Light Fantastic #001

Thorsten Kosellek ICLS John ‘Biggles’ Higgins ICLS Matt Ardine ICLS

Florian Kronenberger ICLS

Carolina Schmidtholstein ICLS

Jeff Webster ICLS

LIGHT FANTASTIC

Rascals Publishing & Media Ltd!

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Editor-in-Chief RON PRINCE

Special Consultant ALAN LOWNE

Editorial Assistant KIRSTY HAZLEWOOD

Editorial Contributors

RON PRINCE, DAVID WOOD & DYLAN BRUCE

Advertising Manager CLAIRE SAUNDERS

Art Direction & Creative Kinda Stuff

JAM CREATIVE STUDIOS

adam@jamcreativestudios.com

tim@jamcreativestudios.com

IT’S YOUR TIME TO SHINE!

The ability to tell stories using light, shadow and shade is an artform as old as art itself. And now the spotlight’s on you!

Welcome to Light Fantastic, a brand-new magazine, where for the very first time, the vibrant community of people involved in lighting for screened entertainment – including gaffers, rigging gaffers, lighting console programmers, vendors and rental houses – have the chance to really shine and show their talents.

This is your magazine, championing the art of lighting, designed to help with the creative, technical, practical and educational aspects of the job, as well as the serious business of health and safety on-set, whilst encouraging a more diverse and inclusive workplace.

We’re incredibly proud to support the ICLS, its many individual and corporate members, both as an official media partner of the society and through the pages of Light Fantastic. Thank you to everyone around the world who has made this publication possible.

In our inaugural edition, we take a look at how the ICLS came into being, its key members, aims and ambitions, along with features about leading gaffers, a peek inside a major rental house, and lots of equipment news.

We want you to be the very best you can be, at whatever role you play in bringing stories to life using light. So please sign-up. Please get in touch. Keep letting us know about the interesting, exciting and innovative work you are doing, and we’ll do our very best to give you the credit and the coverage you deserve.

Happy lighting. Stay safe, and we’ll see you again soon.

Sign-up at www.lightfantastic.world now

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Cover Image: BTS photo from a location on Tár gaffer Florian Kronenberger ICLS, DP Florian Hoffmeister BSC.

Light Fantastic is a Rascals Publishing & Media Ltd publication, made in partnership with the International Cinema Lighting Society (ICLS) (www.iclsociety.com). We also publish Cinematography World magazine (www.cinematography.world).

Rascals

Ron Prince Editor in Chief

ICLS has opened a door for candid communication with some of the best technicians working at the highest levels in the industry

Gary Wilkins, Lighting Programmer, NYC, IA52

CREAMSOURCE ANNOUNCES FLASHBANDIT FOR VORTEX

Lighting

manufacturer Creamsource has added to its portfolio of accessories with the Flashbandit, a solution for synchronising and triggering Creamsource lights with a wide range of sources including a video signal, external sync generators and cameras.

Whether you’re a gaffer, board op or SFX tech, the Flashbandit is an essential tool for achieving advanced lighting effects without banding or frame tearing. The Flashbandit connects directly to the accessory port of your Creamsource light and is directly compatible with: Micro Bender, Micro Colour, Vortex4, Vortex8 and SpaceX.

The original Flashbandit (CS-SYNC) offers direct compatibility with the company’s Doppio, Mini and Sky fixtures.

PANALUX ALLEGRA LED RANGE PROVIDES ENHANCED VERSATILITY AND COLOUR ACCURACY

Panalux recently announced the Panalux Allegra family of LED heads and controllers. Available in full-colour and bi-colour versions, plus a range of form factors, Panalux Allegra LED heads offer lightweight construction and a slim profile for easy rigging, especially in tight quarters and hard-toreach applications.

Available in 2:1, 2:2, 4:1 and 4:2 form factors, full-colour Panalux Allegra C LED heads incorporate a new proprietary light engine that produces a broad-spectrum wide CCT range of 1600K to 20000K, enabling extremely fine colour-rendering across a gamut 77% wider than Rec 709. Panalux Allegra C’s eight-chip set includes five phosphors and three narrowband RGB chips, improving skin-tone rendering, enabling gamut presets for Rec 709, Rec 2020

and ESTA 1.54, and allowing for a wide range of LEE Filters gel emulations with a broad spectral breadth or high level of saturation.

Bi-colour Panalux Allegra LED heads offer tunable white-light output from 2700K to 6500K. The fixtures’ LED chip set delivers a consistent, broad and even spectrum with the highest level of accuracy, ensuring precise colour-temperature control and natural skin-tone rendering. The bi-colour heads are available in 2:2, 4:1 and 4:2 form factors.

Full-colour Panalux Allegra C and bi-colour Panalux Allegra heads operate in conjunction with the Panalux Allegra C DMX LED Control and Panalux Allegra DMX LED Control, respectively. Each control unit features an on-board power supply and a simple, intuitive, fully-featured user interface with the same menu structure that was developed for the Panalux

Sonara range, providing familiarity and ease of use, with all essential information on the screen at all times. Powered by universal AC or DC from 19-36V, each unit can control a number of head combinations via local control on the unit, wired DMX, or wireless DMX using the LumenRadio protocol. All Panalux Allegra LED heads feature a wide 120° beam angle, high CRI, TLCI and SSI, 0-100% dimming, flicker-free performance tested to 5,000fps, and minimal power draw.

Panalux has further expanded its rental inventory with additions including Ayrton Domino Profile moving heads, motorised Litemovers, which enable precise remote positioning of motion-picture lights, and two 45kW Stage V 4x4 generators. The entire Panalux fleet of trucks and generators runs on HVO fuel, significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

A Full Spectrum For Luminous Skin Tones

The unique, phosphor-converted MIX® LEDs produce more of the wavelengths found in human skin tones.

Rosco’s Patented MIX® Technology

Six LEDs – Phosphor-Converted Red, Green, Blue, Phosphor-Converted Lime, Phosphor-Converted Amber, and a 4000K White – combine to produce a superior white light

The perfect output for the perfect close up.

Spectral output of the Amber MIX® LED

3200K created with MIX® Technology

DMG MAXI, DMG SL1, DMG DASH, DMG MINI

APUTURE RELEASES INFINIBAR AND MC PRO

Up-and-coming

lighting manufacturer, Aputure, has recently added two new products to its expanding portfolio with the Infinibar and MC Pro.

The Infinibar, which garnered a lot of attention at the 2023 BSC Expo, is the company’s first RGBWW full-colour LED pixel bar. Offered in 1ft, 2ft, and 4ft lengths (PB3, PB6 and PB12, respectively), each Infinibar features a pixel density of 24 pixels per foot. The PB3 clocks in at 24 pixels, the PB6 follows with 48 pixels, and the PB12 features 96 pixels. Infinibars contain an RGBWW LED chipset, which enables XY, advanced HSI and white-point control between 2000K and 10,000K, as well as a CRI of 96.

With the Infinibar’s infinite blending design, ultra-smooth Pixel FX, and variety of ten different splicing connectors, these fixtures unlock new possibilities for lighting design, both on and

off-camera. Infinibars complement professional on-set workflows with their built-in batteries and advanced connectivity options, including Sidus Link, built-in LumenRadio CRMX and wired DMX via USB-C. With seven pre-programmed Pixel FX and nine System FX, and the new Sidus Link Magic Infinity FX, these innovative lights represent a new way of designing with light, and challenge norms and convention with unique solutions, for a world of colourful possibilities.

The new MC Pro is Aputure’s new and upgraded 5W RGBWW LED mini panel light, available in single and 8-Light Kit configurations. Based on the original MC, the MC Pro has the same compact, credit card form factor, while packing-in a comprehensive suite of professional functionalities, and four times the brightness. MC Pro matches the same RGBWW chipset found in other full-colour fixtures, with a colour

temperature range from 2,000K -10,000K. The MC Pro also maintains Aputure’s benchmark for high quality colour reproduction with CRI/ TLCI scores of 96+, a SSI (D56) of 72, and SSI (Tungsten) of 82. MC Pro has an IP65 dust and water-ingress rating, and with built-in magnets and LumenRadio CRMX, it is a fixture that can be placed and operated virtually anywhere.

ROSCO ANNOUNCES DMG DASH OCTA KIT FOR FILMMAKERS AND RENTAL HOUSES

Rosco

has announced the release of its new DMG Dash Octa Kit – a nifty set of pocket LED lights for filmmakers and rental houses.

The DMG Dash Octa Kit includes eight DMG Dash CRMX fixtures and eight sets of accessories inside a compact and durable, rolling charging case. The Octa Case allows filmmakers to easily charge up to eight DMG Dash fixtures at once, while custom foam inserts enable quick inventory of all its components.

DMG Dash is the smallest member of Rosco’s DMG Lighting range and features the company’s patented, six-chip Mix technology. Its compact design provides high-quality light output and precise colour control from a durable, handheld light fixture.

The DMG Dash fixtures inside the Octa Kit feature wireless DMX via LumenRadio to provide CRMX and W-DMX control with RDM capability. The fixtures can also be controlled via their onboard controls or wirelessly via Bluetooth using Rosco’s free myMix mobile app (available for both iOS and Android).

The Octa Kit includes eight full sets of beam-

shaping accessories, including Flat Diffusers, Dome Diffusers and Eggcrates. There are eight light stand mounts and eight magnet mounts inside the kit to deploy the fixtures individually, and two DMG Dash Link4 accessories that can connect four fixtures together.

During Cine Gear Expo 2023 in LA, Rosco showcased the all-new DMG Lion LED Fresnel. This powerful, 13-inch, 1,500-watt fixture is the newest member of Rosco’s DMG Lighting range of fixtures that replicates the look and feel of the illumination generated by the classic tungsten Fresnel, but with the versatility LED technology provides.

Featuring two easily interchangeable chipsets that can be swapped out, they provide the option for either Rosco’s patented Mix technology for full spectrum output, or bi-colour

LED engine that produces maximum intensity with a CT range of 2700 – 6500K. The 13-inch Fresnel lens produces a powerful beam in a rugged, outdoor-rated housing that can perform in all weather conditions.

COLOUR SCIENCE

With its innovative light engine, Panalux Sonara produces a broad, even spectrum of variable white light at a high CRI, TLCI, and SSI, from 1600K-20,000K. Render natural skin tones, tune across an array of pastel hues, and accurately emulate select LEE lighting gels.

CONTROL

Panalux Sonara provides the highest level of creative control with adjustable CCT, HSI, Gel, and x,y coordinate modes. Connect via DMX, LumenRadio CRMX, or EtherCON, or take command with the removable, ergonomic controller with custom UI.

