Light Fantastic Issue 002

LIGHT FANTASTIC

Rascals Publishing & Media Ltd

Red Lion Yard, Odd Down, Bath

United Kingdom BA2 2PP

Tel: +44 (0) 1428 746 375

Editor-in-Chief RON PRINCE

Special Consultant ALAN LOWNE

Editorial Assistant KIRSTY HAZLEWOOD

Editorial Contributors

RON PRINCE, DYLAN BRUCE & MICHAEL BURNS

Advertising Manager CLAIRE SAUNDERS

Art Direction & Creative Kinda Stuff

JAM CREATIVE STUDIOS

adam@jamcreativestudios.com tim@jamcreativestudios.com

GUIDING LIGHTS

If you have a dream, go for it, but give it 110% and aim to be the goddam best

Adam Chambers ICLS –chief lighting technician/gaffer

CONTACT US & SUBSCRIBE

News hello@lightfantastic.world

Ad sales & Subscriptions +44 (0) 1428 746 375

Email hello@lightfantastic.world

Please visit

www.lightfantastic.world

Cover Image: OPPENHEIMER, written and directed by Christopher Nolan, DP Hoyte Van Hoytema NSC FSF ASC, gaffer Adam Chambers ICLS. © Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.

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).

The publishers emphasise that opinions expressed within Light Fantastic are not representative of Rascals Publishing & Media Ltd, and are the responsibility of individual contributors.

The ICLS was established on 6th June 2020 and currently boasts members in more than 40 countries. As president, it is truly heartening to witness the growth of our community, the collaborative spirit of our members, and the collective commitment to push the boundaries of visual storytelling and captivate audiences worldwide.

Earning well-deserved recognition, we send our warmest congratulations to three ICLS members whose cinematographic collaborators have either won or been nominated for Academy, BAFTA, ASC and BSC awards in 2024 – Andy Cole ICLS who lit Poor Things for DP Robbie Ryan ISC BSC, John Velez ICLS for his work on Maestro with DP Matthew Libatique ASC LPS, and Adam Chambers ICLS for his collaboration with DP Hoyte van Hoytema NSC FSF ASC on Oppenheimer. These recognitions are testament to the vital contribution of the lighting department in the creation of visually-stunning and immersive worlds.

The ICLS is an international and inclusive platform for the cinematic lighting community to collaborate, share knowledge, learn and grow. Members attend weekly events and connect with each other through our Discord server that offers a variety of corporate, member and educational channels.

These channels, along with our ICLS committees, provide an ever-evolving learning and support pipeline for members, and foster strong international relationships between many diverse lighting communities.

We are extremely proud of what we have achieved so far. Our members bring valuable, hands-on expertise to sets around the world, and a desire to address inequalities in entertainment. With a new and enhanced website on the way – that will facilitate access to even more resources, plus the introduction of in-person events in addition to virtual – we are striving to provide an even more dynamic and enriching experience for our community.

However, as we celebrate, we must also address the shadows that loom over our industry. The recent strikes affected every facet of our department, with knock-on effects being felt by all. It is imperative that we engage in open dialogue about the impact on our community.

On a positive note, the challenges we face also present opportunities for growth and change. The solidarity demonstrated during trying times has ignited conversations about reshaping the industry for the better. As lighting professionals, we have a unique perspective on how the interplay of light and shadow can influence narrative and emotion. Let us bring that same clarity to the challenges before us, finding solutions that ensure a brighter future for all.

Looking ahead, we feel a strong sense of optimism. As we continue to push the boundaries of what is possible in film and TV lighting, let us also be the guiding lights towards a future that is fair, inclusive and prosperous for all.

Mike Bauman ICLS President of the International Cinema Lighting Society (ICLS)

NOTA BENE:

Thank you to all ICLS members who kindly submitted information for Light Fantastic. We received more material than we have pages in this edition, especially some superb items about Image-Based Lighting (IBL). So, if your input is not featured in this issue, be assured that we will publish it in edition #003, when we will continue to report on IBL and other hot topics in lighting.

3

6

17

18

REMEMBERING

AVENGER

36

18 GAFFERS CAFÉ

22 ANATOMY OF A SCENE

24 GAFFERS CAFÉ

REMEMBERING NIELS MAIER ICLS

Niels Maier ICLS, renowned as one of the kindest and most talented gaffers, and co-owner of German rental house Maier Brothers, was tragically killed in a flying accident shortly after the 2023 Cinegear Expo in LA.

Born on November 7, 1964, Maier made notable contributions to the film industry, with credits including Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door (1997), Boat Trip (2002) and Only Lovers Left Alive (2013). As an entrepreneur, he repeatedly set new territory and recently presented a more ecological solution in bringing electricity to film sets, which Maier Bros. had developed together with Kemama, in the form of the FH30/60 mobile power generator.

Maier’s sudden departure on June 14, 2023, in Idaho, USA, has left a profound void

in the hearts of those who knew him. He was known as an exceptional individual, who consistently raised the bar, inspiring and motivating

all those around him. His calm demeanour and decisive action during challenging times served as a beacon for growth and unity. One of his greatest strengths lay in his ability to recognise and nurture the potential within others, earning him the admiration and love of many.

Throughout his illustrious career, Maier fostered an environment of collaboration and innovation at Maier Bros., providing a platform for fruitful synergies and opportunities for friends, colleagues, and partners. The company’s portfolio includes a large inventory of LED/traditional lighting equipment, camera/ grip technologies and generators. In honouring Maier’s memory and respecting his life’s work, his vision will be steadfastly pursued at Maier Bros., advancing the future of the film industry.

AVENGER LAUNCHES BUCCANEER MOUNT STAND

Avenger has launched the B7030FF Buccaneer, a heavy-duty junior mount stand, featuring three levelling legs allowing for the lowest loading height in the industry. The wincher-driven stand has been welcomed because of its impressive low-loading height of 94cm/37in. It can be raised quickly to a maximum height of 300cm/118in and is able to handle a maximum payload of 80kg/176.3lb.

Two people can easily mount large panel lights, like an ARRI S-360 series, and be confident that these can be positioned, levelled and set into place without the addition of apple boxes or other peripherals to set-up a light.

Avenger Grip is always striving to improve and as the design of this new stand is different from others in the market it addresses a major concern of having the lowest-loading height in the industry. Low-loading means less straining to lift and mount lights during long days on set.

ARRI ORBITER EMPOWERS DP MARTÍN SAPIA’S CREATIVE LIGHTING ON DISNEY+’S LOS MACANIMALS

Film sets are not usually the most appropriate places to experiment with light. Time is tight, and there is not always room for improvisation in search of the best creative approach to benefit the story. But, according to Argentinean DP Martín Sapia ADF, things are changing with ARRI Orbiter.

