I was a projectionist at a theater in the before time. Had a pair of these working 20-minute reels. Never broke myself of the habit of looking for change-over dots in the corners. Eight seconds. You had eight seconds for the next reel to come up to speed so you could "open the blast doors", and get ready to hit the foot switch to swap shutters, and flip the sound switch at the same time. Then it was on to closing the door on the old reel, shutting down the projector, queue up the next reel, check the rods -- which you did continuously during the film in between making some emergency splices and running off the old reel back onto a new one (rewinding). It was a job. You might have ten minutes for a bathroom break, but if you saw the film starting to "blue", you had to race back and get those rods realigned...quickly. They would shelf easily, but at least you never opened the doors while it was running...mostly never.
I have a friend into 16mm film and with the oversized reels depending on the movie it's one, maybe two switchovers. He's got two projectors and 2-3 times a year we do an outside movie night. Not as intense but I can relate. Having seen both digital and film based versions of movies there is no question that film is superior in experience IMO.
I was a protectionist also in the 70's and 80's. I still see the cue marks on old shows. A 200 amp dc generator in the back room. Peerless arc lamp, simplex project, exhaust fans. Candy girls. Those were the days
I remember back in the '70's going to the drive-in with friends using the carbon arc for the projector Ted's father taught me a quite a bit about it along with watching free movies evey summer good times back then.. and the bowl shaped mirror ...
Now imagine feeding over 10,000 times the amps as this 600 volts of triple phase power and you got yourself an electric arc furnace for converting iron into steel or recycling old steel.
Mole Richardson guy: I can strike a one inch arc! Foundry dude: How cute. My neighbor ran the crane at Ford Rouge Steel, I don't remember the size of the bucket, but they struck a 6ft arc!
I'm a computer geek (I work in IT), and have a fascination with old tube radios and phonos. Yet the algorithm knew I needed to know how to operate a Mole Richardson carbon arc lamp, and I love it! I find film fascinating and have been lucky enough to have service calls at several of the major Los Angeles studios, where I always take the long way out when I'm done.
I got to operate a 800 million candle power WW2 searchlight as a kid. Every Christmas eve the church would hire a guy to run his searchlight. To create the North Star. He was very kind to show me how to run the light. I have loved carbon arc lights ever since ❤️
We had one of those at our city's new year's eve celebration. The operator showed me how it worked. Watching that big spotlight was the best part of the night for me.
Man, no kidding on that quality light. As soon as you stepped in front of that lamp it was almost night n day. I really appreciate quality and craft, Ian see why these have fallen out of favour, despite their beautiful characteristics. Thank you for taking the time to share your families story and the technicalities of operating such a machine!
I did a Western in Flagstaff in '86. Two Lighthead Brute arcs and even a Duarc. Great lights; they each have a personality. Actually, each trim has a personality. And they kept the brothers workin'! Each lamp (sometimes two, if close together) needed an operator. I can recall various old-timers showing up to work w/ one pair of heavy leather gloves and one pair of pliers. (Maybe a small flask too) Notice a fold-up handle at each corner of that head. Yup, one man on each corner to lift it. It may look like a giant Midget, but it is truly a Heavy Head. Good times. IATSE 728 - Los Angeles
as a kid in the late 50's on moonless nights occasionally you would see this brilliant beam sweeping the night sky, at that time advertising the grand opening of a dealer ship was common..you had to be there to appreciate it. some of the mobile units had four smaller dia. lamps which rotated independent of one another
A few film foundations that take projecting very seriously still use carbon arc. I know Pacific Film Archive used to do that when I lived in the Oakland, Berkeley area. Never seen such vivid, even natural light. It makes black and white films look more lifelike. To be fair their projector must have the best lens ever.
I learned how to operate the beautiful Mole arc light in 1988. Operated them in Commercials till the mid 90's. Sorry to say I haven't oparated one in over 20 years. Those grids made great heaters on those cold nights.
This is a terrific historic resource. My career began as HMIs were moving in strongly, and Brutes were no longer on any of the sets I worked on. I was lucky to have a good education on their light, and differences with discharge types. Young folks often ask questions that lead to an explanation of spectra, the black body curve, and CRI. I love to send them here to see this video to see what a Bruite is. Thanks Mole-Richardson for making this available!