Available in 4:4, 3:2, and 4:1 form factors, Panalux Sonara offers a low weight, slim profile, and integrated ballast. Refine the fixtures’ wraparound output via softbox, diffusion, or eggcrate, and rig how you like with comprehensive mounting options.

ASTERA LAUNCHES LED-BASED FRESNEL RANGE

Astera

has introduced a new Fresnel series of lights; the compact PlutoFresnel and the larger LeoFresnel. These two offerings serve to plug a significant gap in the market: namely, the current dearth of effective LED-based Fresnel lighting. By developing LED lights specifically for integration with a Fresnel lens, Astera aims to provide all of the benefits of LED – including lower power draw, higher output strength, precise colour control, lightweight profile and full installation/ application flexibility – whilst still providing lighting technicians with the specific creative qualities associated with Fresnel lighting, particularly in relation to portrait work and the replication of daylight settings.

The Astera LED Fresnel range aims to provide exceptional quality and power in the lighting it delivers. The PlutoFresnel achieves the equivalent of a 300W Tungsten Fresnel while drawing only

80W, whilst the LeoFresnel achieves an equivalent output of 1000W, using only 250W. Both lights are able to maintain a Beam Angle between 15° and 60° with no colour fringing, meaning that the lights can be used flexibly in a range of creative contexts – from on-stage lighting to film and documentary work. The Fresnel lens can also be removed, allowing the LED base to be used in a range of even more diverse applications.

In addition, the Astera Fresnel range – like its wider range of LED lights – is driven by the Titan LED engine, which allows for Fresnel lighting in a full range of colours, and ensures colour fidelity and lighting consistency – all controlled using either the AsteraApp (with Bluetooth Bridge), CRMX Wireless DMX, or wired DMX controls. This means the lighting can be integrated seamlessly into the user’s preferred workflow.

The unyoked weight of the Pluto and Leo are 4.5kg and 14kg respectively, allowing them to be easily transported and installed in contexts

that would be more challenging for conventional Tungsten Fresnels.

DOPCHOICE LAUNCHES RABBIT-ROUNDER FOR ASTERA & SNAPBOX FOR FLAT PANELS

DoPchoice

is ready for Astera’s new gamechanger, the LeoFresnel. Thanks to an adapter included in the box with each LeoFresnel fixture, there’s instant compatibility with DoPchoice’s Rabbit-Rounder which mounts the range of Snapbag lighting control solutions. Rabbit-Rounder is a ‘one-system-fits-all’ answer to mounting DoPchoice softboxes across a range of lights. The rugged design opens a world of lighting possibilities by using the rectangular Snapbag Medium, 3-foot Octa 3 and Medium 50mm Lantern. Each features metallic interior fabric for the most efficient output. Octas and Rectangulars come with Magic Cloth. For added directional control Snapgrids may be quickly hooked on the front. For the Lantern, the line offers a customised, removable skirt with two

zip-up sides to cut spillage and shape output. The Rabbit-Rounder system is designed to accommodate most popular Bowens-mount type lights including Nanlux NL-Mount and Q-series Fiilex fixtures. The LeoFresel twist-locks snugly into place on the Rabbit-Rounder to easily slip onto the front of the fixture.

DoPchoice recently revealed a new universal Snapbox designed to fit a variety of flat panel lights from Kinoflo, Litegear and Exalux. As flat panel lights become increasingly integrated into production, the need has grown for more light shaping tools to fit them. DoPchoice’s solution is a custom-designed Snapbox. With a rectangular design, it opens and deploys in seconds to create a smooth diffusion box that mounts over the flat light panel’s frame. It attaches swiftly thanks to the fixture’s hook and loop fastening to

offer light softening and diffusion options without slowing down the pace of production.

DoPchoice’s patented self-tightening Snap Technology allows for quick deployment into the Snapbox’s rectangular shape. An included Half Grid or Magic Cloth diffusion stretches across the face, fastening in place via hook and loop. When it’s time to put the accessory away, it unobtrusively folds down to fit in a convenient black carrybag.

A single Snapbox is compatible with a multitude of flat panel light fixtures including new Kinoflo Freestyle Air, Air Mini and Air Maxi, Litegear LiteMat1, 2L and 4, and Exalus Ledzep 1x4 and 2x4 panels.

MBSE UNLEASHES VULCAN PAR AND SUBMERSIBLE AQUABAT LED BATTEN

MBS

Equipment Co has taken the wrappers off the high-output Vulcan Par 18 and fullysubmersible AquaBat modular LED fixture, both developed by in-house creative think-tank MBSi. (MBS Group has supported events hosted by ICLS, and is expected to become a corporate member of the society soon.)

The Vulcan Par 18 is a versatile, automated, high-output luminaire. Offering full operational control over output and direction, this ultra-bright daylight lamphead combines exceptional levels of illumination, with convenient control over focus, pan and tilt.

It is designed for use with any suitablyapproved crane mount, truss build or scaffold installation, and delivers precise, directional illumination, controllable through 270°, with 4-leaf rotatable barndoor. Created around a faceted Par 18kW head, the Vulcan’s powerful daylight output and detailed, focusable beam deliver smooth, evenly-distributed light.

Exceptional performance combined with a robust, custom designed housing, which provides excellent resistance to the elements, makes the Vulcan an ideal shooting partner for all manner of applications, particularly when used to illuminate large scale locationbased productions.

The forthcoming AquaBat is an IP68rated, modular LED batten system that is both powerful and environmentally considerate.

Available in a choice of 4ft/1200mm or 8ft/2400mm lengths, this fully-dimmable, solid state, full-colour LED batten perfectly blends simple, effective operation with safe, versatile performance.

Featuring custom-designed LED technology, these low-energy, power efficient battens offer extensive control over almost every aspect of output. Fully-submersible to 10m, dimmable from 0-100% and with over 17million colour combinations, AquaBat battens offer a wealth of artistic opportunity. They can be used to deliver powerful and even softlight or as a highly effective creative illumination tool via an almost extensive selection of sequences and effects.

Robust, lightweight and tough, AquaBat can withstand harsh exterior conditions for extended periods, saving crews valuable rigging time, whilst also helping build a safer working environment. Exclusive to MBSi, AquaBat can be easily rigged to create elaborate installations, configured to an almost infinite choice size and shape.

LITEGEAR REFRESHES LITEMAT SPECTRUM LED AND DIMMER RANGES

LiteGear

is known for its high-end LiteMat LED lights and at NAB 2023 the company announced LiteMat Spectrum 2023, a new generation of fixtures featuring improved electronics, new sizes and improved low-end dimming.

The LiteMats Spectrum 2023 are still available in the familiar sizes – Spectrum 1, Spectrum 2, Spectrum 2L, Spectrum 3 and Spectrum 4 – but are joined by the Spectrum 8 (40x40inches / 1015.5x1015.5mm).

The expanded line-up of refreshed and re-engineered LiteMats, powered by Spectrum technology, offer improved dimming performance, powerful companion dimmers, up to 8 pixel-mappable large-format pixels, and buttery-smooth low-end dimming.

The LiteDimmer Spectrum AC/ DC 200 and 400 are part of a new class of dimmer packed with new features, an ergonomic design, and ultra-compact form factor. Complete with local control and industry-leading communication protocols, the AC/DC 200 and 400 can control multiple large-format pixels, making pixel mapping of the LiteMat Spectrum easier than ever.

The LiteDimmer Spectrum AC600 is made specifically with the company’s Auroris overhead light source in mind. Complete with local control and new communication protocols, this dimmer can control 12 large format pixels. Designed with advanced processing power, integrated Ethernet switch, expanded memory and a faster processor, this new hardware allows for Ethernetbased communication protocols such as Art-Net and sACN, advanced colour control, and cutting-edge software features. An integrated USB-A port allows for easy software updates. Spectrum OS 3.0 brings a host of new DMX personalities and features to the LiteDimmer

Spectrum line of products. A unique Video DMX personality makes it easy to control LiteGear Spectrum products in an imagebased lighting environment. DMX smoothing, load-in pre-sets, and updated DMX personalities bring control of Spectrum products to the next level. In addition to DMX improvements, Spectrum OS 3.0 adds more functionality to the USB port with the ability to save service logs, export & import a dimmer settings file, and quickly format a USB stick for updating additional LiteDimmers.

PLUTOFRESNEL: 80 W equivalent to 300 W Tungsten

BUILT-IN BATTERY: 3h on MAX Brightness

LEOFRESNEL: 250 W equivalent to 1000 W Tungsten

BUILT-IN BATTERY: 2h on MAX Brightness

FRESNELS MADE PORTABLE.

Astera’s new Fresnels offer a 15° to 60° beam angle and superior colors, thanks to its Titan LED Engine. Both models contain a battery and feature numours mounting options, making them the most portable Fresnel option for film, studio and event lighting.

Backside display with TouchSlider

www.astera-led.com/plutofresnel www.astera-led.com/leofresnel

Projection lens with Zoom coming end of 2023

NANLUX LAUNCHES EVOKE 900C HIGHPOWER SPOTLIGHT

Nanlux

has released the Evoke 900C, a high-power, hard spotlight, equipped with RGBLAC colour mixing system that offers full-colour tunability. The company says the light was brought to the market by consistently communicating with and listening to professional creators, and brings new heights in colour rendition.

The Evoke 900C boasts 12,940 lux at 3m (at 5600K, with 45° reflector) of illumination at a rated output of 940W. The fixture delivers a high-quality even beam, with swift conversion of soft and hard light easily realised by attaching different modifiers. The fixture adopts the advanced RGBLAC six-colour mixing system — adding Lime, Amber and Cyan on the base RGB primary colours – and achieves high colour accuracy with CRI/TLCI both rated at 96. It allows for more colour options and rendering natural sunlight for the whole time of day.

Evoke 900C features G/M±200 tunability, allowing for not only precise G/M adjustment, but also accurate matching with any other light sources on the market. Stylised creation with more subtle film tones is a breeze. The light

provides ease in operation with all parameters and shifts visible on an upgraded 3.5 inch full-colour screen, whilst a buttons and knobs UI design makes tuning simple and straightforward. Furthermore, a wired control port is reserved for convenient control when rigged high above. When it comes to control, the light provides comprehensive wired and wireless control methods to offer flexibility for creators based upon the actual lighting scenarios, including DMX/RDM, Art-Net/sACN, LumenRadio CRMX and Nanlink App.

