I built 3 of these bad boys 2 years ago when I got into filming documentary interviews. I've shipped them from Florida to Oklahoma, Texas, New York and Connecticut. They don't look like $10,000 dollar lights, but with diffusers and gels they get the job done. People hire you based on your work, not what your lights look like. This is my all time favorite diy video ever. Thank you Griffin!
Just completed this build. Works fantastic!!! To anyone looking to do this don't hesitate. I opted for an extension cord instead of just an AC power cable. I got a 50 foot one at Home Depot for 12 bucks and cut it in half giving me a 25 foot cord to plug in as well as extra wire to work with when connecting the sockets together. Also missing from the supplies list was a clamp connector (where the AC cable enters into the dish pan). I luckily had one lying around. Another word of advice, before using silicone to adhere the sockets to the cake pan, screw in the splitters to be sure of a tight fit. The build was a little time consuming but well worth it.
You rock! I built two of them (I figured two is as easy as one!) and they just about blinded me. Great project. I spent a few hours down at the local recycle yard and cut the costs in half...Two for the price of one. Thank you for your creativity that we can all tap into! Next the pseudo telepromtr!
Griffin, thanks so much! I used your design as a starting point, then tried a few upgrades while staying under $86 per light. I used 609-box sockets, which attached to the pans without the need for silicone. This was actually cheaper, which meant I could use a 2-switch design to bring the head to half-power. I used flat black spray paint instead of gaff for the barn doors. Finally, I upgraded the bulbs to full spectrum CFLs, though the bulbs were definitely a splurge by $66 for 2 lights.
I can't stress enough how important it is to say the names of the things you use in this kind of video (this particular vid was informative). I have looked many times for basic light bulb holders. Usually you can buy "clamp lights" but I'm in the UK and they barely exist. I just found what I'm looking for is called an E27 holder, and suddenly I can find everything I need with the right keyword.
I'm using the new light as a key, the old DIY light for fill, and the clamp light for back light. The color temp is usually listed in fine print on the bulb packaging. Sometimes they'll label them like "soft white" to mean 2,700K, "bright white" to mean 3,500K, and "daylight" to mean 5,000K and above. But all brands are labeled differently. I bought my Eiko SP85 (giant CFL) on Amazon.
This reminds me of Bill Nye the Science guy with a mix of Alton Brown's Good Eats for Indy studio equipment. Love it! Great info, great explanations, and entertaining.
For me, it started with weddings, which usually start with friends' weddings (for cheap or free). Once people start seeing that you can produce nice-looking videos, they start thinking of you for other projects. The project that really jump-started my freelance career was a big training video for the business where my wife works. So you have to showcase your best work, and use your connections to open up opportunities. You never really know where the best opportunities will come from.
When you mount the post socket to the plastic bucket, it's best to use a plate, or series of fender washers on the side with the nut, to prevent it from tearing during use.
Agreed. The work is more important, but sometimes appearances help. (For example, putting a boom mic on top of a DSLR helps people understand you're shooting video-so they stop posing for photos.) But often I find clients have no idea what a video light or a teleprompter SHOULD look like. If you explain that you use custom-built equipment, it can convey your expertise.
I tend to agree but you still have to consider color accuracy and temperature. diy perks has a good tutorial for an LED light panel. it would be interesting to see a refreshed tutorial with an improved light because led lights are continually improving.
One issue over here is the 'intensity' or 'throw' of the light - how far it can travel from the source with the same color temperature. This is very crucial in cinematography that is why HMI lights are used to flood larger sets /scenes. Over here the LED can be bright, but do not have the same intensity or throw as of CFL or others. They are more used in CU photography where Light Panels are required. LED lights are also not as fragile as any bulb lamps but requires electronic circuitry. This is much easy. The light bulbs, so if you mess it up, just unplug, rewire, change the bulb and repeat until you get it right. Now a days (in 2017) the LED are coming with (5Q - 7Q) with higher intensity. There are TH-cam tuts on them.
It's a great project, but I have to say Kelvin is not measured in degrees! Color temperature and actual temperature in Kelvin is just some number of Kelvin. E.G. My favorite color temperature is 5,000 K - that would be read as "5,000 Kelvin" with no "degrees." My ranting about that aside, I like the approach. I might also recommend using large, metal salad bowls for building more focused lights. They all tend to be shaped very closely to an ideal parabolic reflector. Also, for a less-severe diffuser, screen mesh works quite well at knocking just a bit off the edges of shadows without reducing light output a perceptible amount. Plus, if you get the old-fashioned metal variety, it's heat-resistant enough that it gets used in the traditional 2K (That's 2,000 watts of incandescent bulb!) fresnels you might see in a television studio.
