YOU!
Grace, there is a frequency to the flickering of CFL bulbs. If you can control your shutter speeds on your camera you will not see any flickering with the kit you linked to. We mainly keep our shutter speeds under 1/60th, but those video lights should be good up to 1/160th. Those are the pretty much the exact same kit used in all my videos and as you can see it performs well.
This is one of the BEST blogs out there! THANK YOU OLIVIA!!!!!!
Do you know of any gel kits to recommend using with the CFL kits?
Would you need to use a large gel and attach it to the very front of the softbox? or could you just attach it to the diffusion sheet inside (thus, using a smaller gel)? What would you recommend?
@Pat Hello, if you’re looking to gel the CFL lights, I’d just use C47s to fasten a large gel to the front of the softbox. I know that Rosco makes Roscolux 20″ x 24″ Color Effects Lighting Filter Gels.