nofilmschool » LEDlighting

Shane Hurlbut's Kino Flo Interviews: 'In Order to Be a Great Shooter, You Have to Understand Light'

Dave Kendricken — Wed, 15 May 2013 23:42:44 +0000

There are several exciting new lighting revolutions in development these days, namely LED and plasma fixtures. The first such high-output/low-footprint alternative lighting technology — all but perfected for the performance needed in high-end film production — came about twenty-five years ago, with the advent of Kino Flo Lighting Systems. Kino Flo isn’t the only manufacturer pushing alternative lighting solutions with filmmaking in mind, but its name is still nearly synonymous with the technology it helped revolutionize. Check out an excellent interview below from Shane Hurlbut, ASC, with Kino Flo founder and president Frieder Hochheim to hear about how it all began and about how the company plans on lending its namesake to some of those new revolutions in lighting, too. (more…)

Ultra-Bright and Programmable Lumapad May Change the Way You Think About LED Lighting

Robert Hardy — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 20:58:14 +0000

LED lighting has come a long way in the past 10 years. While many professionals stayed away from LEDs when they were an emergent technology (despite the fact that LEDs offered some very distinct advantages over traditional lighting technologies), you would be hard-pressed to find a current set without at least a few battery-powered units being used as accent lights. However, LEDs still aren’t ubiquitous, and in most cases they haven’t supplanted more traditional sources such as tungsten fresnels and PARs due to the fact that they have relatively low output and are comparatively harsh in the quality of their light. The Lumapad, an open source LED Kickstarter project from inventor Richard Haberkern, looks to change all of that. Check out his Kickstarter video for the Lumapad below: (more…)

Hive Lighting Brightens Up All-Plasma Chevy Volt Ad (With Only Batteries and 60A Generator)

Dave Kendricken — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 17:37:48 +0000

Modern lighting technology continues to become more energy-efficient, while at the same time increasing light output. This applies to LEDs, but it also applies to plasma lighting systems, which are growing rapidly in popularity. Plasma is capable of a very naturalistic light spectrum (much closer to traditional Tungsten lights depending on the design), which is usually more difficult with LEDs. A company really pushing the boundaries of plasma technology is Hive Lighting, who recently lamped-up a 30-second Chevy ad using only batteries and a 60 amp generator — to rather impressive effect. Check out a line-item lighting breakdown of the Volt Plasma Challenge video from Hive Lighting below. (more…)

Fiilex Lights: Sub-$1000 LED Studio Lights With a Twist

Justin Minich — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 09:39:52 +0000

LED studio lights keep making leaps and bounds in technological advancement, but the price of such lights has tended to remain relatively high. However the Fiilex P360 and the P200 FlexJet are two LED studio lights touting a high CRI at all color temperatures (and the ability to smoothly tune between them), an option to run on broadcast batteries, and a light/compact form factor, each costing less than $1000. The P200 also features a lighting tool you’re not likely to find in other studio lights: fiber optics. (more…)

The Dreamy, Hypnotic, Sound-and-Sight Experience of Purity Ring's Live Music Lightshow

Dave Kendricken — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 21:50:26 +0000

NoFilmSchool is, of course, a site for filmmakers, particularly (but not limited to) those of the DIY variety — but we also foster independent creativity. As independent creatives, we’re able to draw inspiration from virtually any artistic endeavor, including music. To continue this bit of a break from the barrage of recent news in camera tech, I wanted to share something in that musical vein with you guys. For those of you unfamiliar with the electronic-pop duo Purity Ring, they represent a rather refreshing success story regarding internet popularity and the power of new media — not to mention long-distance collaboration. These are all things which we at the forefront of indie content creation can correlate to both what we do as well as the possible future of how we do it. Also of potential interest to us creatives is Purity Ring’s live show. With the help of lighting installation custom-design group Tangible Interaction, the band has crafted a truly special sensory experience to complement — and more fully embody — their unique style of ethereal and euphoric music. (more…)

Less Than 48 Hours Left to Support The Kick Light on Kickstarter: Update on Features and Accessories

Justin Minich — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 19:23:56 +0000

You might recall that last month I wrote about The Kick –a camera mounted LED light that you can control with the iPhone– and what it’s features could mean for the future of studio lighting. The makers of The Kick have less than 48 hours to go on their Kickstarter campaign, and have shared more information about the Kick’s features and upcoming accessories: (more…)

Insteon’s New LED Bulb is Dimmable and Wirelessly Controllable. But is it a Good Practical Light?

Justin Minich — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 19:35:04 +0000

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about The Kick camera light and what it’s features could mean for the future of studio lighting, one of which was the possibility of controlling the attributes of multiple lights from a smart phone . While this is a feature that hasn’t yet come to pass for studio lights, it is starting to appear in practicals: (more…)

The Switronix TorchLED Bolt is Small, but It Packs a Punch

Joe Marine — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 01:40:30 +0000

Lighting technology is moving at an incredibly rapid pace, and LED lights are only getting better. Light output is increasing while the housings get smaller and use less power. Litepanels has led the pack for a long time, but we are now seeing a tremendous amount of competition with other companies producing small LED lights, and even some producing lights using plasma technology. Rick Macomber, who I had the pleasure of meeting at NAB, is a Boston-area shooter who took the time to review the Switronix TorchLED Bolt. (more…)

Is The Kick a Glimpse into the Future of Lighting?

Justin Minich — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 14:00:28 +0000

At CineGear 2012, there were some interesting developments in lighting, particularly Kino Flo’s Celeb LED Panel, which allows for 5 customizable color temperature presets ranging from 2700K to 5500K. But aside from that, the features of the Celeb and the other lights shown at the expo were pretty much what one would expect from a typical studio light: a color temperature ranging somewhere between tungsten and daylight, dimmable bulbs, and either soft light panels or harder lights in the form of adjustable fresnel fixtures. But what if there was a studio light that more fully took advantage of the low heat, low power draw, and color changing abilities of LED’s? It might look something like The Kick: (more…)

How Well Do Leading LED Lights Mix With Tungsten Lighting? A Shootout Aims to Answer

E.M. Taboada — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 00:44:12 +0000

LED lights present a number of advantages — they tend to be more energy efficient, don’t give off as much heat, and should (in the future) have the ability to replicate various color temperatures without the need of gels. But they also have their cons, primary of which is the difficulty in mixing them with existing tungsten lights and other incandescent lighting, and a tendency to cast a blueish tinge. With that in mind, Art Adams, over at the ProVideo Coalition blog was approached by PRG to do a LED light shootout that compared a variety of LED lights with a standard tungsten light. The results are pretty interesting for anyone interested in seeing the state of LED lighting vs tungsten: (more…)