You do such a great job of choosing components that have necessary features built right in. Using a pan with a cover to enclose the wiring is brilliant.
LEDs are getting cheaper and cheaper every year, but they aren't as good as they appear on paper: Many cheap LED lights flicker badly at twice mains frequency (100 Hz in most of the world), color rendering is sometimes surprisingly bad and I've seen so many LED lights failing prematurely that finding one that is actually good may be challenging and not that cheap...
Thank you for speaking slowly and clearly. Thank you for explaining EVERY step in depth, including the electrical business. Thank you for the video, and a great design.
Well done! Another benefit of using CFLs is it keeps the set cooler in temperature. Incandescent lights can make the talent very hot and sweaty. Also, diffusing the light and moving it closer to the subject softens shadows as well.
LED bulbs don't put out as many lumens per dollar spent on the bulb. You can get 100-watt equivalent CFL bulbs for around $2 per bulb. Add to that the better choice of color temperatures and CRI, and CFLs become the obvious choice for now.
you actually saved my life! I had a photography project due and screwed up in studio and had to somehow reshoot at home and I made this! It turned out really well!!! :) Thanks so much!
Black Excellence Productions Yeah, this is DIY. It's simple, easy, and right to the point. I can see where the electrical might bother you a bit, but that's what trial and error is for. It's light bulbs, so if you mess it up, just unplug, rewire, and repeat until you get it right.
OK I just made two of these today, and here's a few notes. 1) I was able to stay pretty close to his price. I built two for about $180 2) Silicone sealant does a horrible job. The sockets stay in place, but once you twist the splitter, the seal breaks. You have to twist VERY gently. There has to be a better way to secure the sockets. 3) The $4 pan is at WalMart 4) The flag pole holder needs more reinforcement. I'm thinking of using a long hard plastic. 5) Gloves or tetanus, your choice.
Not only an excellent, well designed project which produces great light, this is a wonderfully thorough, simply expressed video which covers all the points. Absolutely superb! Thanks.
Thank you...you have just taught your viewers so much in just one DIY vid.. about light, bulbs, white balance, safety with power and CFLs etc. Subscribed immediately
I wouldn't have the time, Brad, to start selling these, but my hope with these types of videos is to inspire others to modify and create new designs. Some have mentioned buying sockets with pre-wired cables/plugs. You could attach a power strip to the device and build something similar without any electrical work.
I didn't fully explain that: Aside from using a bunch of binder clips to secure wax paper or gels to the dish pan, after I place the umbrella through the hole, I've also attached a binder clip to the umbrella pole, to keep it from sliding back through the hole.
fells good to see someone do electrical work and using reasonable thinking! recently, i came across a video, where someone else made a similar design and didn't connect the ground to the aluminium pan..
gr8 build and i just loved the way you explained light temperatures. I follow (almost) all of your videos, the explaining done in this one takes the trophy in my view.
these DIY vids are great. One thing I and a lot of people are lost on is how to start making an income on film. What do I need to buy for my first job? Who do I talk to first? What do I build the expectations to? What kinds of rates should the owner expect to get on local stations? I just finished film school and they failed to cover the business side of film.
For those of you who are electrically challenged look at modifying with ( 6-Inch AC Extension Cord by Radio Shack) and (Leviton Outlet to Socket Adapter) both on amazon This was the Best DIY Lighting Video of 2012
I built a variant of this design using a larger\deeper plastic bin, lined with aluminium and covered it with white nylon, resulting in a pair of 800 watt softboxes - much nicer than the halogen work lights I was fighting before. Set and forget white balance, better color, and best of all, cool running daylight on demand that won't pop the fuse breaker or start a fire :-) Thanks for the guidance!
I imagine that's the case, which is why I decided mounting them at an angle would be better than my previous design, where the top of the bulb faces out.
You're right, I should have borrowed a commercial kit-I only own DIY lights-to test the difference. Some of my friends have decent light kits, but no single lamps that output this much light. (I almost exclusively use my DIY lights for shoots, including freelance and Indy Mogul stuff.)
That was $8K of business that relied on a teleprompter. Local commercials often have the client on camera, reading a script, so I couldn't shoot those kind of ads without a working teleprompter. A lot of my work comes from word of mouth, so you have to impress a few people before business rolls in. Aside from word of mouth, I believe these things help me attract new business: I'm in a small community, own all the needed equipment, have a search-friendly website, and good reviews on Google Maps.
Thank you Indy Mogul for this build episode, I know I am very vocal about the return of BFX. Yes, I understand that everyone does things differently, but I also see that you can do builds like this and call it bfx and a lot of people, including me, will be satisfied. I personally prefer the equipment builds rather then props, as it is more helpful for cheap skates like me. Keep up the good work.