In his 25-year career, Sapia has specialised in TV dramas, mini-series and soap operas in Argentina, plus film and advertising projects in Spain and Central America. For his most recent project, Los MacAnimals, a ten-episode Disney+ series, he used the ARRI Orbiter for the first time, and found it a powerful tool for visual storytelling.

“Any object that emits or modifies light can be used if it helps to tell the story,” he says. “I don’t strictly adhere to using lights manufactured for the film industry. Often, when working in the studio and with largescale lighting set-ups, I create my own light sources adapted to a set’s shape. This not only adds uniqueness to the space, but often leads to greater productivity, all while preserving the plasticity of the light. A significant part of a cinematographer’s work involves weaving together technique, plasticity and the workflow. In this context, the ARRI Orbiter dazzled me.”

While Sapia appreciates the variety of light sources designed for different purposes (Fresnel, PAR, LED panel, tubes, etc.), plus filters, diffusers and reflective elements, he says the Orbiter and its accessory integration system allow him to harness these capabilities from a single source.

“With the Orbiter, we can achieve sharp shadows, even at close distances, as well as soft and ambient lighting, with a wide range of intermediate instances,” he explains. “The beam can be shaped with different optics, transforming it into various types of existing fixtures like Fresnels or open face lamps. It offers control over intensity, colour, saturation and the ability to programme changes in all these variables – which means great versatility in shaping light creatively.”

Los MacAnimals revolves around a 13-year-old girl who activates a forgotten machine in her parents’ laboratory that can transform animals into humans, an event that happens frequently.

“Part of the complexity of the project lay in filming with a light source that served multiple purposes simultaneously,” Sapia says. “It had to be easily movable and portable (even when handheld), capable of changing intensity and achieving very specific colours, whilst being synchronised with other light sources. The source also needed to shine brightly enough to compete in various situations – like in real day interiors, slowmotion shots and low ISO settings.

“Gathering all these aspects at once with conventional lights would have been very challenging. The ARRI Orbiter allowed us to solve the equation and adapt to specific filming situations, technically and creatively.”

As part of the storytellling, Sapia was challenged by creating fluctuations of light that would be perceived as the personality of a fantastical form, later integrated by the VFX department, which changes shape and moves continuously around the sets and the

characters.

“For this effect, I created custom lights, concealing them so that they could be removed from the image later in post. However, without the Orbiter, I wouldn’t have been able to achieve the effect in all filming contexts. I was able to coordinate with VFX the rhythm, colour, fluctuation, incidence area, speed and direction of light movement so that the digitally inserted effect would organically integrate into the scene. Before the Orbiter, that would not have been so easy.”

He adds, “What stands out for me is the wide colour gamut that this LED fixture

achieves. The user interface is very userfriendly, and the accessory mounting system was a real find. When combined with domes of different sizes, I believe it becomes a powerful tool.”

APUTURE’S PROLYCHT ACQUISITION MARKS NEW CHAPTER FOR LIGHTING TECHNOLOGY

Aputure’s

recent acquisition of Prolycht is designed to fortify Aputure’s legacy of film and TV lighting technology, and heralds a transformative chapter for both companies. With this acquisition, Aputure has assumed stewardship of Prolycht’s colour science and technical talent as the two companies now embark on a new collaborative journey together.

Ian Xie, founder & CEO of Aputure, said, “This strategic union promises to enhance our competitive edge, particularly in the realm of colour science and engineering breakthrough technology. The fusion of innovation and combined company culture will only further accelerate our ability to produce breakthrough product offerings.”

Aputure’s product line includes the powerful Electro Storm series, Spotlight Max and

innovative Infinibar range. The Prolycht team has plans in place to ensure that existing Prolycht customers have warranty and repair support for as long as possible through Prolycht channels.

As leaders in their respective domains, Aputure’s and Prolycht’s shared values and vision will foster a new wave of innovation. Together, they aim to redefine film and television lighting paradigms, presenting filmmakers with unparalleled options to craft immersive visual experiences. 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.

ARRI INTROS ORBITER BEAM, SKYPANEL X & OPENS NY STUDIO

ARRI

has introduced the Orbiter Beam, the first beam optic in its LED portfolio. It offers a high-quality full-colour spectrum LED source and, with a parallel 4° beam, is suited for cinematic applications where homogenous and defined light output is needed. The Orbiter Beam’s compact and lightweight design, plus manual hot-spot adjustment, offer versatility in simulating natural light for film projects. The Quick Lighting Mount system enables easy and secure mounting on any Orbiter running firmware LiOS2 or LiOS3.

The company also recently launched SkyPanel X, an all-weather LED luminaire, that offers new standards in terms of dimming, colour rendition, output and beam quality. Introduced as a modular system and configurable into different sizes, SkyPanel X

now offers native soft, native hard and open-face lighting.

SkyPanel X provides low-end dimming with flicker-free operation from 100 to zero percent for direct, close-distance key lighting. With a CCT range from 1,500 to 20,000K, it can emulate the characteristics of sodium lamps or cloudy sunlight. The RGBACL full-spectrum light-engine features ARRI’s “best lighting colour science to date”, enhancing skin tones and achieving deep colour reproduction. Eight pixel zones per LED panel meet the requirements of advanced console programming, visual effects and virtual production environments.

Certified with IP66 rating for all weather conditions, SkyPanel X is fully-protected from rain, storms or high-pressure jet cleaning, thereby reducing maintenance procedures and extending its lifecycle.

In other news, ARRI has opened a multi-purpose studio facility in New York City. Built around a curved LED wall with imagebased lighting design, ARRI Studio New York offers a user-friendly introduction to virtual production with in-house creative and technical support. The facility enables clients to embrace the full potential of the technology, such as reducing costs and carbon footprint by avoiding

crew travel to locations, consistency in weather and daylight conditions, and real-time virtualisation.

ASTERA LAUNCHES LED-BASED FRESNEL RANGE

Astera recently announced its Fresnel series of lights – the compact PlutoFresnel, which won a 2023 PLASA Award for Innovation, and the larger LeoFresnel – as well as new accessories for these lights.

By developing LED lights specifically for integration with a Fresnel lens, Astera aims to provide all of the benefits of LED – lower power draw, high output-strength, precise colour control and lightweight profile – whilst 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 PlutoFresnel achieves the equivalent of a 300W Tungsten Fresnel, but drawing only 80W, whilst the LeoFresnel achieves an equivalent output of 1000W, using only 250W. Both lights can maintain a beam angle between 15° and 60° with no colour fringing. This means they 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.

A new ProjectionLens has just been announced that converts the PlutoFresnel into a powerful profile spotlight, with a range of 16° to 36°. Projection zoom can be controlled manually by twisting the lens barrel or two focus eheels. An E-size gobo holder also enables custom logo projection.

Astera has also launched White Remote, a pocket-sized tool that allows for instant point-andclick control of the full Astera lighting ecosystem. The remote is a counterpart to the existing IR FX Remote, which allows for colour, strobing and effect control at the click of a button. With both the FX and White Remote in-hand, a lighting engineer can execute precise lighting changes in seconds.