Wonderful to actually see the man himself, demonstrating what was an essential lighting tool for the movie industry worldwide until led lights and hdmi lights took over, and film speeds increased. I worked at Pinewood in England in the ‘60’s and ‘70’s, and those lights were in constant use on the James Bond films. The “evil genius lair” sets, which were huge and incredibly expensive for the time, could not have been lit well without the big Mole Richardson arcs, hired in from Samuelsons, in London.
As a kid growing up in the 1960’s there were lots of carbon arc “searchlights” used in shopping center and car dealer promotions. This is the first time I have ever seen how they work> Thanks for the content!
I had completely forgotten about those lights that used to dance around the sky at night. Once or twice we visited the parking lots where you would find three or four big "batman" style lights (at least that's what I called them since they looked like the same light used to call batman).
Lit up an old Carbon Arc today, been sitting for many decades now, and it lit quite nicely. beautiful light, the video dose not do it justice, one must see it in person.
So many years ago, my parents lived about 6 miles from the river. The barge tugs at night would use carbon arc lights to spot their targets. I would be in my bad, looking out the window and the lights would light up the tree tops. Kind of a good memory of cool summer nights. Smiles!
What a blast from the past! We got to do a project with a Brute Arc Light very much like this at CBS Radford Stages in the 1990s, even then it was almost a museum piece. We got operating lessons from some of the older guys from the CBS Lighting Department. They came by a few times to check up on us. I joked with them that I was still getting the hang of it, but I kept scorching my forearm when I reached in with C-wrench to change the lower carbon from time to time. I was surprised when they told me “No, you’re doing it right!” The guy patted me on the back and says “now you’ve got you’re sergeant stripes!” He went on to explain, in the old days when you walk around the studio lot or went to the commissary, you could spot the electricians because they had tell-tale scorch marks on their forearms from changing the carbons- “We called those your sergeant stripes! You’re doing it right!”
Yes. My uncle ran a theater that used carbon ark projectors. When he was short handed, he would get me to run the projectors. I remember adjusting the feed rate. I remember me and my friends watching movies from the projection booth. The worst place imaginable to watch a movie from. But it was the *projection booth* so me and all my fiends thought it was cool. Do you remember changing projectors?
Awesome. I was lucky enough to learn much of the old techniques for projecting with arcs when I worked as a young man in a chain of old theaters. So the carbon arc technology is familiar. But it's great seeing these large stage lights. Very cool. Thanks.
I remember I'm my younger days hanging out with some friends that had parents that owned the drive in and the had carbon arc lights in them as well as the bowl shaped mirror...good times back then
if you watch styropyros video with the car batteries he arcs some carbon together and its mental how bright it is haha, he also cut a microwave in half with it
I was just talking to a friend about how using this babies is become a lost art. Glad you documented this! I'm sure that someday some young director and cinematographer are going to use these for a project and they'll come in vogue again. (I hope!)
There used to be a carbon arc lamp atop the Palmolive Building on Chicago's near north lakefront. It was called "The Lindbergh beacon" and was at the time the brightest carbon arc lamp in the world. It could be seen for more than 30 miles over Lake Michigan.
This is freaking super cool!!! I'm sending this video to everyone. Makes me want to go out and buy one of these and try it out at night over the water and see what i can see out there. Great video!!!
I really enjoyed this video I remember seeing one of the Old world war II search lights that operated with carbonarchs on the end of the pier in Daytona Beach many years ago. I really enjoyed seeing how the movie lighting worked using the similar principles.
Beautiful piece of equipment. For this type of light the Eiffeltower in France was built; partially because it was Mr. Eiffel's goal to show the world what could be done with iron constructions. Paris was lit up by carbon arc light but it turned out to be too powerful at last. People complained about it and so it was switched off at last. It was *very* powerful: you could read a paper just if it was daylight at the time. Birds awoke because they'd think it the sun was up already.
Wasn’t The Wizard Of Oz filmed under carbon arc light? That would pre-date this featured light. I read that the film used for that movie had a speed of 8. That necessitated the carbon arc lights.
Yes your right and I think ze Germans had a similar type of light long before that to spot allied planes and try to blow them out of the sky. I think that guy's grandfather worked for the Reich before coming to Hollywood
I remember seeing a Searchlight in town around 20 -25 years ago. It operated with the carbon Arc inside. I don't remember what the event was but, I do remember the light. You could see it from 10 miles away!