Howdy! I just built this light, and I'm looking to build another (with some modest changes - I'll let you know if you're interested). But it pretty much cost exactly what you said it would, it pretty much came together exactly as you said it would, and it does exactly what you said it would. Thanks for the design idea!
this show design is amazing! love all of the different cuts, and comparison shots. makes it really easy to understand why you would actually want to make this light! and i do!! thank you Griffin.... thank you
You can use speaker stands for live sound applications. They have super wide tri-pod bases, for stability, and they can be purchased on ebay really cheap, if you look around. I got one for under $30, and it was built like a tank. They can usually handle 80 lb. speakers, so this DIY light would be no problem for it. Hope this helps you out.
your the bomb ..we need more vids like this ..easy informative and practical..some teachers in school will take 3 weeks 2 explain this one video. gets boring ..u just made me more intersted 2 find out more about working with electricity...thx
I have made both your teleprompter and the video light. Both are great!! Thanks a bunch. One comment on the video light. The silicon adhesive doesn't do a fantastic job adhering to the cake pan. One could use 1 1/2" hose clamps on the cake pan side to add some anchoring.
This is the most helpful thing I've ever watched....ever. Now I can finally have professional looking videos instead of my nasty looking blog posts! I wish I had known you were around in SXSW, I would've loved to say hello.
Thanks! Yeah, for some videos, all you need is a quick-and-dirty DIY project that can fall apart after you're done. But if you build something useful, that will last, it has the potential to pay for itself many times over.
Griff Man OUTSTANDING ! A useful modification might be to have separate switches for each pair of lights (4 in total) so that you can control light intensity. Of course you could always just unscrew some lights, but as you point out, these things can be delicate/semi-dangerous. That said, great design, well thought out, professionally described.
Yeah dude, and the plastic dish will be cooler to handle too. I've built one of this with some oiled paper on the front and it works absolutely awesome - Cheers from India.
+PartScavenger Sadly, Indy Mogul has been down for something like 2 years now. A few of us want to bring it back, wanna try to help by just signing this? www.change.org/p/youtube-youtube-bring-funding-back-to-indymogul
Did you see the couple episodes of Awesome Directors Project where Tom Antos talked about lighting? You can find them on the Indy Mogul channel page, in the "Tom Antos" playlist.
I built some lights using aluminium project boxes used by electronic hobbyists, and a 8" steel kitchen mixing bowl. I've also added PAR64 barn doors to 300W worklights, (now considering LED). Also, two 4x55w Kinoflo style lamps from a growing lamp used in the (er) "hydroponic" industry. Alas, I didn't video these projects, but documented them in a ebooks
It's not dimmable. My previous design includes two switches, to turn off half the lights, but I never use it, so I went to one switch for this design. It would be an easy addition to this build.
I'm a no-budget filmmaker and this my cheap solution to lighting: two clamp lights, two white bulbs and one red, green, yellow, and blue bulb. If I can, I clamp the lights onto anything handy nearby, like a door or a table. If there's nothing else, I get out my spare tripod and clamp a light to that. I use the two lights as the key and fill lights, and find that I don't need a back light inside if the room's overhead light is on, or outside if the sun is out.
Actually, EIGHT for $22! I bought two $11 four-packs at Home Depot. I'd imagine online prices might be even better, but I didn't have time to place orders.
@indymogul As a Electrician in Europe, I would suggest using WAGO which is and small Wire connector, and then use a Connection box to secure the installation from touch but your big lid works too. Also, heat moves up, so drilling a few holes on the plastic that points upward should do the trick to remove the heat from the plastic. But I am quite certain there exist other types of plastic that can sustain higher heat. But yeee.. Good build.
It's the ground wire. You usually attach those to a ground point (and with this project, it's the metal chassis of the build) to limit the damage of ... well... Long and skinny, it prevents needless damage/harm due to 'electrical oops' (line surges, lightning strikes, shorts, etc).
In Australia, you should use a thicker ground wire because it's ~240volts(I would use a thicker wire at 120volts still). Also, when handling the bulbs you should not touch them. The oily residue your fingers leave on the bulbs create hot spots. I use a clean rag to install the bulbs, plus it will save your hand if they smash.