In other news, Astera has announced several new appointments. Carl-Johan Sköld has joined as group CEO, with a remit to

lead the company into a period of strategic growth. As part of its commitment to product development and customer satisfaction, the company has established a new product management department, with Simon Canins newly-appointed as CTO, and Ben Díaz as the head of product management. Diaz arrives from ARRI where he worked on the SkyPanel X. He was previously at SGM Light where he developed the first IP66 lights for the stage lighting industry.

CREAMSOURCE EVOLVES FLAGSHIP SERIES WITH VORTEX SOFTS & VORTEX24

Creamsource

has expanded its flagship Vortex line. This evolution signifies a diversification in Vortex offerings in both in function and scale. Introduced as creative complements to the Vortex8 and Vortex4 hard panels, the new Vortex8 Soft (V8S) and Vortex4 Soft (V4S), are high-output soft panels, and have the same RRGBBW colour engine, buildquality and user-interface that lighting professionals have grown to know.

The new Vortex24 should prove a welcome addition to the lighting arsenal, providing 1950W of firepower with a 20° beam angle. Its 24-pixel zones allow for maximum resolution and creative control for the most complex lighting effects.

The Vortex24 was developed in response

to customer feedback for a larger, punchy lighting solution. It maintains the quality standards of the Vortex8 whilst offering triple the output and greater coverage. This larger form factor simplifies rigging and reduces the need for multiple units when rigging to an elevated work platform or Condor, and gives the power and precision needed for intricate imagebased lighting scenarios.

Key features include 24 directional pixel zones for nuanced lighting effects, an efficient, 1950W power draw, and a compact design facilitating easier storage on carts and integration into truck packages.

The Vortex8 Soft and Vortex4 Soft panels are optimised for efficiency and performance as native soft light solutions, delivering full-spectrum soft light with high output out of the box.

Key features include: a high-output softlight that marries efficiency with 650W (V8S) or 325W (V4S) of output, allowing for both flat panel diffuser and open-face configurations; and customisable arrays, so that Vortex Softs can be mixed with Vortex8 and Vortex4 hard panels – using LNX, Creamsource Multi Yokes, and other mounting systems – to create scalable and diverse arrays, such as checkerboard Creamsource hard/soft patterns, for on-the-fly virtual focus adjustment. This mixand-match capability enables a fine balance between intensity and softness, enhancing dynamic controls to achieve the desired lighting effect for any scene.

The new lights are suitable for various applications including space-constrained studio work or for outdoor broadcasts and news. A 48V DC power input means users can go battery-powered when on-location, and an IP65 rating ensures the fixtures stay lit when storms roll in.

The products are equipped with dual Ethernet ports with a built-in Gigabit switch, enabling single-cable runs and daisychaining of units for efficient light array management and simpler control with protocols like sACN. The Vortex24 and Vortex Softs are available for pre-order and will be shipping during summer 2024.

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.

www.astera-led.com/plutofresnel

www.astera-led.com/leofresnel

Frankfurt, March 19 - 22

Booth Nr.: Hall 12.1, B30

LEO PLUTO

LENS PROJECTION

• 16° - 36° Zoom

• Shutters on 2 Planes

• E-size Gobo

• Rotatable Barrel

coming soon

Backside display with TouchSlider

CINEO LIGHTING ANNOUNCES CINEO REFLEX R10 LED LIGHTING FIXTURE

Cineo

Lighting unveiled its latest LED lighting fixture, the Cineo Reflex R10, at the 2024 BSC Expo. Expanding the Reflex series of LED production lighting and weighing-in at 57lbs, the Cineo Reflex R10 utilises Cineo’s patented liquid cooling and leading-edge LED technology to provide users with an IP X5-rated fixture that replaces legacy HMI and Tungsten lights, all in one sleek, durable package.

In addition to its compact size, the Cineo Reflex R10 also features a first for Cineo – a modular design that allows for the easy replacement of the Bi-colour LED tower with any future upgrades. Cineo also offered hands-on, interactive experiences at the show of its Quantum series large and small soft

lighting units, the Quantum II and Quantum Studio.AquaBat can be easily rigged to create elaborate installations, configured to an almost infinite choice size and shape.

FIILEX ANNOUNCES FULL-COLOUR TRACK LIGHTS

Fiilex has launched its full-colour Track Lights product line. Fiilex Track Lights are designed to provide highquality lighting, versatility and ease-ofuse for various applications, including photography studios, film sets, art galleries and retail spaces.

Key features include adjustable beam angles and customisable light intensity, colour accuracy, a modular design allowing for easy configuration, and intuitive controls. They also consume significantly less power compared to traditional lighting solutions.

In other news, Fiilex is also shipping its G3 Color-LR, cinema-grade 90W full-colour ellipsoidal, that offers razor-sharp cuts and a 360-degree rotating barrel. The beam

produced from either the 19° or 36° tube lens is uniform and bright, without any colour splitting. At the core of the G3 is the latest generation of Fiilex’s patented Dense Matrix LED that adheres to the highest standards of dimming and colour calibration.and quickly format a USB stick for updating additional LiteDimmers.

KINO FLO MIMIK GAINS INDUSTRY KUDOS

KinoFlo’s Mimik 120 full-spectrum, image-based video lighting tile, has been catching the eye. It was honoured with a 2023 Hollywood Professionals Association Award for Engineering Excellence, a Best of Show Award at the 2023 Euro Cine Expo, and a Product of the Year Award in the Location/Studio Lighting category at the 2023 NAB Show.

Optimised for virtual production environments, the 7,200-pixel Mimik 120 mirrors video content whilst applying a higher tonal and colour rendering range, delivering extended spectral bandwidth and cinematic colour fidelity when lighting talent and set elements. The patented Kino Flo algorithm converts the incoming RGB video wall signal

into four or more individual emitters – RGBWW-CW for the Mimik 120 – generating synchronised foreground lighting to delivers the realistic lighting on virtual sets.

Featuring a lightweight carbon fibre frame, the Mimik 120 is can be stacked like a video wall, flown as a ceiling, or put on traditional lighting rigs. The lighting system is controlled by the Megapixel VR Helios LED processor, and delivers 10,000-nits of brightness, along with the ability to shoot as high as 900fps, whilst offering as many as 30 Alpha channels at 30fps. A single processor can control up to 2,100 panels – that’s over 15 million pixels with zero latency – which can also be fullysynchronised up to 30kHz to eliminate flickering and support advanced VR technologies.

DOPCHOICE LAUNCHES AIRGLOW & COLLABORATES WITH LIGHTBRIDGE

DoPchoice has launched Snapbag Airglow, an inflatable technology that offers booklight-style illumination. Made to produce extremely soft, indirect lighting, it works with fixtures such as Creamsource Vortex8 and Vortex8 Soft, ARRI Skypanel X21 and S60 Classic, and most similar-sized panels.