This is an excellent video I remember the old drive in out west having projectors like this... I thought I would never see one of these ever again... This is the first time I seen it since 1980 good fun times never end they just become memories...
Thank you for sharing an interesting demonstration! When you mentioned "throw your HMIs away", I wondered if it would be true if digital cinematographers today would have less trouble with image flicker when shooting different frame rates and shutter speeds if they just used carbon arc lamps instead of HMIs?
@@Eli.Suarez : Actually, I didn't think (or say?) that HMI was LED. I just have heard that there is sometimes flicker problems in the recorded video (and not seen in the HMI light itself on set) when shooting with HMIs powered with magnetic ballasts. I just thought I'd give a plug for old-fashioned carbon arcs here, since I don't believe they can cause flicker problems for film and video like HMIs sometimes can.
Never used one of these but I believe when he says it puts out a much more beautiful light than an HMI. Ive been hearing that for thirty years. Most big HMIs are pars and are used because of their high output not great light quality.
@@tracypanavia4634 Especially the par style lamps with the big source. At least the older double end HMI lamps had a smaller globe. Small globe + big fresnel = better quality light
As a teacher, i'm curious about the early beginnings of on set lighting technology. Was the carbon arc light the first artificial light source used on set? Did Mole create the carbon arc fixture first for the industry? When did they first go into service?
Such beatutivul memories! I was a gaffer in Russia we also use to use carbon arc lights in the 80s. I hope cameraman didn't get a UV burn when you opened a lid 🤣
I worked for a film production company a long time ago. These had largely been replaced by 12Kw HMIs by then, but one lighting cameraman insisted on them, and we needed to get a special generator to run them. The sparks called them "brutes". The clapper/loader spent quite a lot of the day sitting about four feet away from one of them. The next day, one side of his face was all red and sunburned, and peeled over the succeeding days.
A fellow I know was using a 4K HMI fresnel on a car industrial job (late 1980s or early 1990s) and somehow the lens or UV safety glass had been broken but they decided to use the light anway as a broad source. They had some CTO correction gel clipped to the barn doors but one side came loose and the guy leaned in front of the fixture for a few seconds to re clip the gel rather than move the ladder to the other side, and in 5 minutes he was on the ground in pain with his face swollen up and eyelids swollen shut. INSTANT sunburn.
I remember years ago a small drive-in out west back in the '70's I used to hang out at with some friends that used the carbon type arc for the lights for the projectors and the perfectly bowl shape mirror .
Thank you for this video. I grew up on a TV set in the 70's and this arc brought back so many memories. Any chance you have an old 9 light you can feature?
I remember the giant search lights on trailers that were used for grand openings and such. I worked at an old theater that still had a carbon Arc projector. Not in use, it just sat there. They had a natural gas fired generator to provide the juice that went to what I thought was a rectifier, now I know that to be the resistor Bank (load).
I've always been interested in this stuff, Charles Brush considered the first proper carbon arc inventor brought his stuff here to Britain and today Brush remains a very well known name in railways as much as remembered for powering the first electricity networks in London. Certainly Brush's company became entwined with British military innovations and even built aircraft for the Royal Navy.
Good explanation!! Thanks a Lot! This carbon arc was used in Cinema too a many years ago, this a Hi-Tech , after Xenon, now a think the Hi-Tech LED contemporaneous.
I am asked fairly often why Indiana Jones/Kingdom of the Crystal Skull color didn't look like the first three (especially the first two). I tell them I know one reason...and the discussion begins as mentioned. ;-)
It’s a good bet that the generator’s engine was a Continental. Definitely a 1200 rpm machine, that’s why it’s so quiet. It would have actually been driving two generators on the same shaft. A small one called the exciter exciter which generated a low voltage DC current that supplied the field voltage for the main generator. And the main generator itself that produced the 90 volt, 1000 amp current for the arc lamp. A lot of those DC generators were made for the military during WWII and then sold cheaply to the movie studios. Same for the large arc searchlights that were common in the late 40’s and 50’s at outdoor events and store openings. Those mobile searchlights were used in the war to spot enemy airplanes.