This doesn't work like this! Wire thickness scales with current, not voltage and since for same power at higher voltage you need less amps wires can be thinner. Actually we are talking about 1.5A power draw at ~230V or ~3A at 120V so even at 120V thinnest commercially available power cord is more than enough with its 0.75mm square (required for mechanical strength). Ground wire must not be thinner than mains wiring so this design is okay-ish :) Oily residue applies to halogen bulbs ONLY as it messes up tungsten recombination, it has no effect on ordinary bulbs or CFLs
It depends on the effect you want to get. The good thing with the softboxes light is that it removes the shadows. But If you use this DIY light as a key light and another one as a fill light to remove some shadows on the background, both technics can be used. Depends on what you prefere. I use both, depending on what I want to get !
Cool, few years ago I was in our national TV studio and in some small news room I've noticed that they use multiple (linear) fluorescent lights, all with 950 color lights (950 means CRI over 90% and temperature 5000K) I was told that they switched to fluorescent not for the color, not for energy efficency but solely because of much less heat generated by them: I can imagine how hot it was when they had like 10 kW lights in a room smaller than typical living room...
im currently constructing a much more directed light using air ducting. the giant cfl will work fine with it. and you can order a 750w equiv 150w cfl on ebay for under $30. waiting for mine to arrive but with my design you can use a large incandescent because its all metal save for the socket which is a porcelain socket meant for a heat lamp
Really awsom video, the information / time ratio is incredible. There is only one very little thing (also to avoid confusion) I'm pretty sure, it should only be K for Kelvin when you're talking about Color Temperature. Not °K, because ° is a different Unit for Temperature.
Get the 6500K bulbs. The output will be exactly the same as direct sunlight. If you need to lower the color temperature, for example to match other lights, you can get gels called CTO ("color temperature orange") pretty inexpensively.
You could use power strips and wall socket to light socket adapters. I don't know how much you'll but you won't have to wire anything. Also the only way to get variable control would to make (or buy) a dimmer and to use incandescent bulbs as fluorescent bulbs can't be dimmed. The problem with incandescent is that it uses more power and produces a lot of heat (which is both uncomfortable and also might melt the plastic) good luck but it seems you're stuck between a rock and a hard place.
You can also use LED lights instead of CFLs! Yeah they're more expensive but they're brighter and will definitely last a lot longer. Which, in my opinion, makes it cheaper. Great tutorial by the way. Thumbs up!
I built 3 of these bad boys 2 years ago when I got into filming documentary interviews. I've shipped them from Florida to Oklahoma, Texas, New York and Connecticut. They don't look like $10,000 dollar lights, but with diffusers and gels they get the job done. People hire you based on your work, not what your lights look like. This is my all time favorite diy video ever. Thank you Griffin!
Just completed this build. Works fantastic!!! To anyone looking to do this don't hesitate. I opted for an extension cord instead of just an AC power cable. I got a 50 foot one at Home Depot for 12 bucks and cut it in half giving me a 25 foot cord to plug in as well as extra wire to work with when connecting the sockets together. Also missing from the supplies list was a clamp connector (where the AC cable enters into the dish pan). I luckily had one lying around. Another word of advice, before using silicone to adhere the sockets to the cake pan, screw in the splitters to be sure of a tight fit. The build was a little time consuming but well worth it.
You rock! I built two of them (I figured two is as easy as one!) and they just about blinded me. Great project. I spent a few hours down at the local recycle yard and cut the costs in half...Two for the price of one. Thank you for your creativity that we can all tap into! Next the pseudo telepromtr!
Griffin, thanks so much! I used your design as a starting point, then tried a few upgrades while staying under $86 per light. I used 609-box sockets, which attached to the pans without the need for silicone. This was actually cheaper, which meant I could use a 2-switch design to bring the head to half-power. I used flat black spray paint instead of gaff for the barn doors. Finally, I upgraded the bulbs to full spectrum CFLs, though the bulbs were definitely a splurge by $66 for 2 lights.
I can't stress enough how important it is to say the names of the things you use in this kind of video (this particular vid was informative). I have looked many times for basic light bulb holders. Usually you can buy "clamp lights" but I'm in the UK and they barely exist.
I just found what I'm looking for is called an E27 holder, and suddenly I can find everything I need with the right keyword.
I'm using the new light as a key, the old DIY light for fill, and the clamp light for back light.
The color temp is usually listed in fine print on the bulb packaging. Sometimes they'll label them like "soft white" to mean 2,700K, "bright white" to mean 3,500K, and "daylight" to mean 5,000K and above. But all brands are labeled differently.
I bought my Eiko SP85 (giant CFL) on Amazon.
This reminds me of Bill Nye the Science guy with a mix of Alton Brown's Good Eats for Indy studio equipment. Love it! Great info, great explanations, and entertaining.
I know the video is about light, but I couldn't help but notice how good-- and consistent-- your audio is.
this is basically the greatest thing ever.
Thank you for the tutorial!