Airglow inflates quickly, is easily affixed to a horizontally or verticallyoriented LED panel, and offers a super-soft source, without hard, defined shadow. Installation involves looping an anti-spill cover over the fixture and snapping the buckles closed on two adjustable straps, eliminating the need for extra stands.

Unlike typical front-facing soft boxes, Airglow creates a 45° triangular bounce,

with the back wall forming the hypotenuse angle to push light out of the perpendicular side. The back wall can be swapped from Ultra Bounce to Hard Silver Diffusion for punchier illumination and also bleached/ unbleached muslin. For further light direction, users can add the Snapgrid LCD 40°, Quarter, Half or Magic Cloth diffusion to increase softness.

DoPchoice recently combined forces with Lightbridge on the Snapbridge Glide Kit, a new light source offering soft but punchy light, with optimised skin tones, achieved by adding a soft DoPchoice bounce around a Lightbridge Precision Reflector.

The ready-to-go kit features: a Snapbridge 5ft shallow, one each 50×50 Lightbridge DIFF2 and DIFF3 Precision

NANLUX INTRODUCES 6-PIN WIRED CONTROLLER AND EVOKE 2400B

Nanlux has introduced the 6-Pin Wired Controller, a cabled control solution for Evoke and Dyno series lighting fixtures. The controller complements the existing physical, wired and wireless controls of the fixtures. It is useful when wireless communication is impractical due to environmental factors, or when the budget, time constraints and crew size do not allow for a wired connection from the light to a control board and operator

The 6-Pin Wired Controller replicates the physical controls of the fixtures to allow easy remote operation up to 8m from the lamp head. With its 3.2-inch display and intuitive control interface, users have control over high-output Nanlux lighting fixtures on-set, ensuring a professional and efficient workflow.

The 6-Pin Wired Controller features three strategically-placed knobs and three buttons, providing users with a comprehensive range of control options, and a clear 3.2-inch display

screen. The 8m cable features a 6-pin self-latching aviation connector on both ends, along with an additional USB connector, allowing users to tackle common on-set challenges such as rigging lighting fixtures at elevated heights. The company’s Evoke 2400B is now available to order from distributors and dealers worldwide.

Reflector, a Speedbag 50, a C-Wheel Receiver, one grip bag, a Lightbridge 16mm extension and cleaning cloth. The Snapbridge 5ft shallow and DIFF precision reflectors can be purchased as single items.

In other news, the Lightbridge Cine Reflect Lighting System (CRLS) system was honoured with 2023 GTC Innovation Award by UK’s The Guild Of Television Camera Professionals.

Key features of the new Evoke include ultra-high brightness of 41,910lux @3m, adjustable green and magenta ±80 shift across 2700-6500K CCT range, durable IP55 weather-resistant

housing, and 12 built-in effects with customisable settings.

PANALUX ANNOUNCES NEW LONDON HQ

Panalux is opening a new, purposebuilt London HQ, with approximately 60,000sq/ft of warehouse, 12,000sq/ft of office, and 40,000sq/ ft of mezzanine space. The new site, at Pasadena Close in Hayes, will bring Panalux London’s full operations, previously spread across two separate locations, together under one roof.

“With this new facility, we’re able to have our complete London operations on site at a single location, which will streamline communications and maximise efficiencies between departments and with our customers,” said Panalux MD Mark Furssedonn. “It is well-positioned within the West London production corridor and gives us room to

grow in the future.”

The new site also underscores Panalux’s focus on sustainable practices, with features including electric-vehicle charging points and a roof-mounted photovoltaic array that powers the site’s backbone infrastructure. The building has an energy performance certificate (EPC) rating of A+, with net zero carbon emissions.

The layout has been designed to streamline workflows between departments – including rental inventory, engineering, R&D, repairs, testing and technical support, and demonstration studio

will provide a dedicated space for customers to test equipment.

The facility also houses a vehicle maintenance unit for on-site service of Panalux London’s transportation and power-generation fleet. Panalux runs its fleet of vehicles and generators using HVO fuel instead of fossil diesel. Its eco-conscious offerings include the Panalux Power I-series rechargeable battery arrays and H-series hybrid generators. For crews loading in and out, the building features a large loading yard, with ten dock levellers and three level load doors, plus ample parking.

POWER GEMS RELEASES GEM 6 HANDHELD LED CONTROLLER

Power Gems has introduced the Gem 6, a rugged and compact 6-way controller for full-colour LED control or three channels of bi-colour. Designed to be installed as close to LED ribbons as possible, the latest addition to the Power Gems LED range, the Gem 6, is capable of handling the highest power jobs and is small enough to be hidden discreetly on-set.

The GEM6 has a comprehensive, intuitive user-control, achieved through four large membrane keys, for maximum resilience in demanding conditions. Silicone bands provide additional bump protection and can be colourcoded to help identify the owner. The first batch of Gem 6 has been shipped to the UK’s largest film and TV lighting rental company, customised with laser-etched branding, ensuring rental stock is more likely to find its way back.

Key features include six output channels, 10A per channel (max 40A total), DMX/Lumen radio CRMX or local control and comprehensive short circuit protection.

Power Gems owner and head of design, Dr Phil Ellams, commented, “The Gem 6 addresses

the distributed way of controlling LED fixtures on a film or TV sound stage. It has a high current (10A) per channel, so it’s a very capable unit.

We are the first to offer hardwired DMX, in addition to radio control.”

RATPAC CONTROLS LAUNCHES 12X200V2 DIMMER

RatPac

Controls has launched the 12x200v2 reverse-phase dimmer.

This new product is custom-designed for 120v LED tubes and low-wattage practicals and is rated at 200W. It provides a smooth dim from 0-100% and 100%-0%, and features a built-in CRMX wireless transceiver, a new locking wireless toggle switch, and a new mode select switch.

President and interim CEO Tom Sievers said, “The 12x200v2 dimmer is equipped with MOSFET technology that allows dimming control of loads down to 1%, making it ideal for

low-wattage LEDs, tubes, and practical lights. Its enhanced electronic circuit protection eliminates issues with over-amping outlets or plugging-in fixtures larger than 200W. We are confident this product will be a great addition to any lighting set-up.”

The 12x200v2 is designed to work well with capacitive loads, especially on the low end, where stable control can be problematic. The modular controller allows for future-proof-

ROSCO ANNOUNCES

ing of the box, as the technology can be expanded or removed by replacing the controller with a couple of screws. The 12x200v2 is ETL-certified for use in the US and Canada and is available for demos.

NEW SALES MANAGER & PROMOTES DMG LEDS

Rosco has announced that Thomas Servelle has been promoted to the role of film, TV, and broadcast sales manager EMEA. Servelle will work directly under EMEA sales director Steve Ramos and will be responsible for all sales activities within the EMEA region as well as managing a team of lighting specialists and account managers.