I have an old welder/torch (around 1950's circa) that runs off of 110 volts and is built into it's own suitcase. It has two carbon rods of which are "struck" to make the arc for welding. I call it an "electric torch". It was left behind in a house my wife & I bought and I have yet to try it.
I worked for a large printer in the seventies and they had an old machine for exposing big offset plates. I could be wrong but I recall it was a carbon arc also.
Wished he had shown the carbon rods new....how do you change them out ? How long do they last ? I am a welder and very familiar with carbon arc gouging
I was fascinated by search lights when I was a kid. Here is a much smaller version of a Carbon Arc lamp. Used in the movie industry. 1000 Amps at 120 volts = 120,000 watts or 120 Kw. so that is one big generator to run a single lamp.
Excellent video indeed. Might we ask what's the "average" or preferred color temperature (K) that this unit generates...perhaps nearer to 5000K or so ? I ask, as the rendition of a "normal" skin-tone on film or live video appears best overall at a certain K color temperature or within a range.
I've had a saying over the years: Carbon Arc ---- the light that's bright is the light that's right! I used to operate Strong Trouper carbon arc followspots about 40 years ago.
This video just answered all my questions about how this spotlight works. I clapped my hands when he said "we are going to start it with the door open". Bravo!
Two questions. 1 - how long doe rods last? 2 - If there will be no action for five min, would you turn them off or leave them on ? 1,000 amps at 73 volts is only 7.3Kw - these lamps are way more efficient than I thought. Generator exciter voltage should be turned down to start around 85 volts.
We didn't have that but had an arc spotlight in college. They only let this one certain senior run it. And like here, he always wore gloves. Looking back on it, I think they chose him because he was expendable.
I was a projectionist at a theater in the before time. Had a pair of these working 20-minute reels. Never broke myself of the habit of looking for change-over dots in the corners. Eight seconds. You had eight seconds for the next reel to come up to speed so you could "open the blast doors", and get ready to hit the foot switch to swap shutters, and flip the sound switch at the same time. Then it was on to closing the door on the old reel, shutting down the projector, queue up the next reel, check the rods -- which you did continuously during the film in between making some emergency splices and running off the old reel back onto a new one (rewinding). It was a job. You might have ten minutes for a bathroom break, but if you saw the film starting to "blue", you had to race back and get those rods realigned...quickly. They would shelf easily, but at least you never opened the doors while it was running...mostly never.
I have a friend into 16mm film and with the oversized reels depending on the movie it's one, maybe two switchovers. He's got two projectors and 2-3 times a year we do an outside movie night. Not as intense but I can relate.
Having seen both digital and film based versions of movies there is no question that film is superior in experience IMO.
I was a protectionist also in the 70's and 80's. I still see the cue marks on old shows. A 200 amp dc generator in the back room. Peerless arc lamp, simplex project, exhaust fans. Candy girls. Those were the days
I want to listen to stories about that job... im sure they would be more than a little bit traumatizing to recount though. Sounds stressful.
I remember back in the '70's going to the drive-in with friends using the carbon arc for the projector Ted's father taught me a quite a bit about it along with watching free movies evey summer good times back then.. and the bowl shaped mirror ...
Go Blind...just like welding ..
Now imagine feeding over 10,000 times the amps as this 600 volts of triple phase power and you got yourself an electric arc furnace for converting iron into steel or recycling old steel.
Mole Richardson guy: I can strike a one inch arc! Foundry dude: How cute.
My neighbor ran the crane at Ford Rouge Steel, I don't remember the size of the bucket, but they struck a 6ft arc!
Yeah, and bring the charge out of the rain a couple minutes before. Just let me know first so I can take my break 😬
I'm a computer geek (I work in IT), and have a fascination with old tube radios and phonos. Yet the algorithm knew I needed to know how to operate a Mole Richardson carbon arc lamp, and I love it! I find film fascinating and have been lucky enough to have service calls at several of the major Los Angeles studios, where I always take the long way out when I'm done.
I got to operate a 800 million candle power WW2 searchlight as a kid. Every Christmas eve the church would hire a guy to run his searchlight. To create the North Star. He was very kind to show me how to run the light. I have loved carbon arc lights ever since ❤️
you were a Lucky Kid... see my comment above !
We had one of those at our city's new year's eve celebration. The operator showed me how it worked. Watching that big spotlight was the best part of the night for me.