For me, it started with weddings, which usually start with friends' weddings (for cheap or free). Once people start seeing that you can produce nice-looking videos, they start thinking of you for other projects. The project that really jump-started my freelance career was a big training video for the business where my wife works.
So you have to showcase your best work, and use your connections to open up opportunities. You never really know where the best opportunities will come from.
When you mount the post socket to the plastic bucket, it's best to use a plate, or series of fender washers on the side with the nut, to prevent it from tearing during use.
That's awesome that someone else built the teleprompter! Thanks for the feedback-I'll look for ways to get this info out in future episodes.
Can you list your shopping list under your videos? It would help :) Thanks for the great info!
This was probably the best tutorial I've ever seen. I didn't understand the way lighting works until he explained. My film teacher sucks!
Yes, all of the electrical stuff from Home Depot. Cake pan from Dollar General. Dish pan from Wal-mart.
Agreed. The work is more important, but sometimes appearances help. (For example, putting a boom mic on top of a DSLR helps people understand you're shooting video-so they stop posing for photos.) But often I find clients have no idea what a video light or a teleprompter SHOULD look like. If you explain that you use custom-built equipment, it can convey your expertise.
why not use super bright white led strips? cheaper, brighter, less heat, more compact, less power usage. hard to spot a down side.
+TheEightshot Keep in mind this was filmed in 2012 when LED technology was not yet that matured.
I tend to agree but you still have to consider color accuracy and temperature. diy perks has a good tutorial for an LED light panel. it would be interesting to see a refreshed tutorial with an improved light because led lights are continually improving.
One issue over here is the 'intensity' or 'throw' of the light - how far it can travel from the source with the same color temperature. This is very crucial in cinematography that is why HMI lights are used to flood larger sets /scenes. Over here the LED can be bright, but do not have the same intensity or throw as of CFL or others. They are more used in CU photography where Light Panels are required. LED lights are also not as fragile as any bulb lamps but requires electronic circuitry. This is much easy. The light bulbs, so if you mess it up, just unplug, rewire, change the bulb and repeat until you get it right.
Now a days (in 2017) the LED are coming with (5Q - 7Q) with higher intensity. There are TH-cam tuts on them.
old video but yea led strip are a fucking pain in case of failure so better stick with same idea but with led bulb
I ended up making my own video light with a 100W LED chip. It's super bright!! th-cam.com/video/6GuWEI53Cxo/w-d-xo.html
There's nothing wrong with your awesome enthusiasm!
It's a great project, but I have to say Kelvin is not measured in degrees! Color temperature and actual temperature in Kelvin is just some number of Kelvin. E.G. My favorite color temperature is 5,000 K - that would be read as "5,000 Kelvin" with no "degrees."
My ranting about that aside, I like the approach. I might also recommend using large, metal salad bowls for building more focused lights. They all tend to be shaped very closely to an ideal parabolic reflector. Also, for a less-severe diffuser, screen mesh works quite well at knocking just a bit off the edges of shadows without reducing light output a perceptible amount. Plus, if you get the old-fashioned metal variety, it's heat-resistant enough that it gets used in the traditional 2K (That's 2,000 watts of incandescent bulb!) fresnels you might see in a television studio.
You do such a great job of choosing components that have necessary features built right in. Using a pan with a cover to enclose the wiring is brilliant.
Can you sell these? I'd buy one ;~;
See "this" is all we've been asking for. A return back to the old style of BFX and Griffin you did a great job with it.
1 100w led = job done
LEDs are getting cheaper and cheaper every year, but they aren't as good as they appear on paper: Many cheap LED lights flicker badly at twice mains frequency (100 Hz in most of the world), color rendering is sometimes surprisingly bad and I've seen so many LED lights failing prematurely that finding one that is actually good may be challenging and not that cheap...
I have a 200 dollar led soft box. It's a amazing
Thank you for speaking slowly and clearly. Thank you for explaining EVERY step in depth, including the electrical business. Thank you for the video, and a great design.
Also great for growing weed
No one cares about pot heads.
Smoke weed every day
Declan Murphy u need to replace the bulbs with uv bulbs tho bro
Aye. I think fluoros end up with long ass stalks but not much else
Declan Murphy really i thought uv worked better
Well done! Another benefit of using CFLs is it keeps the set cooler in temperature. Incandescent lights can make the talent very hot and sweaty. Also, diffusing the light and moving it closer to the subject softens shadows as well.
use LED's instead, less electricity, bigger/smaller bulb = more happy
I really like your statement of making something a little more expensive, but still cheaper than the actual tool and something you can invest in.
remake the video with leds or new bulbs
LED bulbs don't put out as many lumens per dollar spent on the bulb. You can get 100-watt equivalent CFL bulbs for around $2 per bulb. Add to that the better choice of color temperatures and CRI, and CFLs become the obvious choice for now.