Apart from CCT mode, Evoke 900C incorporates more colour modes — Advanced HSI mode, RGBW mode, XY coordinates and GEL mode. Another DMX mode — RGB (no dimmer) has been developed exclusively for virtual production under DMX/RDM control, opening more channels for colour calibration to further expand the expression space of lighting.

The fixture also builds in 15 special effects to simulate lighting effects in real situations with all parameters adjustable via on-board control, Nanlink App and DMX/RDM controls for creative freedom.

ARRI ACQUIRES CLAYPAKY

ARRI

has completed the acquisition of Claypaky from AMS Osram. With this takeover, the film technology company gains one of the top lighting manufacturers in the entertainment and stage industry.

Founded in 1976 and based in Seriate (Bergamo, Northern Italy), Claypaky has a long and successful history featuring a large number of original and innovative products – such as moving body and moving mirror projectors, colour-changers, followspots, projectors, and various lighting effects – many of which have won awards and been used on prestigious projects. The professional sectors using Claypaky light effects include theatre, television, live events, trade fairs, theme parks, shops, conference centres, and many more.

Established in 1917 and based in Munich, ARRI consists of camera systems, lighting and rental business units. The portfolio includes digital cameras, lenses, camera accessories, archive technologies, lampheads and lighting accessories, plus system solutions such as the design and engineering of complete broadcast and virtual production studios. ARRI has been developing and manufacturing professional lighting products, mainly focused on the motion picture and television industries since 1924,

and from 1953, all lighting products have been manufactured in Stephanskirchen, Southern Germany, only a few hundred kilometers away from Seriate.

In other news ARRI has launched Orbiter Projection Optics 25° and 35°. Combined with Orbiter’s ARRI Spectra light engine, the high-end optical system provides a state-of-theart LED profiler which is suited for theatres, cinematic applications, broadcast studios and live productions.

ARRI SkyPanels were used by gaffer Daniel Kafka for the multi-award-winning All Quiet On The Western Front, which earned four Oscars for Best International Feature, Cinematography, Production Design and Original Score.

“I love working with the SkyPanels S60 and especially S360,” says Kafka. “They are very flexible pieces of equipment. I used the S60

on-set as a key light through a magic cloth. It’s a softlight that replaces the book light. I also had a large softbox 12x12 m with 30 x S60 on the battlefield as a toplight and backlight for some shots. We used 3x S360 as the main light on each side of the battlefield.”

Photos courtesy of Daniel Kafka.

DMG LIGHTS USED IN LIGHTING SET-UPS FOR GANGS OF LONDON

UK-based

gaffer, Leopold Naessens, has worked on a variety of film productions, as well as a handful of virtual productions with Epic Games. On Sky Atlantic’s acclaimed Gangs Of London S2, he was harnessed the power and versatility of DMG Lights, where speed and flexibility were paramount.

Naessens joined as a gaffer on Gangs Of London mid-way through filming the second season, and had to adapt quickly to a production of rapidly changing schedules and location moves. He says he enjoys these types of challenges because it keeps him on his toes through the constant need to come-up with creative solutions.

One demanding aspect on this production was filming inside an LED volume where his team was tasked with shooting up to 12 scenes a day. They had a car rigged in the centre with driving plates surrounding it. For this scene, Naessens grabbed fixtures from the opposite ends of the DMG Lighting range: the compact DMG Dash and the powerful DMG Maxi.

He used four DMG Maxi Lights to highlight the entire length of the car on both sides, achieved by rigging two DMG Maxi Lights side-by-side with the two essentially creating one 8’ x 1’ light. He equipped the fixtures with a frame and softboxes to soften the light, allowing him to create a cloud effect to highlight the car. Attaching two DMG Maxi Lights together created

the ideal sized light because it was long enough to cover the entirety of the car, but without it being so long that he had to worry about light spilling over.

In order to light inside the car, Leo placed the DMG Dash equipped with a DOT Round Diffuser to provide an eye light for the actors.

“The DMG Dash is ideal for situations where there isn’t much room to place a light, but you still need a little something to add to the scene,” he says. “They are small and uncomplicated, and I was able to rig them to the dashboard or the headrest.”

In a scene set in a shisha lounge, slimprofile, ultra-bright DMG lights were used for different applications. Naessens riggedup a DMG SL1 through the doorframe into the lounge to replicate sunlight, plus a DMG Mini to act as an overhead practical light.

The star of the scene, however, was a DMG Dash, which Naessens placed into a small charcoal oven to replicate firelight. The diminutive fixture was installed alongside a couple of actual burning coals, which sold the effect so well that even the gaffer himself thought they had lit a real fire inside the oven and worried about his equipment. Although it was a small effect, having the charcoal glow was essential, because the scene required an actor to throw some of the hot coals (which weren’t hot) from around the DMG Dash into the

faces of their opponents during a fight.

Lastly, for a scene set inside a large container in a forest, the DP requested a large HMI for lighting the interior of the container. Naessens knew he could use his DMG Lights to deliver on the DP’s vision and save time. Whilst a crewmember was rigging the requested HMI, Naessens pulled-out his Triple DMG Maxi Lights that were already rigged together using the DMG Maxi Triple Yoke.

Naessens says he always keeps a Triple DMG Maxi rigged-up in his truck for this very reason. The sturdy but lightweight combination of three powerful DMG Maxi fixtures can provide more light in less time with less power than other traditional solutions.

In the time it took the crewmember to even begin assembling the HMI, Naessens was already showing the capabilities of the Triple DMG Maxi to the DP, who was impressed by the strength of the light when Naessens told him he only had it set at 12%.

Needless to say, they saved the HMI for another occasion and shot the scene with the Triple DMG Maxi, without the need for additional diffusion frames, larger stands or physical gels, and Naessens was able to devote more time to the director, his fellow crew members and the actors.

SUNBELT RENTALS HELPS PRODUCTIONS GO-GREENER FASTER

As part of its commitment to sustainability, Sunbelt Rentals Film and TV has become an Albertaccredited supplier and announced a new partnership with online software platform Skoon, which offers clean energy solutions and software tools to the film and TV, electricity grid and construction industries.

Albert is a not-for-profit environmental sustainability organisation that encourages those working in TV and film production to reduce their waste and carbon footprint. Like many sectors, media production carries a large carbon footprint, beyond the traditional environmental impacts such as travel, use of buildings and energy consumption.

Sunbelt Rentals was awarded Albert accreditation after successfully meeting sustainable supplier criteria, which included demonstrating sustainable solutions in live settings, such as providing sustainable power solutions for location services, supplying LED lighting solutions on-set for a popular streaming service, and supplying electric plant for hire to a studio complex.

The company has also have entered into a one-year partnership with Skoon to support customers in the construction, events and film and TV industries with a seamless booking system to access sustainable clean energy products.

This partnership will increase the ease of hiring battery storage units, hydrogen generators and solar array clean energy solutions and reduce their reliance on fossil fuels.

The Skoon software platform allows for customer-friendly reporting on energy usage and savings. Together, this partnership will assist the strategic goals of customers to transition to clean alternatives from diesel generators.

Geoff Fawkes, director of film and TV

commented, “Sunbelt Rentals is wholeheartedly committed to innovating change and protecting the planet. As a business we’ve developed our own ESG action plan – Our Planet. And, over the last 12 months, we’ve been supporting customers from various sectors to tackle and drive down their carbon emissions. We understand the challenges our customers face and are proud to be able help productions go-greener, faster.”

KINO FLO’S MIMIK IMAGE-BASED LIGHTING TILE FOR VIRTUAL SETS

Kinoflo

Mimik is an image-based video lighting tile that creates the utmost realism on-set, particularly full spectrum foreground lighting for virtual sets, with its ability to mirror content while instantly applying a higher tonal and colour rendering range. Its extended spectral bandwidth and cinematic colour fidelity are aimed at lighting talent and set elements in virtual production environments.

Successfully lighting foregrounds relative to backgrounds in a volume requires the level of illumination that Mimik has been engineered to deliver. LED screens traditionally output between 800 – 1,200 nits. By comparison, Mimik outputs 8,000 nits.

Mimik’s capabilities go beyond lighting the foreground by direct video feed while filling out the spectrum, with the ability to shoot as high as 960fps and offer as many as 32 Alpha channels at 30fps.

Driven by the Megapixel VR Helios LED processor, the Mimik 120 is a lighting fixture that delivers on-set flexibility for control through either the Helios processor or by assigning certain functionality to the lighting desk. This resolves jurisdictional issues in the filmmaking community between VFX and on set lighting teams.

Embodied in a lightweight carbon fibre frame (12.5kg for a 600x1200mm panel), Mimik adapts to on-set configurations with easy mobility and expands real-time and postproduction options with technology that enables latency-free synchronisation to an LED volume while affording lighting departments control over parameters such as dimming and positioning and colour control.

Mimik 120 incorporates Kino Flo’s patented Matchmaker technology that addresses the inherent challenges associated with lighting in LED volumes, translating an incoming RGB video signal into five individual emitters (warm white, cool white, red, green and blue) to generate synchronised, full spectrum foreground lighting for the utmost realism on-set.

FIILEX CHAMPIONS G3 COLOR SPOTLIGHT

This year Fiilex has been showing its new 90W G3 Color, an ellipsoidal spotlight constructed specifically for the motion picture industry. This new fixture, shown at the BSC Expo 2023, takes advantage of a ‘Dense Matrix’ light engine with advanced optics delivering uniform and clear projections. It also features a rotating yoke barrel for ease of use and precise lighting control. The compact kit comes with 19-degree and 36-degree barrels, gobo set and iris.

Dense Matrix is a signature technology by Fiilex which combines multiple spectrum LED chips tightly packed under a single glass optic. These light sources produce full multi-colour light that uniquely casts hard single shadows with no colour fringing or compromise. For example, this allows for a clean cut from the barndoors similar to the optical quality from a traditional light source. When combined with the custom-designed Fresnel optics the beam stays smooth and uniform all the way from flood to spot.

The G3 Color comes hot on the heels of last years flagship Fiilex Q10 Color, a powerful 900W LED Fresnel which is positioned as a modern-day 5K tungsten. As a Fresnel, this bright fixture allows high-quality colours to be called out quickly and delivered to the desired places. It is a cutting-edge product that helps productions move faster and more efficiently.

TEATRO GARCIA DE RESENDE CHOOSES ETC ARCLAMP

Portugal’s stunning Teatro Garcia de Resende was recently renovated and selected ETC lighting solutions including ArcLamp luminaires, ArcMesh Drivers and an Echo control system to upgrade the space. The theatre, which is recognised for its interior ‘Italian-style’ architectural beauty, was built in the 19th century and is a part of the European Route Of Historic Theatres: a route around Europe which distinguishes the most beautiful, historic theatres that represent European cultural heritage.