In other news, cinematographer Eduardo Ramirez, a Rosco ambassador, relied on Rosco’s compact and powerful DMG lighting fixtures to illuminate many of the scenes in the action-thriller Dark Asset.

“Lighting this film with DMG lighting fixtures was amazing,” Ramirez remarked. “The DMG Mini and DMG SL1 fixtures became important allies for me while shooting everything from dynamic fight scenes to flattering close-ups.”

To light a fight scene in the film, Ramirez hung a DMG Mini outfitted with a Snapbag and a

Snapgrid from the ceiling on one end of the set, and set-up a DMG SL1 on the opposite end to accentuate the two actors. Both fixtures were set to warm colour temperatures, which contrasted with the cool ambient lighting in the space.

One of the reasons Ramirez selected DMG lights is their soft, flattering light that enhances the talent. “The DMG lights are so powerful that using one DMG SL1 and one DMG MINI for the close-ups was enough to have the main actors lit the way I wanted,” he said.

Rosco has announced its new DMG Dash Octa Kit, a set of pocket LED lights for filmmakers and rental houses, including eight DMG Dash CRMX fixtures and eight sets of accessories

LumenRadio

to provide CRMX and W-DMX control with RDM capability. The DMG Dash fixtures can also be controlled via their onboard controls or wirelessly via Bluetooth using Rosco’s free myMix mobile app.

The Octa Kit includes eight full sets of beam-shaping accessories, including flat diffusers, dome diffusers, and eggcrates.

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.”

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)

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.”

“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)

Together we are stronger and smarter

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.”

“My current role as treasurer/co-chair of the finance committee means the long-term 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

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.”

Selected Filmography (as gaffer/chief lighting technician):

Harvest (2024)

The Buckingham Murders (2023)

Poor Things (2023)

God’s Creatures (2022)

Cow (2021)

Ammonite (2020)

The Nest (2020)

Succession (2019) (gaffer: Scotland, 2 eps)

The Favourite (2018)

Slow West (2015)

Jimmy’s Hall (2014)

Philomena (2013)

The Angel’s Share (2012)

Submarino (2010)

SHINING A LIGHT ON...

ANDY COLE ICLS

Fact File:

Age: 59

Born: Ireland

First job:  McGuinness Lighting

By Ron Prince

Training: City & Guilds… and on the job

Lives: West London

Hobbies/ passions: “Watching films, cooking & travelling”

Where did you start off?

I came to London from Ireland in the early ‘80s, when I was 18. There were a lot of small lighting companies around Park Royal, London, and I got a job at McGuinness Lighting loading trucks and delivering equipment. I didn’t know anything about lighting, but had a happy two years there learning a lot about the equipment. I took my City & Guilds, and went freelance when the company went bust. That proved to be a silver lining, because the phone started ringing with offers of work on productions. I was ambitions and became a best boy, where I really enjoyed working with different gaffers and DPs.

You need the tenacity and the right attitude

Early influence…

One of the biggest influences on me was working with a gaffer called Laurie Shane. He’s not around with us anymore, but he was a gentleman and really knew the politics of filmmaking as well as the nuts and bolts of lighting.

Big break:

I went to St. Petersburg to work back-to-back on a couple of Harry Palmer spy films, starring Michael Caine – Bullet To Beijing (1995) and Midnight In St. Petersburg (1996). The going was really tough, from not getting much food to staying in bad hotels. People went back home every day because of the conditions. One day the gaffer said he was off too,

Andy Cole pictured with a driver in Wadi Rum, and production designer Kim Sinclair on Slow West; working on The Angels’ Share with DP Robbie Ryan ISC BSC; in Lisbon the set of Poor Things with 2nd AC Cristina Cretu; and a skeleton.

and although I didn’t want him to leave me, I took on the job, and got my first credits as gaffer. I really enjoyed being in charge of what the DP wanted to see on the screen. When I got back home I went back to being a best boy, and it was a steady climb before I became a gaffer full-time.

Working with different DPs:

Being is gaffer is a very collaborative job, where you have to show an artistic eye and an artistic appreciation of what the cinematographer wants to achieve. I really enjoy getting a feel for each film, the lighting style, deciding what we’re going to use, then working-out the other factors of time, money and crew, and coming up with a solution that’s going to fit everyone.

I’ve been lucky to work with and learn from some very talented DPs from different parts of the world, all with different approaches – as a best boy for Anthony Dod Mantle DFF BSC ASC on 28 Days Later (2002), Millions (2004) and Brothers Of The Head (2005), and as a gaffer with Charlotte Bruss Christensen ASC on Submarino (2010), Stéphane Fontaine AFC on Ammonite (2020), Mátyás Erdély on The Nest, and the Korean DP Woo-hying Kim on The Little Drummer Girl (2018, 6 eps). I recently worked in Scotland with Sean Price Williams on Harvest. I’ve worked most with Robbie Ryan ISC BSC, including several Ken Loach films,

and more recently The Favourite and Poor Things, both directed by Yorgos Lamthimos. Working on Poor Things:

Robbie and I talked about the film long before we went over to Budapest to shoot it on 35mm film in the summer of 2021. I knew there would be a lot of studio work, not just interiors, but also lighting exteriors built-onstage that involved skies.

Skies are not a science. In the old days, you’d go into a studio, put up a couple of hundred space lights, and there was your basic sky. Now we’re using technology like ARRI SkyPanels, which offer a lot more control over things like colour temperature, and are getting powerful-enough that you can create the right atmosphere for a sky when you’re in a studio.

That said, some of our sets were extremely high. Our Lisbon set was like a city in the studio, and it towered 70 to 80ft above the floor. There was great concern about how we would achieve the right T-stop when shooting on slower filmstocks, like the 100ASA Kodak Ektachrome, without breaking the bank by renting eight or nine hundred LED units.

To be economically viable, we had to find imaginative ways of getting more light into those situations, whilst retaining the fantastical look that Robbie and Yorgos had in mind. The Lisbon set had a waterfront walkway with shops that needed illuminating. So we brought in around 50 Dinos that were around 40ft away from the set, plus a line of 18Ks, all hung, to give the effect of this sunlit waterfront.

When we shot interiors, I could punch light into a room with an 18K, so that it would hit a side wall or bounce off the ground, and shape the light around the space or a face. However, some of the lenses Robbie used were ultrawide, and there were few opportunities to put lighting fixtures on-set without them being seen. So, I was lucky to get some lights behind the camera to create ambient bounce.

Light for the LED wall on Poor Things:

We shot against an LED wall for the scenes on the ship, which was a very big build that took up most of the studio. It was one of my first experiences with LED wall technology on such a big scale. The wall itself was made up from hundreds of LED panels, running along the side of the boat and curving around the stern. Robbie had discussions from early-on with the production design and set construction teams about getting the right distance between the boat and the LED wall, which turned out to be 20 to 25ft apart.