I did remake the whole thing with LEDs th-cam.com/video/NFzIP_TN75A/w-d-xo.html generates 12000 K lumens!
tnks for the troll link
you actually saved my life! I had a photography project due and screwed up in studio and had to somehow reshoot at home and I made this! It turned out really well!!! :) Thanks so much!
Why dont you just make a bunch of them and sell them because this isnt diy
You're lazy that's why it's not DIY!
skldezigns agreed
Black Excellence Productions
Yeah, this is DIY. It's simple, easy, and right to the point. I can see where the electrical might bother you a bit, but that's what trial and error is for. It's light bulbs, so if you mess it up, just unplug, rewire, and repeat until you get it right.
*****
lol, this isn't my video. But I'm sure the person who made the video appreciates your compliment just the same!
skldezigns LOL LMAO True, Laziness LOL
I could, but I actually like how the white pan diffuses/softens the light. Mirrors would more effectively reflect, but produce harder shadows.
OK I just made two of these today, and here's a few notes.
1) I was able to stay pretty close to his price. I built two for about $180
2) Silicone sealant does a horrible job. The sockets stay in place, but once you twist the splitter, the seal breaks. You have to twist VERY gently. There has to be a better way to secure the sockets.
3) The $4 pan is at WalMart
4) The flag pole holder needs more reinforcement. I'm thinking of using a long hard plastic.
5) Gloves or tetanus, your choice.
Not only an excellent, well designed project which produces great light, this is a wonderfully thorough, simply expressed video which covers all the points. Absolutely superb! Thanks.
The plastic tub melting was the first thing that popped into my head. Good practical tutorial.
Thank you...you have just taught your viewers so much in just one DIY vid.. about light, bulbs, white balance, safety with power and CFLs etc. Subscribed immediately
I wouldn't have the time, Brad, to start selling these, but my hope with these types of videos is to inspire others to modify and create new designs. Some have mentioned buying sockets with pre-wired cables/plugs. You could attach a power strip to the device and build something similar without any electrical work.
I didn't fully explain that: Aside from using a bunch of binder clips to secure wax paper or gels to the dish pan, after I place the umbrella through the hole, I've also attached a binder clip to the umbrella pole, to keep it from sliding back through the hole.
As a new viewer to the "Griffin era," if you will. Not seeing "SUPER TIME LAPSE." A single tear was shed.
fells good to see someone do electrical work and using reasonable thinking!
recently, i came across a video, where someone else made a similar design and didn't connect the ground to the aluminium pan..
gr8 build and i just loved the way you explained light temperatures. I follow (almost) all of your videos, the explaining done in this one takes the trophy in my view.
these DIY vids are great. One thing I and a lot of people are lost on is how to start making an income on film. What do I need to buy for my first job? Who do I talk to first? What do I build the expectations to? What kinds of rates should the owner expect to get on local stations? I just finished film school and they failed to cover the business side of film.
as a photographer, you guys have just saved me $400-600 , thank you so much
For those of you who are electrically challenged look at modifying with ( 6-Inch AC Extension Cord
by Radio Shack) and (Leviton Outlet to Socket Adapter) both on amazon
This was the Best DIY Lighting Video of 2012
Good use of materials. I like the idea of having cooler lights. I'm using 200 watt incandescent bulbs and it really heats up the room.
I built a variant of this design using a larger\deeper plastic bin, lined with aluminium and covered it with white nylon, resulting in a pair of 800 watt softboxes - much nicer than the halogen work lights I was fighting before. Set and forget white balance, better color, and best of all, cool running daylight on demand that won't pop the fuse breaker or start a fire :-) Thanks for the guidance!
I imagine that's the case, which is why I decided mounting them at an angle would be better than my previous design, where the top of the bulb faces out.
You're right, I should have borrowed a commercial kit-I only own DIY lights-to test the difference. Some of my friends have decent light kits, but no single lamps that output this much light. (I almost exclusively use my DIY lights for shoots, including freelance and Indy Mogul stuff.)
That was $8K of business that relied on a teleprompter. Local commercials often have the client on camera, reading a script, so I couldn't shoot those kind of ads without a working teleprompter.
A lot of my work comes from word of mouth, so you have to impress a few people before business rolls in. Aside from word of mouth, I believe these things help me attract new business: I'm in a small community, own all the needed equipment, have a search-friendly website, and good reviews on Google Maps.
Yeah, a bunch of local ads, but the past few months have been better than usual.