The theatre’s technical director, António Rebocho, was in search of LED lighting to replace the existing Tungsten lights in the building. He particularly wanted an LED solution which would not compromise the quality of the light or increase maintenance costs. After researching various options, he decided to go with ETC’s ArcLamp luminaires commenting that he had ‘never seen the room so beautiful – the new lights enhanced all the colours, especially

the red tones.’

ETC dealer, NAN Audiovisuals installed 108 ArcLamp lights with Fade to Warm feature technology into the Teatro Garcia de Resende. The LED luminaires provide quality light, smooth dimming and up to 90% energy savings.

In other news, ETC has sold millions of Source Four incandescent fixtures over the past 30 years. In many cases, these fixtures are still running strong in auditoriums, houses of worship and theatres. When it comes to upgrading from incandescent to LED, throwing out fixtures that remain in good working condition can be a difficult decision.

Using the Source 4WRD Color II you can now upcycle any existing ETC incandescent Source Four fixture to an RGBA LED fixture and use only a quarter of the power. This nondestructive retrofit maintains the majority of the Source Four incandescent fixture and reduces

overall waste.

Compared to the previous generation of Source 4WRD Color, the addition of a new snap-in reflector and the significantly brighter red emitter provide a notable intensity increase of 36% in warm whites and improved colour rendering performance. Rich, saturated colours, pastel hues, and cool toning blues, loved by lighting designers worldwide, also see remarkable improvements.

The Source 4WRD Color can also be a full spot profile, a full PAR or PARNel fixture.

LET THERE BE LIGHT

By David Wood

Whilst there wasn’t much to celebrate for the film and television industry during the global lockdown caused by the Covid pandemic, one huge positive was that it provided a launch-pad for the International Cinema Lighting Society (ICLS).

Founded by leading gaffers Michael Bauman, Rafael Sanchez and Martin Smith in 2020 as a networking forum for people working in the lighting industry, the ICLS has blossomed into a vibrant, international platform for hundreds of cinematic lighting professionals in more than 40 countries worldwide providing a supportive, technical, diverse and inclusive knowledgesharing community.

It all started when gaffers around the world discovered regular Saturday Zoom meet-ups were a great way to stay in touch, make new acquaintances and generally offer support to one another during the worldwide shut-down.

As Bauman, the society’s current president, recollects, those initial meet-ups helped to satisfy the need for connection and communication, which had in reality always existed, albeit latent and unrealised.

“Gaffers like talking to one another, but tend to be busy people and don’t really have time to meet-up with unless it’s at a trade show,” recalls Bauman. “Initially our meetings were pretty much all about, ‘How’s Covid?’ and ‘How are you doing?’. We soon came to realise that there was an amazing amount of enthusiasm, knowledge and kindred spirit out there, but no direct or easy way existed at that point to tap into all of that.”

Rafael Sanchez concurs, “The Saturday Zoom meetings we held during lockdown made us realise the power of sharing information. We learnt a lot from one another about Covid and operational protocols at the time, and when we eventually got back to work, we were all much better prepared than we would have been otherwise. It made me realise the sheer power of

a community where everybody is willing to share knowledge.”

“My first reaction to those initial Saturday Zoom meetings was that we should try to open things up a little bit,” recalls UK gaffer Martin Smith. “I thought that there’s a pool of top gaffers I know in Europe, and further afield globally, who would love to be part of this collective gathering. So I invited them to come along, spend time together and blow off a bit of steam.”

Bauman adds, “We could really see the strength of the community in different parts of the world, and a few technology vendors expressed an interest in taking part as well. So we decided to develop things by getting some topics together and formalise the group.”

The subsequent plan hatched by Bauman, Sanchez, and Smith was to create a ‘not-forprofit’ society, along the lines of the America Society Of Cinematographers (ASC) or the British Society Of Cinematographers (BSC), dedicated to the advancement of the craft of

film lighting, which would act as an informationsharing forum in crucial areas such as lighting techniques and technology. And thus, the International Cinema Lighting Society was born.

Bauman illuminates, “The need for a society of people involved in lighting has become all the more critical as the amount of new technology and its complexity has increased so rapidly. The simple fact is that the rate of change in lighting technology has been explosive, much more so than other areas of film, such as grips and cameras. Most of the gear we use now simply didn’t exist ten years ago.”

From the outset, a major aim of the ICLS was to help provide mentorship and create more formal pathways for people to get into the business. To date the route into the world of film lighting has remained pretty informal, focused around the development of personal relationships rather than formal qualifications, but the ICLS plans to develop a more structured, accredited entry-route into the profession, and details will be released in due course.

Promoting diversity, particularly getting more women into the world of gaffing, is another ambition, stresses Bauman. Bringing a wider range of discussions to the regular Saturday Zooms, which attract members en-masse, has been something that console operator/ programmer and ICLS board member, Erin Nelligan, has successfully brought to the party.

“Erin has really pushed a lot of the thinking –from Covid protocols and how you best manage a crew, to how to handle harassment on-set – things that not a lot of us were comfortable talking about,” declares Bauman. “She’s really helped widen the debates way beyond a focus on just lighting tech.”

Discord server

In addition to the ICLS’s popular Saturday Zoom meet-ups, one of the key attractions is the group’s thriving ‘discord server’, which acts as an effective global forum for film lighting issues.

“The discord server is the beating heart of the whole experience, and is a focus for the creation of a lot of great dialogue,” insists Bauman. “As the ICLS has grown, we now have lots of people in different countries across a variety of time zones, which can make it hard to link-up. But using the discord server people can ask questions, solve problems and gain really useful feedback on different lighting solutions and techniques.”

There’s a ‘Health Channel’ and a ‘Lighting Safety Channel’ too, where participants discuss well-being and safety issues. Plus, around the world, every continent has its own channel because we know regionalisation is important.

“The discord server also provides direct links to some of the major lighting vendors, so that we can communicate with them directly regarding questions about equipment. They have been very responsive and helpful, and it’s also proved to be a useful feedback channel from end-users working in the field.”

Corporate support

The ICLS offers different tiers of corporate membership for vendors and rental houses to engage and present their products and services to the ever-growing membership of gaffers, rigging gaffers and lighting console programmers – helping smaller companies to market a product or an app, to large-scale enterprises who can run their own discord channel.

Martin Smith concurs, “I learn something new every time I visit the discord channels, and it blows me away that there are so many people with so much information that’s useful. Now it’s the first place I go when I might need any help. It is amazing, I can get several answers about a particular challenge I might be facing within a few minutes. As a young gaffer it would have been great to have had access to information like this.”

Sanchez adds, “There are now well over 100 different channels already on the discord server and it’s growing continually. Channels include ‘Today’s Office’ – where gaffers post photos of what they are working on that day.

“Now that people have become so Zoomsavvy, manufacturers have been keen to come in and present to ICLS members,” says Bauman. “In just one two-hour session we can deep dive into products in much more detail than you would get during a five-minute presentation at a trade show. There is frequently follow-up dialogue for weeks afterwards and, if anybody couldn’t make the live presentation, it’s available to watch at another time.”

Martin Smith adds, “Another beauty is that vendors get to come straight to the end-user with their prototypes and share information that nobody else is privy to. As a trusted group, that includes some super-smart technicians, ICLS members can help out with

Our aim is to become a truly worldwide organisation

Jeff Webster ICLS: pictured on The Mandalorian (2019-23) gaffer/24 eps; Other credits include: The Book Of Bobba Fett (2021-22) gaffer/7 eps; Greenland (2020) chief lighting technician; Legion (2018) gaffer/11eps.

Photos by Melinda Sue Gordon and François Duhamel.

Songbirds And Snakes (2023) gaffer; Gunpowder Milkshake (2021) gaffer; Dunkirk (2017) chief lighting technician – Europe.

Carolina Schmidtholstein ICLS: pictured on-location on The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry (2023)

Credits: Firebrand (2023) gaffer; The Eternal Daughter (2022); See How They Run (2022) gaffer; We Are Lady Parts (2021) gaffer.

early-stage prototypes and help steer product development.”

In response to the demand for more information about lighting technology, the society ran its first virtual trade show in March 2022, with 100 gaffers logging-in to see presentations from a mix of vendors, including Creamsource, Rosco, DoPchoice, The Light Bridge and Blackout Lighting Console. (See the current full list of corporate sponsors at the back of this magazine). The attendance figures more than doubled for the third virtual trade show held in March 2023.

“The aim is to help bring-in knowledge from other areas which are becoming more relevant to the lighting department. It’s important for us to reach into underserved communities because a wider range of skills are required as technology in lighting changes,” explains Bauman.

The ICLS helps to share that knowledge. Recently it has held deep-dive presentations from gaffers such as Jeff Webster ICLS and the team from The Mandalorian on advances in virtual studio production, and Florian Kronenberger ICLS and his lighting on Tár, which earned six Oscar nominations in 2023, including one for its DP Florian Hoffmeister BSC. It has also hosted presentations from Creamsource about the Vortex lighting system, and also DP Steve Yedlin ASC’s famous colour science presentation.

Growing the society

Having not-for-profit status as a trade organisation is a big deal, as it means the society’s income from membership fees and vendor sponsorship is not subject to taxation, provided the money is only used to support the interests of the membership.

Frans Weterrings III ICLS: pictured on Don’t Look Up (2021), operating the new, at the time, CRLS reflector system.

Credits: Challengers (2023) gaffer; Free Guy (2021) gaffer; Little Women (2019) chief lighting technician; Okja (2017) gaffer; The Lost City Of Z (2016) gaffer.

In February 2023, the ICLS welcomed Ediola Pashollari on-board as executive director, to guide the ICLS into its next phase of growth. Her work builds on foundational work done by Bea Patten (who has left to pursue other career interests) to create a formal structure for the ICLS and its activities.

Along with overseeing the day-to-day running of the ICLS, it is Pashollari’s role to broaden individual and corporate memberships still further, develop additional learning programmes, widen the user-base and develop

Florian Kronenberger ICLS: pictured whilst lighting in Berlin, Germany. Credits: The Bastard (2023) gaffer; Tár (2022) gaffer; Corsage (2022) gaffer; The Conference (2022) gaffer.

the website with a searchable content database

“There is only so much time that working gaffers can dedicate to the society as they juggle ICLS commitments with a full-time career, and we needed someone with passion and energy to move things on and steer us forwards from the solid platform that Bea helped to create. With Ediola’s help the ICLS is coming on in leaps and bounds to become a truly worldwide organisation,” says Martin Smith.