Man, no kidding on that quality light. As soon as you stepped in front of that lamp it was almost night n day. I really appreciate quality and craft, Ian see why these have fallen out of favour, despite their beautiful characteristics. Thank you for taking the time to share your families story and the technicalities of operating such a machine!
I did a Western in Flagstaff in '86. Two Lighthead Brute arcs and even a Duarc.
Great lights; they each have a personality. Actually, each trim has a personality.
And they kept the brothers workin'! Each lamp (sometimes two, if close together) needed an operator. I can recall various old-timers showing up to work w/ one pair of heavy leather gloves and one pair of pliers. (Maybe a small flask too)
Notice a fold-up handle at each corner of that head. Yup, one man on each corner to lift it. It may look like a giant Midget, but it is truly a Heavy Head.
Good times. IATSE 728 - Los Angeles
Neat story thanks for sharing 👍
as a kid in the late 50's on moonless nights occasionally you would
see this brilliant beam sweeping the night sky, at that time advertising
the grand opening of a dealer ship was common..you had to be there
to appreciate it. some of the mobile units had four smaller dia. lamps
which rotated independent of one another
A few film foundations that take projecting very seriously still use carbon arc.
I know Pacific Film Archive used to do that when I lived in the Oakland, Berkeley area. Never seen such vivid, even natural light. It makes black and white films look more lifelike.
To be fair their projector must have the best lens ever.
I learned how to operate the beautiful Mole arc light in 1988. Operated them in Commercials till the mid 90's. Sorry to say I haven't oparated one in over 20 years. Those grids made great heaters on those cold nights.
Am I the only one more interested in the tandem van?
That's what I wanted to see. Bad ass!
+Jc Wolf ?
Right?! I want the story of that! Were the generators built into them?
Yep, that van is _so_ Hollywood special order!
Came here to say this
This is a terrific historic resource. My career began as HMIs were moving in strongly, and Brutes were no longer on any of the sets I worked on. I was lucky to have a good education on their light, and differences with discharge types. Young folks often ask questions that lead to an explanation of spectra, the black body curve, and CRI. I love to send them here to see this video to see what a Bruite is. Thanks Mole-Richardson for making this available!
Wonderful to actually see the man himself, demonstrating what was an essential lighting tool for the movie industry worldwide until led lights and hdmi lights took over, and film speeds increased. I worked at Pinewood in England in the ‘60’s and ‘70’s, and those lights were in constant use on the James Bond films. The “evil genius lair” sets, which were huge and incredibly expensive for the time, could not have been lit well without the big Mole Richardson arcs, hired in from Samuelsons, in London.
As a kid growing up in the 1960’s there were lots of carbon arc “searchlights” used in shopping center and car dealer promotions. This is the first time I have ever seen how they work> Thanks for the content!
I had completely forgotten about those lights that used to dance around the sky at night.
Once or twice we visited the parking lots where you would find three or four big "batman" style lights (at least that's what I called them since they looked like the same light used to call batman).
Totally agree. Great memories of childhood.
Lit up an old Carbon Arc today, been sitting for many decades now, and it lit quite nicely. beautiful light, the video dose not do it justice, one must see it in person.
So many years ago, my parents lived about 6 miles from the river. The barge tugs at night would use carbon arc lights to spot their targets. I would be in my bad, looking out the window and the lights would light up the tree tops. Kind of a good memory of cool summer nights.
Smiles!
What a blast from the past!
We got to do a project with a Brute Arc Light very much like this at CBS Radford Stages in the 1990s, even then it was almost a museum piece. We got operating lessons from some of the older guys from the CBS Lighting Department. They came by a few times to check up on us. I joked with them that I was still getting the hang of it, but I kept scorching my forearm when I reached in with C-wrench to change the lower carbon from time to time. I was surprised when they told me “No, you’re doing it right!” The guy patted me on the back and says “now you’ve got you’re sergeant stripes!” He went on to explain, in the old days when you walk around the studio lot or went to the commissary, you could spot the electricians because they had tell-tale scorch marks on their forearms from changing the carbons- “We called those your sergeant stripes! You’re doing it right!”