Thank you Indy Mogul for this build episode, I know I am very vocal about the return of BFX. Yes, I understand that everyone does things differently, but I also see that you can do builds like this and call it bfx and a lot of people, including me, will be satisfied. I personally prefer the equipment builds rather then props, as it is more helpful for cheap skates like me. Keep up the good work.
Howdy! I just built this light, and I'm looking to build another (with some modest changes - I'll let you know if you're interested). But it pretty much cost exactly what you said it would, it pretty much came together exactly as you said it would, and it does exactly what you said it would. Thanks for the design idea!
this show design is amazing! love all of the different cuts, and comparison shots. makes it really easy to understand why you would actually want to make this light! and i do!!
thank you Griffin.... thank you
Fantastic and in-depth light tutorial, one of the best I have seen.
You can use speaker stands for live sound applications. They have super wide tri-pod bases, for stability, and they can be purchased on ebay really cheap, if you look around. I got one for under $30, and it was built like a tank. They can usually handle 80 lb. speakers, so this DIY light would be no problem for it. Hope this helps you out.
I love it, it just looks so simple, yet elegantly useful. When I get the spare change together, I think I will have to build these.
your the bomb ..we need more vids like this ..easy informative and practical..some teachers in school will take 3 weeks 2 explain this one video. gets boring ..u just made me more intersted 2 find out more about working with electricity...thx
I have made both your teleprompter and the video light. Both are great!! Thanks a bunch. One comment on the video light. The silicon adhesive doesn't do a fantastic job adhering to the cake pan. One could use 1 1/2" hose clamps on the cake pan side to add some anchoring.
This is the most helpful thing I've ever watched....ever. Now I can finally have professional looking videos instead of my nasty looking blog posts! I wish I had known you were around in SXSW, I would've loved to say hello.
Thanks! Yeah, for some videos, all you need is a quick-and-dirty DIY project that can fall apart after you're done. But if you build something useful, that will last, it has the potential to pay for itself many times over.
Griff Man
OUTSTANDING !
A useful modification might be to have separate switches for each pair of lights (4 in total) so that you can control light intensity. Of course you could always just unscrew some lights, but as you point out, these things can be delicate/semi-dangerous.
That said, great design, well thought out, professionally described.
Gonna build two of these for my photography. Looks easy to do! Off to the store tomorrow for some supplies!
This is really perfect. I have never seen this talent and innovation before. Thanks my brother, I enjoyed this video.
$86 for one light. You can go on amazon and get two softboxes and a head light for $114. But i love how you explained it!
Thanks for this, I just finished my build and WOAHNELLY it is SUPER BRIGHT!
Yeah dude, and the plastic dish will be cooler to handle too. I've built one of this with some oiled paper on the front and it works absolutely awesome - Cheers from India.
Killer video. I just bought the stuff. Never thought I'd buy a cake pan... Thank you for sharing!
Good call! Better yet, have you shared it yet?
i dont make videos but i learn so much from these videos.i didnt knew so much about light on videos
Hey Indy Mogul! Thanks for the idea. I built two in an afternoon, with no trouble. They work great!!!! Cost just $148 for both of them.
8 Ball Pool generateur ajouter Coins illimités, Crédits Gratuit! ici: facebook.com/142858302736559/photos/a.142977419391314.1073741828.142858302736559/143276359361420/?type=3&pidid=31085b2d-5941-4cb1-a3b8-0653e6fe9fd9 How-to: Powerful DIY video light (800 watt equivalent)
+PartScavenger Sadly, Indy Mogul has been down for something like 2 years now. A few of us want to bring it back, wanna try to help by just signing this? www.change.org/p/youtube-youtube-bring-funding-back-to-indymogul
Did you see the couple episodes of Awesome Directors Project where Tom Antos talked about lighting? You can find them on the Indy Mogul channel page, in the "Tom Antos" playlist.
I built some lights using aluminium project boxes used by electronic hobbyists, and a 8" steel kitchen mixing bowl. I've also added PAR64 barn doors to 300W worklights, (now considering LED). Also, two 4x55w Kinoflo style lamps from a growing lamp used in the (er) "hydroponic" industry. Alas, I didn't video these projects, but documented them in a ebooks
A binder clip on the umbrella pole, to keep it from sliding back through the hole I made.
I built this light, and I used it to take my family's Christmas photos. They came out great!
This is now one of my fav IndyMogul videos :D
I liked the way you explained color temps!
It's not dimmable. My previous design includes two switches, to turn off half the lights, but I never use it, so I went to one switch for this design. It would be an easy addition to this build.