Ediola Pashollari adds, “I want the ICLS to reach its true potential by having membership in countries worldwide, and becoming an international platform that can accommodate every individual in the lighting community. Working together we are capable of further developing and maintaining a space that

Barry Conroy ICLS: pictured with DP Ben Smithard BSC on The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017) gaffer.

Credits: The Pope’s Exorcist (2023) gaffer; Foundation (2021) gaffer/10 eps; The Green Knight (2021) gaffer; Dublin Murders (2019) gaffer/8eps; Stan & Ollie (2018) gaffer.

is dedicated to education, knowledge, networking and professional growth for the lighting community.”

Joining the ICLS

With the recent addition of Pashollari, the ICLS is now directed by a seven-strong board –LA-based gaffers Michael Bauman and Rafael Sanchez, the UK’s Martin Smith, and James McGuire from Ireland, plus console programmer Erin Nelligan from Vancouver, Canada, with LA-based rigging gaffer Adam Harrison as CFO. It has a finance committee, a corporate members committee, an education committee, a diversity equity and inclusion committee, and a membership committee vetting new entrants.

The ICLS already has several hundred full and associate members, with an observer category launching soon. To qualify for full membership, you need a track record; namely, being a gaffer, rigging gaffer or desk op/console programmer for eight years with a string of credits to show for it. The associate membership is open to less experienced gaffers and lighting technicians, plus related professions, such as post-house colourists or experts in projection.

“We are happy to welcome new people to the society to play a role into making it a great place to share and gain knowledge,” says Ediola Pashollari. “The ICLS is the only platform for cinematic lighting professionals to learn from each other and collectively grow both personally and professionally. The potential is amazing.”

For more information, please visit www.iclsociety.com

Most of the gear we use now simply didn’t exist ten years ago

Matt Ardine ICLS: pictured with the 2023 Best Motion Picture Oscar for Everything Everywhere All At Once. Recent credits: Everything Everywhere All At Once (2023) gaffer; Daisy Jones & The Six (2023) concert lighting designer/3 eps; Childish Gambino: This Is America (2018) gaffer.

Helmut Prein ICLS: pictured with DP Dan Laustsen DFF ASC on John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023) gaffer. Credits: The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of

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Selected Filmography (as gaffer/chief lighting technician):

Mickey 17 (2024)

Empire Of Light (2022)

1917 (2019)

Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017)

Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar

Children (2016)

Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014)

Gravity (2013)

Skyfall (2012) (electrical supervisor)

The Wolfman (2010)

Mamma Mia! (2008)

SHINING A LIGHT ON...

JOHN ‘BIGGLES’ HIGGINS ICLS

By David Wood

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street (2007)  Stardust (2007)

The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)

Children Of Men (2006)

Finding Neverland (2004)

Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone (2001)

Sleepy Hollow (1999)

Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

Air America (1990)

Personal Services (1987)

1984 (1984)

Fact File:

Age: 69

Born: Athlone, Republic of Ireland

First job:  Samuelson Group

Training: Electrical engineer

Early career: Shell UK

Lives: Kensington, London

Hobbies/ passions: “I like to travel, but home is definitely London. I love the city, its museums, galleries, cinemas and theatres.”

What does the ICLS mean to you?

I became a member of the ICLS during the Covid shutdown, when it was initially set-up. It’s a great organisation for people in lighting and has held some very interesting seminars/Q&As about colour, colour management/matching, DMX and radio control. When I’ve had any queries about equipment, I’ve had really helpful replies pretty quickly from forums on the discord server. I’m 100% behind training/accreditation initiatives that the ICLS is considering.

I look at new kit all the time

Big break: Roger Deakins CBE BSC ASC gave me my first big break as a gaffer on 1984. It was a big film with a couple of thousand extras and he was taking a big risk. I learned a lot and we are still friends nearly 40 years later!

What do you think he saw in you?

I don’t know, but I would say I did my research very thoroughly and brought all the options to him for how to light. That’s how it works in my book between the gaffer and the DP, it’s part of your responsibilities.

What do you look out for when hiring?

I get a lot of CVs from people wanting to come into the lighting department with degrees in filmmaking and photography. But, before they can aspire to go further, they need a very good practical grounding in electrical engineering.

GAFFERS CAFÉ•JOHN ‘BIGGLES’ HIGGINS ICLS

There are training schemes out there and they are getting better. But what really interests me is if I see somebody proactively doing electrical theory courses under their own steam. That’s a good start and is indicative of the determination of that person to get to know the craft. If I find people learning the ropes, working in the rental house, doing day release in college, who are prepared to do what it takes, that’s who I want.

What amazes me is there are a lot of more experienced people out there who really have no understanding of how to programme a basic bit of kit like an ARRI SkyPanel. I’ve asked some lighting technicians, and quick as a flash they come back with, “That’s not my job”. But I think you should be able to do the rudimentary programming of kit that’s in everyday use.

It’s very telling every time there’s a fault that the same people always answer the radio, while the also-rans melt into the darkness.

Latest project:

Mickey 17, an upcoming 2024 American sci-fi film written directed and co-produced by Boon Joon-ho with DP Darius Khondji AFC ASC. I spent six months with Darius last year on this. It was technically-challenging, but it all worked.

We filmed at Cardington Studios, in its huge 180ft-tall indoor space, a former airship hangar. I’ve worked there many times and there are no structures for rigging there, so it all has to be custom-built. We needed structural engineers and installed 90 20ft x 20ft lightboxes, with walkways and cable management, and the biggest cherry picker I’ve ever seen. We worked from August to February 2023, installed over 1,000 panels and 400 chain motors, four for each box.

The idea was to create a snowscape on another planet, which was actually made of hundreds of tons of Epsom salt. We controlled every lamp separately and didn’t have a fault in over 1,000 lamps up there.

Developments in LED:

There are a few misguided assumptions about LED lighting, like the idea that LED is

lightweight. When you are putting up a 20ft x 20ft Lightbox with 12 ARRI SkyPanels or 12 ProLights ECL panels in it, there’s nothing lightweight about that!

But there’s definitely progress. One issue with LED up until now is that there has not been a good hard source like a Fresnel. Then in 2020 a couple of the lighting suppliers mentioned a new light, the Fiilex Q5. This was the first LED light I’ve seen that had all the components of a Fresnel

Developing an inclusive workplace:

There are a lot more women getting into lighting now, which is fantastic as they are a great moderating influence. Lighting crews could be very toxic places in the past, but now it’s getting better as more women are coming forward. The toxic masculine bullshit that used to be there all the time has reduced measurably.

Best part of being a gaffer:

Every job I do I learn something. My motto is ‘No knowledge is a waste of time’. Everything you learn has to be an advantage to you at some point. It’s soul-destroying when people get to work on a big film and know exactly the same when they finish as when they started.

Core team:

lamp, and it has full colour mixing. I thought, “Right, all we need now is bigger ones!”. The company has since introduced the Q8 and Q10. I’ve bought two!

With innovation like this, I can’t think of many negative things to say about LED, given that it provides a lot of light, without giving off a lot of heat. Rental costs can be high, because the cap-ex costs are high, but there’s a point where in terms of their lower energy consumption the two lines of the graph coincide. It’s another step forward in LED matching Tungsten, but it’s a very hard light to totally replace. I like to think it can be entirely replaced because it’s a very inefficient.

Keeping up with progress:

I go to the BSC Expo and rental houses to look at new kit all the time. If you don’t go, you don’t discover the new technology out there and you limit your palette. I’ll take my desk op and rigging gaffer too if I can get them and we’ll put it all on camera where we can.

One of my mantras is: “Never refuse the opportunity to do a test!” Sometimes people baulk at the idea of bringing-in a camera and lighting crew on a Saturday to shoot a test, but it pays dividends, because if you set-up on the day of the shoot and something’s wrong it can be a very expensive problem to fix.

My best boy Kevin Edland worked with me on 1984 and he has been pretty constantly with me ever since. My rigging gaffer Wayne Leach has worked with me for a long time. I know their characters, what they’re capable of and their technical abilities. They have a sense of loyalty which is very important. They are always willing to go a bit further than somebody just there for a shift. After a while people can become complacent but there is no room for complacency in filmmaking – you have to stay on top of your game all the time.

Desk ops:

Two grades have become more important in filmmaking with the growth of digital tech. The first is the digital imaging technician (DIT) and second is the desk op. I’ve worked a lot with Argentinian desk op Galo Dominguez, whose knowledge is very, very good on the GrandMA lighting desk, which is an amazing tool in the right hands.

The famous moustache:

I’ve had my moustache since I was 17. Some have beards, some people have their heads shaved. I have a moustache!

Never refuse the opportunity to do a test!

Sleepy Hollow

Biggles with best boy Kevin Edland (l) and gaffer Steve Costello (r)

With DP Roger Deakins CBE BSC ASC and crew on Skyfall

Pictured in the cafe on Empire Of Light

Join ICLS and you will be part of a community of lighting professionals that reaches around the globe, allowing for networking opportunities, increased job awareness and crew connections when working abroad, amongst many other benefits. Meet the key officers and board members who have made this happen.

Mike Bauman ICLS –Co-founder & President

Credits as gaffer: Amsterdam (2022); The Tragedy Of Macbeth (2021); Le Mans ’66 (2019); Night Crawler (2014); Iron Man (2008)

“The ICLS is a uniquely precious resource for everyone involved in lighting, at a time when we have seen such tremendous changes in lighting technology. It offers the opportunity to be part of a global community that is generous in sharing knowledge, and it’s my hope that the society will encourage people from different backgrounds around the world to make careers in lighting.”

Rafael Sanchez ICLS –Co-founder & Director

Credits as gaffer: Black Adam (2022); Red Notice (2021); Jungle Cruise (2021); Ant Man And The Wasp (2018); Passengers (2016)

“When I was a young gaffer I would have loved to have been part of an organisation like the ICLS. My wish is that the society continues to grow, brings more diversity to our craft, and gives greater awareness to the contributions made by talented artists in the lighting world. Thank you for choosing or considering being a part of something bigger than us all. Together we are stronger and smarter than we are individually.”