From my point-of-view there was a negligible amount of light coming off the screens, so we had a line of several hundred SkyPanels aiming-in at the ship, and a separate array of SkyPanels that could be dropped if we needed a greater intensity of light. We also introduced a smaller bank of LEDs for appropriate ambience. Depending on the time of day, like daybreak or dusk, we would match the colour temperatures of the LED wall and the on-set lighting, being very careful to avoid any spill on the screens. I am really pleased with the results.

The value of the ICLS:

It’s a really great information-sharing platform for members, especially when it comes to the latest technology and techniques. It’s also very useful that you can approach gaffers in other countries about crew recommendations. That’s quite a thing.

The ICLS is a great information-sharing platform

Keeping up with developments in lighting technology:

Along with the ICLS Discord channels, I browse the internet, sign-up to mailshots from manufacturers like ARRI, Creamsource and others, and talk to friends and colleagues around the industry at suppliers like Panalux and LCA and. I really like the DASH from Rosco, that runs on batteries and you can easily hide around a set, and I think that LED lights and power sources are progressing nicely.

How do you keep match fit?

I don’t workout at anything. The job keeps me fit. Over the years I have got used to running around for 12 hours a day, five days a week, and learning how to keep myself fuelled with food at any time of day or night.

Advice for people wanting a career in lighting:

You’re not going to drop into being a gaffer out of the sky. You’re going have to work your way towards it. So along with a love and an eye for lighting, you need the tenacity to keep at it, and the right attitude. Leave your problems at home, focus on the job at hand. You can enter as a trainee, and working on short films is a very good way to learn about collaborating, the equipment, keeping safe and being helpful. Don’t give up!

Images: Poor Things © 2023 20th Century Studios – All Rights Reserved; pictured with make-up artist Sophie King on Ice Woman.

SHIPSHAPE

By Bob Bates ICLS

The whole set had GFCIs for everyone’s safety

Set on the treacherous high seas during WWII, Greyhound (2020) follows UN Navy commander Captain Ernest Krause on his first assignment aboard USS Keeling, radio call-sign ‘Greyhound’, as he leads an international destroyer group escorting a convoy of merchant ships across the ocean to deliver soldiers and supplies to the Allied forces fighting in Europe.

The Sony Pictures/AppleTV+ production

was directed by Aaron Schneider, shot by DP Shelly Johnson ASC, with Bob Bates ICLS as the chief lighting technician. Based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, pre-production on Greyhound began in January 2018, before principal photography took place across 40 shooting days between March and May.

As the director was keen on authenticity, part of the production took place aboard the USS Kidd, a WWII Fletcher-class destroyer now permanently moored as a museum piece

in the banks of the Mississippi River. Filming also took place also on meticulously-designed sets constructed at Celtic Media Center. These included the ship’s pilot house/bridge and surrounding deck, built on a programmed gimbal to simulate the swell of the sea.

“I was thrilled to be asked by Shelly to work on this story. We have worked together on numerous projects before. One of the many things I’ve learned from him, when he calls to offer a job, is that it will be fun and interesting.

Shelly is always wellprepared early-on. During prep he had already brokendown the script and created a manifesto detailing sceneby-scene changes of camera and lighting for different times of day/night and weather conditions on our sets.

Production built the pilot house of the Greyhound on a gimbal platform on a stage.

I was thrilled to be asked by Shelly to work on this story

offered bleached muslin, greenscreen and negative. We back-lit the bleached muslin with ARRI SkyPanel S60s. We also had several motorised light boxes overhead, and at the top of the screens, that we could angle and adjust in height for a particular set-up and more directional light. The light boxes all had S60s in them too.

Inside the pilot house we needed as many of the practical instruments to light-up and interact as possible. Our fixtures team worked

Once we were able to step onto that set, we worked with our console programmer, Dana Hunt, to create the looks that Shelly had described.

When the camera crew, plus their gear, and the talent boarded the gimbal platform, we were usually there for several hours. With the movement, the wind and mist effects, it felt like we really were at sea, and it was a unique experience.

The pilot house gimbal set was surrounded with huge horseshoe-shaped curtain track that

hard to accommodate these and did a fantastic job. We also used numerous LiteGear LED cards that were either wrapped with additional CTO or a red gel, depending on the scene. As I knew this would be a “go to” for us, our rigging team ran cables throughout the set back to e-controllers so we could have dimmer control. We also fabricated small portal lights. These were circular fixtures with Litegear LED ribbon. We made them the same size as the porthole windows, and if/when they reflected

Images:

in the eyes or during set pieces, they appeared as windows, which worked well.

As I already mentioned, Shelly is very detail-oriented, and in his manifesto I saw he had broken down the script to clarify time-ofday and specify the colour temperature in the sky and the horizon as well. He also denoted if there were interactive lighting cues, and what those should look like, such as guns firing from the bow or passing a burning ship in the fleet.

During prep Shelly and I, along with the lighting team, started to create some of the “looks” and make adjustments where needed. We started looking at different time-of-day colours, as well as our interactive lighting effects. The great thing about the SkyPanels is that you can colour-mix them and programme the illumination as you need it. I could cool the lighting between midday to late afternoon, go even cooler on the dusks, create a greyness to the night scenes, and make the dawns very cyan.

This was instrumental in our workflow on shoot days. When had decided on a certain look, we would save it, as well as the interactive cue, and then on the day we could

build off of those cues. Our programmer, Dana, was very quick and efficient if ever we needed to adapt on the day.

During some of our battle scenes we had to recreate explosions, star shell bursts and muzzle flash effects, or depict ships off the bow on fire. Knowing our set had to appear in motion, turning away from another ship on fire, we created a chase effect across numerous SkyPanels to give the appearance of our ship passing the distressed ship. For the gun blasts, etc, we used SkyPanels and Creamsource Doppio’s mounted on a scissor lift that could drive around the gimbal and offer the blast, depending on the angle.

Of course, we faced several challenges when designing the lighting and the shooting on the pilot house gimbal set. One of these was the gimbal being in motion, another was

having water involved. So we had to design a rig that would allow for this.

On the gimbal rig we tried to do as much as we could with DC lighting, but there was always the need for AC power as well. The whole set had GFCIs (ground-fault circuit interrupters) for everyone’s safety.

The pilot house set had a rubber membrane on the roof, but with the set shifting on the gimbal hour after hour, more and more water filled-up on the roof as each shoot day progressed. We started having minor issues with lights and/ or connectors tripping the GFCI’s, and were constantly adapting and evolving the set to protect this from happening. It did become a little stressful making sure that all the lighting stayed

in place take-after-take, and there were a few times that we had to pause to track down which connector had retained water, and needed to be dried or swapped-out.