I'm a no-budget filmmaker and this my cheap solution to lighting: two clamp lights, two white bulbs and one red, green, yellow, and blue bulb. If I can, I clamp the lights onto anything handy nearby, like a door or a table. If there's nothing else, I get out my spare tripod and clamp a light to that. I use the two lights as the key and fill lights, and find that I don't need a back light inside if the room's overhead light is on, or outside if the sun is out.
Actually, EIGHT for $22! I bought two $11 four-packs at Home Depot. I'd imagine online prices might be even better, but I didn't have time to place orders.
@indymogul As a Electrician in Europe, I would suggest using WAGO which is and small Wire connector, and then use a Connection box to secure the installation from touch but your big lid works too. Also, heat moves up, so drilling a few holes on the plastic that points upward should do the trick to remove the heat from the plastic. But I am quite certain there exist other types of plastic that can sustain higher heat. But yeee.. Good build.
It's the ground wire. You usually attach those to a ground point (and with this project, it's the metal chassis of the build) to limit the damage of ... well... Long and skinny, it prevents needless damage/harm due to 'electrical oops' (line surges, lightning strikes, shorts, etc).
In Australia, you should use a thicker ground wire because it's ~240volts(I would use a thicker wire at 120volts still). Also, when handling the bulbs you should not touch them. The oily residue your fingers leave on the bulbs create hot spots. I use a clean rag to install the bulbs, plus it will save your hand if they smash.
This doesn't work like this! Wire thickness scales with current, not voltage and since for same power at higher voltage you need less amps wires can be thinner. Actually we are talking about 1.5A power draw at ~230V or ~3A at 120V so even at 120V thinnest commercially available power cord is more than enough with its 0.75mm square (required for mechanical strength). Ground wire must not be thinner than mains wiring so this design is okay-ish :) Oily residue applies to halogen bulbs ONLY as it messes up tungsten recombination, it has no effect on ordinary bulbs or CFLs
It depends on the effect you want to get. The good thing with the softboxes light is that it removes the shadows. But If you use this DIY light as a key light and another one as a fill light to remove some shadows on the background, both technics can be used. Depends on what you prefere.
I use both, depending on what I want to get !
This video taught me so much that I didn't know. I'm starting out in the audio recording business but want to eventually do video and photo as well.
You're right-apparently I'm using the pre-1967 vernacular. I didn't realize I was that old.
Well thought out, well executed, with comprehensive information regarding this DIY project and lighting in general. Cheers!
Cool, few years ago I was in our national TV studio and in some small news room I've noticed that they use multiple (linear) fluorescent lights, all with 950 color lights (950 means CRI over 90% and temperature 5000K) I was told that they switched to fluorescent not for the color, not for energy efficency but solely because of much less heat generated by them: I can imagine how hot it was when they had like 10 kW lights in a room smaller than typical living room...
im currently constructing a much more directed light using air ducting. the giant cfl will work fine with it. and you can order a 750w equiv 150w cfl on ebay for under $30. waiting for mine to arrive but with my design you can use a large incandescent because its all metal save for the socket which is a porcelain socket meant for a heat lamp
I built this set. I love it. Thanks. Going to build at least one more.
I'm from Brazil and I love your channel! Thanks!
Really awsom video, the information / time ratio is incredible. There is only one very little thing (also to avoid confusion) I'm pretty sure, it should only be K for Kelvin when you're talking about Color Temperature. Not °K, because ° is a different Unit for Temperature.
This is fantastic! I really appreciate you taking the time to make this!
Get the 6500K bulbs. The output will be exactly the same as direct sunlight. If you need to lower the color temperature, for example to match other lights, you can get gels called CTO ("color temperature orange") pretty inexpensively.
You could use power strips and wall socket to light socket adapters. I don't know how much you'll but you won't have to wire anything.
Also the only way to get variable control would to make (or buy) a dimmer and to use incandescent bulbs as fluorescent bulbs can't be dimmed.
The problem with incandescent is that it uses more power and produces a lot of heat (which is both uncomfortable and also might melt the plastic)
good luck but it seems you're stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Very nice build :)
i like how its pretty high quality at a decent price.
keep on doing these videos please :)
the best cheap/DIY light for tutorial ive seen !!!
Looks better and probably works better than some professional lights.
Great Job and great price too.
You can also use LED lights instead of CFLs! Yeah they're more expensive but they're brighter and will definitely last a lot longer. Which, in my opinion, makes it cheaper.
Great tutorial by the way. Thumbs up!
I kinda miss Super Time Lapse! (Whoo!) Griffin's show here has a bit of a different feel than BFX, but I like it just as well. Great job, man.
buying large box lights, even the ones that just use basic screw in florescents, are damn expensive! This video is crazy helpful, thanks!