Erin ‘Nelly’ Nelligan ICLS – Director

Credits as console operator/programmer: Saint X (2023); Alaska Daily (2022-23); Midnight Mass (2021); Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021); Julie And The Phantoms (2020); Altered Carbon (2018-20)

“I was invited to an ICLS meeting as a guest and was hooked from the start. Finding a group of people who aspired to join our disparate communities together, share their knowledge, experience and skill, and foster the next generation, while also working on themselves, was refreshing as hell. These folks aren’t from the ‘closed shop’ so many of us grew up with.”

James McGuire ICLS – Director

Credits as gaffer: Cocaine Bear (2023); Nightflyers (2018); The Guard (2011); Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix (2007); The Count Of Monte Cristo (2002)

“I would love to see the society grow internationally, and am keen that our membership reflects and encourages diversity and inclusivity globally in our industry – from those who are at the beginning of their career path as a trainee, to those who already have an established role in the business. In addition to corporate memberships, I am eager to see the rapidly evolving society become more open to associated areas – including camera/DIT and other relevant roles – that incorporate lighting.”

Adam Harrison ICLS – CFO

Credits as rigging gaffer/chief rigging technician: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022); Top Gun: Maverick (2022); Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021); Venom (2018); The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs (2018)

“My current role as treasurer/co-chair of the finance committee means the longterm financial health of the ICLS is a main focus. Thank you to our corporate members for your dedication to that spark which forwards the art of lighting. Your never-ending curiosity is the engine that keeps us exploring the endlessness of light itself. My message to aspiring members, and those just starting in the field of cinema lighting, is carry that spark, ask questions, and stay curious.”

Ediola Pashollari ICLS –Executive Director

Martin Smith ICLS –Co-founder & Director

Credits as gaffer: Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023); 6 Underground (2019); Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018); Transformers – The Last Knight (2017); 13 Hours (2016)

“Along with being a wonderfully creative job, working in lighting is also highly-technical. I am all for the ICLS developing initiatives and programmes that are focussed on education, training and competency, and the provision of proper, structured and accredited routes into the business. This will take time, but it will be fabulous for our industry.”

Based in New York, Ediola is the ICLS’s strategic and visionary executive director. She holds multiple masters degrees, across business administration, political science and entreprenology, has over 18 years of experience in non-profit organisation/ management, and was the first elected female secretary general of The World Assembly Of Youth (WAY).

“My role mainly entails overseeing and steering the best interests of the society and its members. I would love individual and corporate members to actively assist us in expanding the ICLS to reach its fullest potential. Together we can further develop and maintain a space that is dedicated to education, knowledge, networking and professional growth for the lighting community worldwide.”

Together we are stronger and smarter

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SHINING A LIGHT ON...

THORSTEN KOSELLEK ICLS

By Ron Prince

Selected Filmography (as gaffer/chief lighting technician):

Enzo Ferrari (2024)

Song For Marie (2023)

Bardo, False Chronicle Of A Handful Of Truths (2022)

Lisey’s Story (2021)

Hausen (2020)

Die Auferstehung (2019)

The Operative (2019)

Berlin, I Love You (2019) In The Aisles (2018)

My Brother Simple (2017)

Sanctuary (2015)

The Book Thief (2013)

Only Lovers Left Alive (2013) (electrician)

What does the ICLS mean to you?

The moment I had the chance to join this amazing society, with all my colleagues and friends worldwide, it was, and still is, an honour. The ICLS is the first worldwide society for people in lighting, bringing us closer together and opening-up a table to talk, to ask questions, to have interesting and informative events, all in parallel with big conventions and trade shows. We can get in contact with each other more easily, share ideas, plans and solutions amongst our community. Through the ICLS we are getting a voice.

Believe in yourself

When did you discover you wanted to be a gaffer?

On-set, whilst I was learning from the great gaffers with whom I was working as an electrician. I liked working as an electrician, but the wish to have more influence on the creative part of the job pushed me to become a gaffer.

I like working closely with each DP, talking about the script, imagining situations, figuringout the emotions for the different moments and locations in the story, and planning how to achieve it all with lighting.

Bardo, False Chronicle Of A Handful Of Truths (Courtesy of Netflix)

How did you get into lighting?

A twist of fate guided me to my first on-set experience and I fell in love with the idea of working on movies. The way into the lighting department was another twist of fate – a friend was stepping-up to become an electrician, so his position became free and I got that job!

Keeping up with new developments in lighting:

The speed of change and development is really fast. The ICLS is in close contact with the industry and we get a summary of each trade show, which is very helpful. If I am looking for more information, most of the manufactures have a contact link for us.

This year some very interesting, powerful lamps, like Fresnels, have come along, and I am looking forward to working with them. Overall, the quality of LED lighting is very good – it’s just in very low light level that it can be tricky. With an old-fashioned Tungsten light you know what you will get and it looks fabulous on the skin.

Future developments in lighting equipment:

I am keen to work with more robotics and moving lights. We can control everything from an iPad or a board, but to move a light we still have to bring in a ladder.

How important is it to be green/ environmentally-friendly?

That is a very good question. We can reduce the amount of power we might need just using LED lights. We can save on using plastic gels too using LEDs. I am trying to use more and more sustainable products to avoid polys.

If a production needs to be lit with Tungsten lights, you need bigger generators. But I am optimistic that the progress of new and better ways to create power, and to charge batteries, will continue and we will find solutions which will help towards sustainability.

Current favourite pieces of lighting equipment?

Vintage Charcoal fabrics – I love to block the sun and still have texture in the shadow.

What were the challenges on Bardo?

In the California Dancing Club scenes, the lighting needed to move and change with the passage of time and motion of the action. We installed thousands and thousands of lights in different areas of the venue to create pools of light, all linked back to GrandMA control console, where Lukas Hippe, my dimmer board operator, did the light mixing. The way the light changed and adjusted in tandem with the action was very impressive.

working in rental houses, or in companies which supply high-tech LED solutions for the set. The job is no longer just a tough muscle job, and me and my team are looking forward to more diversity in the future.

Advice for other people who want to work in lighting:

Do not stress yourself. Learn from the best and take your time, because there is a lot to discover and it is a job that comes with great responsibilities.

What are the key skills/talents you need to succeed as a gaffer?

Communication – with your team, the DP, the production department, the lighting vendors. Every job starts with a lot of chats, meetings and calls before you can dive into the creative part.

A more subtle example is the weather change in the intense kitchen scene at breakfast, between Silverio and his son Lorenzo, which was shot on-stage and mirrored the typical change that happens in Mexican weather from sunshine to rain. It starts as very sunny morning, but as they converse, the wind begins to blow, the light shifts a little, and the room gets colder and darker, before thunder and lightning come.

I used HMI’s for sun power, LED colour changes, a little backlight for the rain and the exposure in the kitchen. We collected Mole Beams from NYC, a Light-Technik Dark Vader mechanical dimmer shutter via ARRI Germany, and a precise metal flag shutter from my fantastic Mexican crew at Boxer Rigs & Grips. We worked on this set-up, with Mexican gaffer Andres Medina for two days before the shoot.

Keeping match-fit:

This job is my passion. I like to work, to travel and to make new friends around the world – that’s a big incentive every day!

Diversity in the lighting department:

If we all are open-minded and just living life with no homophobic, racist or patriarchal boundaries, then the moviemaking world will be a place for everybody with creative spirit. Everyday, more female electricians are

A creative mindset – you need to have the will and sense of fun to create a new world or visual style, so that you can help to achieve what is required from the technical side.

Being interested in art, film and fashion, etc.. Having an idea of the actual lighting styles used by the old masters or in epic movies is not mandatory, but it will help you find the visual language that the DP and director want to achieve.

Greatest achievement, so far?

Being part of the team that shot Bardo, False Chronicle Of A Handful Of Truths Working on this masterpiece was a special and interesting lifetime experience for me. And Darius Khondji AFC ASC was nominated for the 2023 Best Cinematography Oscar for this film.

The most important lesson your working life has taught you?

Believe in yourself. Do not fake it. Do it.

Your future career path? What’s next for you?

Each job comes with a fresh task and I learn something new every day. This year, the WGA strike is challenging the whole industry, and a lot of projects have been pushed or cancelled. So let’s see what will come next!

Through the ICLS we are getting a voice

ICLS CORPORATE MEMBERS

A.C. ENTERTAINMENT TECHNOLOGIES

A.C. Entertainment Technologies is one of the largest providers of professional equipment to the entertainment, film, TV and broadcast industries, with a sales portfolio of over 200 leading brands including exclusive UK distribution for some of the most popular marques. With our dedicated lighting, audio, rigging and video divisions, customers enjoy the benefits of purchasing their equipment from one supplier, whilst receiving the added expertise and support of specialist product teams. In pursuing the highest standards of customer care, we have extensive demonstration and training facilities, a fully-equipped service and repair centre, plus specialist cable and filter manufacturing facilities. www.ac-et.com

ARRI

“Inspiring images. Since 1917.” ARRI is a global player within the motion picture industry, employing around 1,400 staff worldwide. Named after its founders August Arnold and Robert Richter, ARRI was established in Munich, Germany, where the headquarters is still located today.

ARRI consists of the business units Camera Systems, Lighting, Rental, and Solutions, as well as the subsidiary Claypaky, all dedicated to connecting creativity and future technologies for moving images and live entertainment. ARRI is a leading designer and manufacturer of camera and lighting systems for film, broadcast, media, and entertainment, with a worldwide distribution and service network. The portfolio includes digital cameras, lenses, lamp heads and lighting accessories.

APUTURE

Aputure was founded in 2005 by a team of inspired filmmakers and videographers who wanted to create high-quality content, but struggled with the steep cost of equipment needed to do so. Determined to create professional-grade equipment at an affordable price, they started Aputure: the first company to provide trulyaffordable and professional cinema equipment with the quality and functions needed to fully-realise any creative vision.

Today, Aputure sells globally with offices in Europe, North America, South America and Asia. It is one of the fastest growing cinema technology companies, designing and specialising in high-end cinematic LED lighting solutions. As a part of the creative community, Aputure continues to develop for the ever-expanding needs of budding artists and professionals alike. Each member of the Aputure family has felt the burning desire to bring a creative vision to life at all costs. We’re here to keep that dream alive. www.aputure.com

Along with offering exclusive technologies, ARRI Rental’s first-class services and equipment provide camera, lighting, and grip packages to professional productions around the world. ARRI Solutions offers high-quality virtual and traditional production infrastructure solutions and efficient, integrated workflows to a broad range of studio operators, producers, and enterprises. Claypaky fascinates audiences worldwide with cutting-edge live entertainment and stage lighting. www.arri.com

AVENGER

Avenger, a Videndum PLC brand, provides grip teams, production companies, filmmakers and photographers, with the essential tools and equipment required to build world-class lighting set-ups for their shoots. We offer innovative, reliable and durable products that enable users to accurately, safely and securely support their lighting equipment exactly where needed.