This video is a piece of history. I'm glad I stumbled on it
Used to run a theater projector that ran on same principal. If you weren’t paying attention the movie would get dark after the rods burned back
Yes. My uncle ran a theater that used carbon ark projectors. When he was short handed, he would get me to run the projectors. I remember adjusting the feed rate. I remember me and my friends watching movies from the projection booth. The worst place imaginable to watch a movie from. But it was the *projection booth* so me and all my fiends thought it was cool. Do you remember changing projectors?
There was something about the light from those projectors that you don't see today.
Thanks for this video! I haven't worked with a carbon arc since I started in the business 20 years ago and this video brought back memories.
Awesome. I was lucky enough to learn much of the old techniques for projecting with arcs when I worked as a young man in a chain of old theaters. So the carbon arc technology is familiar. But it's great seeing these large stage lights. Very cool. Thanks.
I remember I'm my younger days hanging out with some friends that had parents that owned the drive in and the had carbon arc lights in them as well as the bowl shaped mirror...good times back then
I loved seeing this! Thank you for sharing! Hats off to your grand dad. Nice bit of engineering…
Wait until PhotonicInduction gets a hold of one of these...
"We're gonna pop it"
if you watch styropyros video with the car batteries he arcs some carbon together and its mental how bright it is haha, he also cut a microwave in half with it
This is incredible. The world is a better place because of this man.
His grandad. Maybe.
I was just talking to a friend about how using this babies is become a lost art. Glad you documented this! I'm sure that someday some young director and cinematographer are going to use these for a project and they'll come in vogue again. (I hope!)
There used to be a carbon arc lamp atop the Palmolive Building on Chicago's near north lakefront. It was called "The Lindbergh beacon" and was at the time the brightest carbon arc lamp in the world. It could be seen for more than 30 miles over Lake Michigan.
awesome find of the day, i love videos on old equipment they built them right for sure
This is freaking super cool!!! I'm sending this video to everyone. Makes me want to go out and buy one of these and try it out at night over the water and see what i can see out there. Great video!!!
I really enjoyed this video I remember seeing one of the Old world war II search lights that operated with carbonarchs on the end of the pier in Daytona Beach many years ago. I really enjoyed seeing how the movie lighting worked using the similar principles.
Man, that was awesome. It was a joy to watch it work. I was born too late to use these. Thank you Larry !
wow. we used to only get carbon arc for drive-ins. i'm sure the original Blackpool illuminations were carbon arc, it's one helluva light
Please make a video showing us what happens when you fill the head with popcorn.
Will the popcorn be edible?
@@RaymondHng if you like ash...
Beautiful piece of equipment. For this type of light the Eiffeltower in France was built; partially because it was Mr. Eiffel's goal to show the world what could be done with iron constructions. Paris was lit up by carbon arc light but it turned out to be too powerful at last. People complained about it and so it was switched off at last. It was *very* powerful: you could read a paper just if it was daylight at the time. Birds awoke because they'd think it the sun was up already.
The song "Blinded by the Light" takes on a whole new meaning....
I am just finding this. Very interesting! Enjoyed this very much. Thanks for sharing. Would love to see more on the generator...
Wasn’t The Wizard Of Oz filmed under carbon arc light? That would pre-date this featured light. I read that the film used for that movie had a speed of 8. That necessitated the carbon arc lights.
Yes your right and I think ze Germans had a similar type of light long before that to spot allied planes and try to blow them out of the sky. I think that guy's grandfather worked for the Reich before coming to Hollywood
@@Kevthebish I came to this video from a WWII German aircraft search light video.
@@kaptainkaos1202 You don't say? Imagine that
Thirty years of use and relinquished to history forever.
I remember seeing a Searchlight in town around 20 -25 years ago. It operated with the carbon Arc inside. I don't remember what the event was but, I do remember the light. You could see it from 10 miles away!
Awesome light, I like the three axle van too! 👍
This is an excellent video I remember the old drive in out west having projectors like this... I thought I would never see one of these ever again... This is the first time I seen it since 1980 good fun times never end they just become memories...
Thank you for sharing an interesting demonstration!
When you mentioned "throw your HMIs away", I wondered if it would be true if digital cinematographers today would have less trouble with image flicker when shooting different frame rates and shutter speeds if they just used carbon arc lamps instead of HMIs?