I want to say what an amazing job our rigging teams did – from our rigging electric with the gimbal set with water and wind, AC and DC lights, to the rigging grips who were able to pull

anything off. The stage rigs were beautiful, well thought out and useful. And it was a lot of fun!”

Chief lighting technician: Bob Bates ICLS

Best boy electric: Tedd Underwood

Rigging gaffer: Josh Anderson ICLS

Best boy rigging electric: Antonio Sansovich

Console programmer: Dana Hunt

Fixtures: Katelyn Tyree

Key grip: Bob Babin

Rigging key: Chris Conahan

Best boy grip: Lucas Porterfield

Best boy rigging grip: Justin Crawford

Production designer: David Crank

Art directors: Thomas Frohling & Lauren Rosenbloom

Set designers: Tristen Bourne, Cosmos Demetriou & Brian Waits

Construction coordinator: Richard Blackenship

SPFX effects supervisor: Yves Debono

SPFX effects engineer: John Herzberger

GET IN TOUCH

If you have photos and a story to tell about a particular scene you have worked on as gaffer, please let us know!

Selected Filmography (as gaffer/chief lighting technician):

Maestro (2023)

She Said (2022)

The Whale (2022)

Money Monster (2016)

The Affair (2015) (TV series, 10 eps)

The Intern (2015)

The Amazing Spider-man 2 (2014)

Noah (2014)

Black Swan (2010)

World Trade Center (2006)

Inside Man (2006)

In The Cut (2003)

SHINING A LIGHT ON...

JOHN VELEZ ICLS

Fact File:

Age: 60

Born: Brooklyn, New York

First job:  McGuinness Lighting

Training: On the job

Lives: New Jersey

By Ron Prince

Hobbies/ passions: “Spending time with family & photography”

Once upon a time…

I grew up in Queens, New York, far-removed from the industry. As a kid, my only real exposure to what a film set might look was watching the car chase under the elevated section of the L-Subway in The French Connection (1971, DP Owen Roizman ASC). I grew up two blocks from there.

Starting out…

My sister started dating this great guy, Michael Van Howten, an IATSA 728 Local electrician out of LA, who wound-up becoming a top DP on commercials in New York. He was a huge influence, who explained things to me such as colour temperature, hard and soft light, and how lighting instruments each have personalities and that you can change through colour and diffusion. Michael invited me to be a PA on a job. For some reason I hit it off with the electric department on my first day, and I have never left the industry, nor the lighting department since then.

If you’re on time, you’re late

Advice from a mentor:

Michael Van Howten once said to me, “When you go to a set, it’s like going to a party. Everyone needs to offer a gift.” I guess the gift I have, and the gift I can pass-on to others, is my fascination with lighting.

Images: Maestro images courtesy of Netflix

When I am working, I like to mentor the young electricians and, as we’re working on a lighting set-up, I drag each one of them into the DIT tent so they can see what we’re creating together. I want to inspire them. I want them to be better than me.

Michael also told me, “The more you listen and learn, the better-off you’ll be,” and that, “Your eyes are all you need to understand light. They are better than any meter you will ever use.” He would always encourage me to look around and understand how light behaves. Sadly, we lost Michael in November 2023.

Early steps in the industry:

After doing PA work, I got a job at a studio that did commercials, where I learned a lot about working with things like arc lights, and met some top-flight Hollywood DPs, such as Michael Butler ASC. I learned their workflows, absorbed their techniques in creating different looks with light, and my goal was set on becoming a lighting guy.

I was never formally trained about electrics, but I always had this drive to learn. My stepfather was an electrical contractor for the railroad, very knowledgeable. At home, I would bring back set-talk about the jobs I was working on, and he would explain things like single phase and three phase. I used to really enjoy doing the electronic project kits from Radio Shack.

Once people see you’re a responsible individual, who shows-up on time and pays attention to details, they realise that you have something to offer. For the best part of a decade I was busy working as a rigging electrician and best boy until I became a gaffer on Spike Lee’s Bamboozled, shot by Ellen Kuras ASC.

My ‘Film Family’:

In those early years I got to know, and to work with, gaffers in New York, like Mo Flam,

Bill O’Leary and Mike Bauman ICLS, and key grips like Mitch Lillian. They’re still friends 30 years later, and are part of what I call my ‘Film Family’. They earned their place at the table because they contributed every day, supporting the image for the director and the DP, and I have always admired them for that, along with their incredible camaraderie.

The gift I can pass-on to others is my fascination with lighting

Thoughts about the ICLS:

I think of the ICLS as a my ‘Global Film Family’, and am so glad that Mike Bauman, Raffi Sanchez and Martin Smith were able to make it happen. The Discord is an amazing resource and I use it constantly. I post stuff that I think would be interesting to members, and get answers to questions I ask. It is great way to stay on top of technology, and invaluable for the new generation of people in lighting.

Working with different DPs:

First of all, I’m always honoured to be invited to a project. I know it’s a really big decision for the DP to make. They want someone who will not just be in the field with them, but who will charge the hill too. So you need to be in the same mind space to help them visualise what they want.

One of the workflows I have with Matthew Libatique ASC LPS, on our projects together including Maestro, is that he’ll have folder of inspirational images that we discuss and get a focus on where his vision is going. When we read the script, we talk about the emotional

motivation of the scene and the characters. Then, as we embark on scouts together, I break things down scene-by-scene, especially any complicated scenarios, like a night exterior or a huge day interior, and the equipment we’re going to need. I also read the room. Whilst I’m part of the creative circle, I’m not in the tight inner-circle with the director and the DP, so prefer to stand back and listen.

Experience of working on Maestro:

I’m thrilled that Matthew has earned so many top nominations for Maestro. It was great fun, but there were a lot of challenges. He has a really funny saying when he hears things getting complicated, “I don’t care how the sausage is made, just give me the sausage,” which meant me and my team had to work hard at it.

I was also really inspired by Bradley Cooper, who was producing, directing, getting dragged into make-up and then acting. He said to us all, “This is our film”, and I loved that.

Lighting insights on Maestro:

As it was going to be shot on 35mm B&W and colour film, we had a couple of test days to calibrate our minds as to what we would need tool-wise for the textural looks Matthew and Bradley wanted. We realised that just digital lighting, with ARRI SkyPanel S360s, was not going to do it in terms of the T-stop. Also, we generally had to light the spaces so that we would be ready to go when Bradley came in and the camera team could move fluidly during many long takes.

So we harnessed the horsepower from traditional old-school 10K and 20K Maxi Brutes with Chimeras on them, MoleBeams and ARRI Tungstens, and really embraced what incandescent lights can do and how great they look on people.

Of course, we used some LEDs, like Astera tubes that we could hide around a location,

and had some LED panels and movers on the existing lighting rigs at places like Carnegie Hall and St James Theater to supplement the illumination levels with top or bounced light.