There has been a huge focus around safety on production sets in recent years and we’re fully onboard with this! Avenger’s operator safety has always been our biggest priority, which is why we offer one of the industry’s largest ranges of TÜV, CE and UKCA-certified grip and support equipment on the market.

ASTERA

Astera is a manufacturer of battery-powered, remote-controlled LED lights for the film, studio, stage and event industries. All its lights are designed to be flexible so that they can be used for a wide range of applications. The company’s breakthrough product was the iconic Titan Tube, an LED Tube with built-in battery and an industry-leading LED Engine with RGB, Mint and Amber LED chips, which can display a wide range of white tones (1,750K to 20,000K) as well as precise and highly-saturated colours. All lights can be controlled with the AsteraApp as well as LumenRadio’s CRMX protocol and are designed to be used indoors as well as outdoors. www.astera-led.com

Our products are also built, to withstand extreme use, whether in the studio or on location in demanding atmospheric conditions. Avenger’s established and highly-regarded product range has become the industry standard. Products such as Strato Safe and Long John Silver are used worldwide and have been designed and built to meet the specific needs of the industry in our world-class leading manufacturing facility in Italy. www.videndum.com

CREAMSOURCE

Australia-based Creamsource has been an industry pioneer since 2005 (est. as Outsight), designing and building innovative lighting solutions that power productions worldwide. By partnering with some of the best cinematographers, gaffers and rental companies in the industry, Creamsource leverages expert feedback to provide purposebuilt lighting products that address complicated production challenges head-on. Composed of seasoned industry veterans armed with firsthand knowledge of production environments, Creamsource blends an informed approach to design with a performance-oriented ethos to make its lighting solutions visible on film sets large and small.

Creamsource product range includes the Vortex8, Vortex4, SpaceX, Micro Colour and Bender, as well as the new LNX Mounting System for the Vortex Series enabling rigging gaffers to safely and quickly mount multiple fixtures together.

Creamsource LED luminaires have been applied on major Hollywood feature films including, The Batman, Lucy In The Sky, Legion S3, Captain Marvel, The Mandalorian, Black Panther, Dune, Dumbo, Mulan, Jungle Book, Aquaman, Mortal Engines, American Assassin, Alien Covenant, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Dr Strange, Thor: Ragnarok, and TV dramas including Stranger Things, MacGuyver, Homeland, Zapped and Magnum PI. www.creamsource.com

renowned service department offering 24-hour phone support, ETC has over 300 authorised service centres throughout the world, staffed by hundreds of certified technicians. ETC counts thousands of customers worldwide including theatres, restaurants, schools, performing arts centres, television studios, houses of worship, casinos, museums, theme parks, sporting arenas and opera houses. www.etcconnect.com

DOPCHOICE

Headquartered in Munich, Germany, DoPchoice has provided a fresh take on light-refining accessories for the world’s top light fixtures since its founding in 2008 by Stefan Karle. The DoPchoice line includes an array of lightweight snap-up SNAPBAGS, SNAPGRIDS, and SNAPBOXES for softer, smoother, more directional, more controllable illumination from most professional LED lights.

With mounting solutions from the Rabbit Ears for midsize Snapbags to Fat-Rabbit mount which combines with the 8-ft Double-Hex Snapbag and 40-degree Snapgrid for big, soft control, to multiple arrays of ARRI 360s, 2X/3X Maxi Mix, Prolight XL, Gemini 2x1, etc. Plus lots of creative solutions for Astera tubes.

DoPchoice has become an industry staple, because these lightdirecting tools are uniquely compact, extremely versatile, easier to use and faster to set-up, store compactly, and offer reflective interiors, Magic Cloth diffusers, and more. They are the light-directing choice of gaffers, cinematographers and rental houses worldwide. www.dopchoice.com

FIILEX

Fiilex is leading the way in the transition of LED Fresnels in the motion picture industry. In 2014, using our patented Dense Matrix LED technology, Fiilex released an award-winning 180W CCT tunable LED fresnel that comes with an advanced colour science, allowing our high-output light to maintain very high CRI and TLCI in the full CCT tuning range.

In 2019, Fiilex completed a major update to its product line and released its first Q-Series COLOR fresnel, which includes RGB colours. Since then, Fiilex expanded the COLOR capability to the full product line: from Q5, Q8, Q10 to P3 and Matrix. All Fiilex COLOR products now share the same colour index profile and work seamlessly together as a group. Over the years, Fiilex has been recognised as a leader manufacturing the best LED light source for the television and film industry.

www.fiilex.com

ETC

ETC is a global leader in the manufacture of lighting fixtures, controls and rigging systems for entertainment, architectural and commercial spaces. Founded in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1975, ETC began with the passionate belief that there was a better way to make a lighting control console. A small group of university students challenged themselves by creating a microprocessor-based console that out-performed other boards on the market at the time. That entrepreneurial spirit grew into an award-winning business that employs over 1200 people in 14 corporate offices around the world.

Since its beginning, ETC has earned an industry reputation for unmatched technical and customer service. In addition to our own

LCA – LIGHTS CAMERA ACTION

LCA is a leading supplier to the film, broadcast and video industries, providing a wide range of products including LED lights, grip, power, distribution, cables, textiles and consumables.

Always introducing new and innovative products, LCA represents a wide range of manufacturers including Creamsource, LiteGear, DoPchoice, DMG Lighting, Rosco, Gaffers Control and much more. With a focus on being greener on-set, LCA are proud to be representing betteries who provide power on-set via emission free, upcycled electric car batteries.

Established for over 30 years, LCA now has representation across the UK and Europe with offices in Berlin, Paris and London with a team offering unrivalled customer service and industry experience. If you’re looking at a large-scale production or shooting a small commercial, LCA is a one-stop-shop whether you’re a major film studio, rental facility or end-user.

www.lcaeurope.com

LITEGEAR

Founded and managed by the industry’s lighting leaders, LiteGear provides high-performance lighting products that give the lighting professional the control needed to create their highest-quality work. LiteGear is an LED lighting company providing equipment and services for professionals in cinema, TV, and HD video industries. What started as a designer and manufacturer of flexible LED lighting in cinema and television has developed into a leading supplier of advanced motion picture LED lighting solutions to suit every on-set need. The innovation and development of LiteRibbon, LiteDimmer, LiteMat, LiteTile, and Auroris continue to have an impact on professional cinematic lighting across the globe.

www.litegear.com

Scan here now and join the ICLS today!

MOSS LED INC.

We design, develop, manufacture and distribute LED products designed specifically for film, cinema, television, and anywhere highquality lighting is required. We are an industry leader in LEDs featuring high-CRI, consistent colours and consistent colour temperatures. We are committed to our customers and offer customisation, consulting and installation by our passionate and dedicated staff. Our credits include The Umbrella Academy, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Star Trek: Discovery, Big Brother Canada, Reacher, Chucky, The Flash, The Handmaids Tale and Amazon’s The Boys.

www.mossled.com

NANLUX

Established in 1992, as NanGuang Photo & Video Systems, the company fast-established itself as an innovator in the design and fabrication of technologically advanced LED systems. As the business evolved, the introduction of new brands, such as Nanlux and Nanlite, saw the company gain recognition as a market leading force in the development of a highly-effective, highly-respected range of products.

From modest beginnings, the business has grown to encompass a number of international bases, backed by an extensive distributor network, with representatives in all major markets. Now the company employs over 900 staff, at a state-of-the-art design and manufacturing facility, and turns out more than one million products per year. The Nanlux and Nanlite brands have established themselves as leaders in the field of LED innovation, with a diverse range of lighting fixtures and accessories now sold in over 85 countries.

www.nglbg.com

PANALUX

Panalux are a leading rental provider of lighting and power solutions for features, series, commercials and live events. As one of the largest independent lighting suppliers in the world, and with an international footprint that includes the UK, France and South Africa, Panalux are a trusted production partner at the forefront of industry innovation, combining technical expertise with unparalleled customer service.

Panalux’s knowledgeable team provide advice and support, while in-house R&D and engineering departments customise equipment and create cutting-edge proprietary solutions such as the Panalux Sonara LED range and the environmentally-conscious i-Series and h-Series from Panalux Power. In addition to proprietary offerings, the company’s vast inventory includes high-end equipment from third-party manufacturers and an expansive transportation and power-generation fleet.

Panalux are part of the Panavision Group’s end-to-end offerings for image-makers, complementing the services provided by such renowned divisions as Light Iron, LEE Filters, Island Studios, and Direct Digital. www.panavision.com/lighting

PATHWAY CONNECTIVITY SOLUTIONS

Pathway Connectivity Solutions is your dynamic DMX lighting network backbone for projects that include RGBX or entertainment lighting. Our portfolio includes DMX lighting network switches, splitters, gateways and controls.

With a proven record of innovation and quality, Pathway is the industry leader for DMX network solutions. We design, manufacture and support an innovative family of products that enable theatrical, commercial and architectural lighting systems. Our products are easy-touse and have a robust and comprehensive feature set.

www.pathway.acuitybrands.com

ROSCO

Founded in 1910, Rosco is an essential solutions supplier for the feature film, television, and broadcast industries. In that time, Rosco has been recognised with four Academy Awards and an Emmy for its innovative advancements in filmmaking technology. Best-known for its award-winning lighting filters, the company offers product lines in more than a dozen categories, including LED lighting fixtures, lighting effects equipment, backdrops, textiles, fog and haze machines, flooring, and its popular digital compositing paint for blue and green screens.

Rosco’s popular DMG Lighting range of LED fixtures features their patented, six-chip MIX LED technology that provides superior colour rendering and produces excellent skin tone illumination. Utilising their decades of backdrop expertise, Rosco has partnered with the visual effects experts at FuseFX to create their new RDX LAB System that provides interactive background imagery for virtual productions shooting inside an LED volume. Headquartered in Stamford, CT, Rosco maintains fully-staffed businesses in the United States, France, Canada, Spain and the United Kingdom to fulfil the needs of their filmmaking customers.

www.rosco.com

SUMOLIGHT

Sumolight is a German-based manufacturer that produces lighting solutions designed for film and broadcast productions. The company was founded by experienced gaffers and photographers, and this expertise is evident in all Sumolight products.