HMI is not LED. it is another ARC source with a higher color temperature
@@Eli.Suarez : Actually, I didn't think (or say?) that HMI was LED. I just have heard that there is sometimes flicker problems in the recorded video (and not seen in the HMI light itself on set) when shooting with HMIs powered with magnetic ballasts. I just thought I'd give a plug for old-fashioned carbon arcs here, since I don't believe they can cause flicker problems for film and video like HMIs sometimes can.
Awesome demo, and that 1000 amp geney (in the van) is freegon Quiet!
Never used one of these but I believe when he says it puts out a much more beautiful light than an HMI. Ive been hearing that for thirty years.
Most big HMIs are pars and are used because of their high output not great light quality.
HMIs are crap😁
@@tracypanavia4634
Especially the par style lamps with the big source.
At least the older double end HMI lamps had a smaller globe.
Small globe + big fresnel = better quality light
As a teacher, i'm curious about the early beginnings of on set lighting technology. Was the carbon arc light the first artificial light source used on set? Did Mole create the carbon arc fixture first for the industry? When did they first go into service?
Such beatutivul memories! I was a gaffer in Russia we also use to use carbon arc lights in the 80s.
I hope cameraman didn't get a UV burn when you opened a lid 🤣
I worked for a film production company a long time ago. These had largely been replaced by 12Kw HMIs by then, but one lighting cameraman insisted on them, and we needed to get a special generator to run them. The sparks called them "brutes". The clapper/loader spent quite a lot of the day sitting about four feet away from one of them. The next day, one side of his face was all red and sunburned, and peeled over the succeeding days.
A fellow I know was using a 4K HMI fresnel on a car industrial job (late 1980s or early 1990s) and somehow the lens or UV safety glass had been broken but they decided to use the light anway as a broad source.
They had some CTO correction gel clipped to the barn doors but one side came loose and the guy leaned in front of the fixture for a few seconds to re clip the gel rather than move the ladder to the other side, and in 5 minutes he was on the ground in pain with his face swollen up and eyelids swollen shut.
INSTANT sunburn.
i fondly remember operating a carbon arc spot back in my early theater days. cantankerous machines for sure, but they got the job done!
I remember years ago a small drive-in out west back in the '70's I used to hang out at with some friends that used the carbon type arc for the lights for the projectors and the perfectly bowl shape mirror .
Thank you for this video. I grew up on a TV set in the 70's and this arc brought back so many memories. Any chance you have an old 9 light you can feature?
Wow this is amazingly interesting. I’ve never thought that a simple light would be that complicated. Awesome. Thank you for sharing
It always amazes me how great the minds of some people can be in inventing things like these lights.
I remember the giant search lights on trailers that were used for grand openings and such.
I worked at an old theater that still had a carbon Arc projector.
Not in use, it just sat there.
They had a natural gas fired generator to provide the juice that went to what I thought was a rectifier, now I know that to be the resistor Bank (load).
I've always been interested in this stuff, Charles Brush considered the first proper carbon arc inventor brought his stuff here to Britain and today Brush remains a very well known name in railways as much as remembered for powering the first electricity networks in London. Certainly Brush's company became entwined with British military innovations and even built aircraft for the Royal Navy.
One of the coolest videos i have seen in 2021 ...thank you sir ...you made my day today ...👍
This is unbelievable. I never knew! Is this why old theaters suffered so many fires? Flammable film and 2000 degree carbon
Good explanation!! Thanks a Lot!
This carbon arc was used in Cinema too a many years ago, this a Hi-Tech , after Xenon, now a think the Hi-Tech LED contemporaneous.
I am asked fairly often why Indiana Jones/Kingdom of the Crystal Skull color didn't look like the first three (especially the first two). I tell them I know one reason...and the discussion begins as mentioned. ;-)
This is cool.I remember seeing one back in 1989 when I was repairing HMI'S.
I worked with HMI double ended 18kw fresnel location lamp from Strand. That thing was a beast with beautiful light quality
I worked at a hardware store in Boston that STILL has carbon rods IIRC.
Hey would love som info on the generator van!
Yes yes yes
♥️
SAME
I second that motion.