The SUMOSPACE, a bicolour light that is incredibly lightweight, has interchangeable lenses and features completely passive cooling. The innovative and versatile light-shaping tools that come with SUMOSPACE have set a new standard for the industry. In 2019, Sumolight developed SUMOSNAP, a unique mounting system that transforms the SUMOSPACE into a modular lighting system.

Today, Sumolight continues to lead the way in studio and broadcast lighting. The newest products include the SUMOSKY, an interactive large-scale backdrop that integrates with VFX systems, and the SUMOMAX, a modular high-lumen output light that is perfect for virtual production. And if that weren’t enough, Sumolight is also working on the SUMOLASER, which will be the first product to use lasers for unparalleled brightness, incredible reach and an extremely narrow beam.

www.sumolight.com

SUNBELT RENTALS

Sunbelt Rentals are specialist suppliers of professional end-to-end solutions for content creators in the film and TV production industry. With a comprehensive and technologically advanced rental inventory of lighting, camera, access, grip, power and temporary infrastructure solutions, we offer a full production solution from prep to wrap.

Together we have honed our expertise over many years. Working with international studios, renowned producers and directors, on everything from blockbuster motion pictures to classic episodic series and award-winning commercials.

Today, we are proud to provide all the expertise, equipment and solutions you need to deliver your production smoothly and cost-effectively. Think of us as the crew behind your crew. Skilled technicians, in-house production experts and best-in-class maintenance

teams who will do whatever it takes. www.sunbeltrentals.co.uk/sectors/film-tv/lighting

CORPORATEMEMBERS:

ICLS

4Wall Entertainment – www.4wall.com AC Entertainment Technologies – www.ac-et.com Aputure Lighting – www.aputure.com

ARRI – www.arri.de

Astera Distribution Limited – www.astera-led.com

Blackout Lighting Console – www.blackout-app.com

Chroma-Q – www.chroma-q.com

Cineo Lighting/NBC Universal – www.cineolighting.com

Creamsource/Outsight Pty Ltd - www.creamsource.com

DoPchoice GmbH – www.dopchoice.com

ETC/Electronic Theatre Controls Inc – www.etcconnect.com

Fiilex/DiCon – www.fiilex.com

Gaffers Control – www.gafferscontrol.com

Guangdong Nanguang Photo & Video Systems – www.nglbg.com

Kino Flo Lighting Systems – www.kinoflo.com

LCA/Lights Camera Action – www.lcauk.com

LiteGear Inc – www.litegear.com

LumenRadio – www.lumenradio.com

Luminex Network Intelligence – www.luminex.be

Lux Lighting LLC – www.luxlightingllc.com

MACCAM Studio Lighting Specialists – www.maccam.tv

Moss LED – www.mossled.com

Music & Lights S.r.l. – www.prolights.it

Panalux/Panavision Group – www.panavision.co.uk

Pathway Connectivity Solutions – www.pathwayconnect.com

Power Gems Ltd – www.powergems.com

Project SSSHH Incorporated – www.projectssshh.com

The Light Bridge GmbH – www.thelightbridge.com

RatPac Controls LLC – www.ratpaccontrols.com

Rosco Laboratories Inc – www.rosco.com

RuPixels Inc – www.rupixels.com

Sumolight GmbH – www.sumolight.com

Sunbelt Rentals – www.sunbeltrentals.co.uk/sectors/film-tv/lighting

Vectorworks – www.vectorworks.net

Videndum Media Solutions – www.videndum.com

NO MORE LIGHTBULBS

Playing around with acronyms can make for an amusing pastime. During my drive along the M4 to visit the MBS Equipment Co’s European headquarters at Colnbrook, near the confluence of the M25 and Heathrow Airport, wordplays like ‘meeting bright sparks’, ’mindblowing stuff’ and ‘millions & billions spent’ kept going through my busy skull.

By Ron Prince

My motorway brainstorms, however, turned out to have more than a grain of truth to them, as I am ushered into to the company’s vast warehouse floor, by marketing director Ian Sherborn (erstwhile designer of Cinematography World Magazine’s first three editions), who has armed me with a welcoming cup of tea.

Entering the depot reminds me of the moment I first entered Terminal 5 at Heathrow, as in “Wow, that’s a mightily big space”. A pair of binoculars would not go amiss to see what’s happening at the either end of the mammoth 80,000sq/ft facility, which has a width of more that 24 loading bays.

MBSE UK, as it should be correctly titled, and run by Darren Smith, MBS Group CEO Europe & APAC Darren Smith, “is home to one of the UK’s newest inventories of lighting equipment, designed specifically for use in the entertainment production industry,” I am informed by amiable guru Steve Howard, director of technical services Europe & APAC. Howard cheerfully boasts he can bore people to death about the company’s vast stash of energy-efficient, lowenergy and LED products – many of which have been exclusively created by the company’s in-house thinktank-come-technical-development team, MBSi (the ‘I’ stands for ‘Innovations’).

These homegrown creations include MBSE’s Aquabat, the fully-submersible (IP68-rated), modular, full-colour LED strip lighting system, developed in collaboration with UK gaffer David Smith. When ganged together, these can be easily rigged to create softboxes with an almost infinite choice of size and shape, amongst other applications. Another is the company’s LEDtrix, a portable package of compact, controllable, five-colour, flicker-free LED panels, that come in multiple sizes and feature magnetic mounting and snap-on diffusion options, also developed through

consultation with gaffers.

“We pride ourselves on forging strong working relationships with production crews,” says Howard. “It’s these relationships that allow gaffers and desk ops to comfortably approach us with technical challenges or to develop ideas, straight from the set, which go beyond the realms of what is available from what we have onthe-shelf already.”

The provision of low-energy lighting, customdesigned control and network connectivity systems now represents multiple tens of millions of invested dollars by the MBS Group as a whole. MBSE reckons it is able to achieve relative power savings of 92% on saturated

lighting rigs – a mind-boggling statistic. Indeed, MBSE was a founding member of the BAFTA-led Albert initiative, as a supplier that supports an environmentallysustainable future for the TV industry.

“During filming on a recent Lucasfilm production, MBSE provided over 1,400 individual LED lamp heads,” says Howard. “Being able to supply these products in such quantities considerably lowered both the overall power consumption and environmental impact of the production.”

If further proof were necessary, the specification for a current tentpole movie called for 600 traditional

(Unless you really want some, of course!)

Training and community-based projects have become a key factor in the way MBSE operates

MBSE IN NUMBERS:

• Has the hardware to generate over 1.85million DMX control channels

• Enough practical LED driver systems to generate over 56,000 LED channels

• Almost 3.25million feet of mains cables

• Over 1million feet of data cables

• In excess of 5,000 mains distribution units

• More than 14,000 low-energy LED fixtures

spacelight units, with a power requirement of 2.8Megawatts. Following advice and camera tests with MBSE, the production replaced the request with the latest fullcolour LED fixtures, straight from stock, which reduced the overall power requirement relatively to just 240kW.

There seems to be a fair amount of equipment racked and ready-to-go in the warehouse – encompassing many beautiful sources from recognised lighting brands such as ARRI, Creamsource and Ayrton, along with all manner of HMIs, Dinos and Wendy lights and other traditional sources, right down to LED ribbons and miniature wireless LED drivers. If you want Tungsten illumination there’s a bountiful supply.

However, the kit that resides here and at MBSE’s well-known Pinewood base, represents just 10% of the overall inventory. The rest of the kit, along with vehicles and drivers, is out on jobs around the UK, Europe and beyond. Hence, a major part of MBSE being a customer-friendly lighting supplier, with a clear focus on service, is being a slick logistics operation – where kit comes back, gets tested, repaired and recycled for the next project with no mad b*ll*ck scramble. Howard says the company can test up to 400 separate LED fixtures a day.

And with multiple bases strategically located at production hubs in Ireland, Germany and Hungary, MBSE is well-placed to provide local support to productions throughout Europe.

Recent UK based productions supported by MBSE include: The Marvels (DP Sean Bobbitt BSC, gaffer David Smith); Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny (DP Phedon Papamichael ASC GSC, gaffer David Sinfield); Marvel Studios Secret Invasion (DP Remi Adefarasin BSC, gaffer Ian Barwick ICLS); Mission: Impossible, Dead Reckoning Part One (DP Fraser Taggart, gaffer Martin Smith ICLS); Ant Man And The Wasp: Quantumania (DP Bill Pope BSC, gaffer Jamie Mills); and The Little Mermaid (DP Dion Beebe ACS ASC, gaffer David Smith).

the specific application of these is being kept a most beloved secret for the time being.

Joining the tour is Toby Dare, formerly operations director at MBSE, and now its head of sustainability and risk – which by way of swift explanation means he’s overseeing the future carbon neutral development of the company (his well-meaning mantra for that is “No More Lightbulbs”), plus the welfare of staff and visitors. This is, after all, an industrial site where people are working with electricity and often very heavy goods, so health and safety are extremely important.

“It’s early days as we set out on the path towards being a carbon neutral company, but legislative

However, it’s certainly not all about big features. Low-budget independents, music videos and commercials are all catered for too, and if you are making a short, you could do worse than give them a call and see what you can blague!

MBSE is also at the heart of providing the panels and infrastructure for multiple virtual set installations around the UK, as per those used on The Mandalorian (DP Greig Fraser ACS ASC, gaffer Jeff Webster ICLS) – although

compliance is only going to get tighter, and our customers’ expectations surrounding sustainability are only going to grow. So we must seek to fulfil these different ambitions,” says Dare.

What Dare’s title doesn’t elucidate is his significant additional role in also making sure that MBS takes diversity and inclusion seriously as an employer.

“MBSE is proud to partner with organisations such as ScreenSkills to address the skills gap in the industry, and with Netflix on the Bring To Light Trainee Programme,” Dare explains. “That programme was created to offer a unique opportunity to join the industry, where trainees are selected from the local community, with those from under-represented communities being particularly encouraged to apply.

Indeed, training and support for communitybased projects have become a key factor in the way MBSE operates.

“We also work with several other local groups, such as the MAMA Youth Project, to support and encourage the entry of young people from disadvantaged circumstances to the industry. This support has included the direct employment of trainees through these incredibly worthwhile and valuable schemes.”

I depart after two and a half hours of what has been a genuinely enlightening tour, from a team who are passionate about what they do. I’m clutching a swagbag stuffed with MBS-branded merch - pens, waterbottle, note book and T-shirts.

Now, if you let us know how many times MBS and wordplays around that acronym appear in this article (some obvious, others not so obvious), I am sure there’s a tour and a mixed bag o’swag (hint) for you too. Give it a go!

We pride ourselves on forging strong relationships with production crews

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