It’s a good bet that the generator’s engine was a Continental. Definitely a 1200 rpm machine, that’s why it’s so quiet. It would have actually been driving two generators on the same shaft. A small one called the exciter exciter which generated a low voltage DC current that supplied the field voltage for the main generator. And the main generator itself that produced the 90 volt, 1000 amp current for the arc lamp. A lot of those DC generators were made for the military during WWII and then sold cheaply to the movie studios. Same for the large arc searchlights that were common in the late 40’s and 50’s at outdoor events and store openings. Those mobile searchlights were used in the war to spot enemy airplanes.
holy crap now I know why I have seen lights smoke. I don't know why this was recommended, but I am glad.
Cool, when I was 12 years old, I did something like battery electrodes, used a container with salt and water to avoid short circuit.
That van is everything.
That is a beautiful piece of 1940s technology.
I have an old welder/torch (around 1950's circa) that runs off of 110 volts and is built into it's own suitcase. It has two carbon rods of which are "struck" to make the arc for welding. I call it an "electric torch". It was left behind in a house my wife & I bought and I have yet to try it.
AWESOME !!! Thanks for the lesson. Amazing machine.😊
The van dude. You knew we'd ask. Talk about the van.
This is the first time I've ever seen this sort of light, for its time it's genius.
A peak into old Hollywood ; thanks from old New Orleans 😎
I worked for a large printer in the seventies and they had an old machine for exposing big offset plates. I could be wrong but I recall it was a carbon arc also.
Just like running a Strong Electric Super Trouper follow spot. Fond memories of rock concerts.
Wished he had shown the carbon rods new....how do you change them out ? How long do they last ?
I am a welder and very familiar with carbon arc gouging
Excellent video! Is there by chance another one that shows how to replace the carbons?
I was fascinated by search lights when I was a kid.
Here is a much smaller version of a Carbon Arc lamp.
Used in the movie industry.
1000 Amps at 120 volts = 120,000 watts or 120 Kw.
so that is one big generator to run a single lamp.
Good luck finding one on set today! 😂 Either the arc or somebody who knows how to run one!
7 minutes ago I didn't know what a carbon arc lamp was, now I know how to operate one.
Never gave a damn about stage lighting till i watched this, nice video.
Excellent video indeed. Might we ask what's the "average" or preferred color temperature (K) that this unit generates...perhaps nearer to 5000K or so ? I ask, as the rendition of a "normal" skin-tone on film or live video appears best overall at a certain K color temperature or within a range.
+Joseph Rotello Carbon Arc lamps produce light closer to 6000 degrees K
i can’t be the only one who thought this was jim lahey from trailer park boys at first
Awesome! Thanks for sharing this. I always wondered how they operated and what kind of light they put out.
Damn. Just damn amazing craftsmen ship and design.
Thanks for this tutorial! Much appreciated!
Great invention that gave light to many things. I think xenon light as now replaced it. But still a good light source.
That van is awesome.
We had this light on the projector for the drive in movie theater 🎭
Thanks Sir ! Your Granddad did a good job!
Is there a UV filter on the front of that thing?
I've had a saying over the years: Carbon Arc ---- the light that's bright is the light that's right! I used to operate Strong Trouper carbon arc followspots about 40 years ago.
There are far better options these days
This video just answered all my questions about how this spotlight works. I clapped my hands when he said "we are going to start it with the door open". Bravo!
Pretty slick ,Thanks for the info. later from Texas.
That's the coolest thing I've ever seen!
Carbon arc searchlights were instrumental in long distance, air and sea night scans during wars. Funny he didn't mention that.
Bring it back please!!
did they ever pump inert gas into the carbon arc area, to lengthen the time of use? like co2 or argon?
You are thinking of vacuum. Even an inert gas can be ionised by the electrical arc.
Two questions.
1 - how long doe rods last?
2 - If there will be no action for five min, would you turn them off or leave them on ?
1,000 amps at 73 volts is only 7.3Kw - these lamps are way more efficient than I thought.
Generator exciter voltage should be turned down to start around 85 volts.
A VariAC is for AC only. What you have there is a rheostat.
Carbon arc is used a lot in my profession. Certified welder
Whats the efficency on the whole contraption? I suppose around 0.5%
I'll bet the resistor pack ballast doubles as a heater on cold days. Do the resistors get red hot?
We didn't have that but had an arc spotlight in college. They only let this one certain senior run it. And like here, he always wore gloves. Looking back on it, I think they chose him because he was expendable.