Some of the light was quite daring in its simplicity. For example, we lit the scene in which Felicia takes Lenny into the theatre where she is performing in a play with a single 500W ETC photoflood bulb. There was something about the texture and the mood, that transported Bradley and Matthew.

Keeping up with developments in lighting technology:

I’ve always been interested in the tools to do the job, and that still drives me. I like going to trade shows, to get a first look at a product, and love getting a demo unit to try during a camera test. I’m always doing deep dives on the Internet and the ICLS Discord channels.

I like the ARRI Orbiter and the way ARRI have matched the colour science between it and their digital cameras. The new relationship been ARRI and Claypaky could probably bring really huge innovations in moving lights. Indeed, theatrical movers, from companies like Robe, Martin and ETC, have come a long way with more powerful beams and much better colour science for film and TV production. I’m totally into the sources of greener, more environmentally-friendly power that are being rapidly developed.

Advice for people wanting a career in lighting:

Learn the tools, and their different personalities. Technology has advanced so much since I started-out, when it was all film and traditional lights. Now we have so many amazing tools to make films, and it’s important

to know about them. Also, when you are working, if you’re on time, you’re late. Show-up early, be friendly to your crew members and always show respect.

PUMP UP THE VOLUME

By Dylan Bruce, with additional reporting by Ron Prince

When it comes to interactive and image-based lighting (IBL) for LED walls and volumes, the potential is as exciting as it can be mindbending. In the first of several specials on the subject, leaders in manufacturing outline their philosophies, approaches and solutions in this rapidly developing field.

KINO FLO –GETTING THE RIGHT LIGHT

How do we mimic the real world?

Frieder Hochheim, founder and president of Kino Flo Lighting, believes Mimik provides DPs and gaffers with the tools to confidently approach this ever-evolving task.

The definition of image-based lighting (IBL) has been a changeable one, particularly when we consider how it is used in motion pictures. Originally, the term came from the CG VFX/gaming world, where objects or characters in a virtual environment would be lit using light and colour information from the virtual backgrounds surrounding them.

Hochheim explains that in a live, on-set scenario, IBL stems from the observation

that when you’re standing in an LED volume, or beside an LED wall, featuring a display of the sky, the light falling on an actor’s face from the surrounding walls can already feel very immersive and tempting to use. However, the general pitfall is that the quality and intensity of light from this RGB source is not on a par with the detailed colour spectrum of LED lighting tools that crews are used to working with. Hence, there is now major emphasis on the luminares being brought-in to compliment the immersive nature of LED volumes/walls.

“My head of engineering came out of an ASC Lighting Committee meeting back in 2019, about authentic lighting for LED walls and volumes, and asked, ‘Why don’t

we leapfrog the current LED zoning system and just go straight to individual pixel control? I think we can do it. It’s a matter of reaching out to who’s making the processors,’” Hochheim recounts.

We can now map in a heartbeat

Kino Flo quickly collaborated with Megapixel to create an intricate pixel-controllable lamp, resulting in the Mimik 120, a 10,000nit, 7,200-pixel hybrid video lighting tile that mirrors video content, whilst combining higher tonal and colour rendering, and is designed to light talent and sets in virtual pro -

ELI TAHAN ICLS –LIGHTING NFL MAGIC

The skyrocketing popularity of LED volume stages has opened new possibilities for creating captivating visuals, but introduced new challenges for on-set lighting, as Eli Tahan ICLS discovered on commercial for TCL Electronics, featuring NFL star quarterback, Justin Herbert.

“My DP Will Turner was excited to delve

into an LED volume for this project, that follows Justin scoring a touchdown, as fans watch along with TCL devices in-hand. Shooting on-location at SoFi Stadium in LA was not an option, so director Roy Tighe took a stab at fusing the best of both worlds – physical and virtual – via Orbital Studios, using a curved LED wall, 50ft wide and 15ft high, powered by Unreal Engine.

In pre-production real-time shot planning via 3D pre-vis software refined the vision

ahead of time and helped problem-solve before cameras ever rolled. Unreal Engine artists then created the virtual football stadium environment, and on the day production design brought in synthetic turf/props, plus bleacher seating for crowd work.

We knew reflections would be our worst enemy, and rigging soft-boxes or overhead units was out of the question as over 30 tracking cameras needed a clear line of sight. With these limitations in mind, we wanted the

duction or green/bluescreen environments.

The Mimik 120 has a 10mm pixel pitch and a construction of five LEDs per pixel. Like other Kino Flo fixtures, it can deliver Kelvin-tuneable white light: warm white 2700K, cool white 6500K, red, green and blue. It also has a one-third scan rate that allows up to 900fps shooting speed, making it versatile for slow-motion work.

“A key thing you can do now, that you couldn’t do before, is to genlock the lighting fixture, so the background footage on the LED wall, camera and Mimik are synchronised together,” says Hochheim. “One project we were approached about was on a North Sea oil drilling rig, where you don’t want to be physically for weeks on end. They were able to shoot against a greenscreen with the perfectly synchronised VFX plates playing through Mimiks.”

Mimik 120s can be stacked five tiles high, with no limit on width. The fixture also features an electrosonically-welded diffusion material which allows for sizes varying from individual panels to 20ft by 40ft.

Hochheim explains the conscious decision to steer Mimik away from DMX. Due to the individual pixel control and sheer versatility of the lamp, to attempt to control the fixture via

DMX would result in a mind-boggling 140 universes in a single panel. Instead, the Mimik is controlled by a Megapixel Helios video processor that features two PX1 receiver cards. This functions alongside Assimilate’s control protocol.

“We can now map in a heartbeat,” enthuses Hochheim. “Previously, when you tried to map any kind of light into a volume, you would have to change the size of your canvas. In other words, squeeze the image down, causing your sampling area to increase. With Assimilate Live FX we have the option of leaving the canvas size as it is, and can adjust to any sample area that we want. We can also rotate the Mimik and capture any area because we’re at a 10 pixel-pitch, with the resolution all worked out.”

Hochheim says that despite shifting away from DMX, the Mimik functions on a desk with that same level of familiarity. “You’ve just got to take the time to understand where the controls are. It’s all there, at a click of a button, and it’s really simple.”

Despite this fantastic new technology, Hochheim emphasises that IBL alone is not the end-solution. “Just because it’s image-based, doesn’t

mean it’s necessarily the right light. Mimik can really help to imitate the real world, but must be utilised alongside thorough preparation, variations in on-set light quality and a real understanding of how it is synchronised with the virtual reality portrayed on the LED volume.”

lighting to have chiaroscuro – higher contrast, plus light/dark to create depth and realism – with cooler colour temperatures up-front to create colour contrast between subject and background.

I went with a pair of Nanlux Dyno 1200s, which ticked all the boxes – powerful, precise and manageable for a single SLT to manoeuvre. For mobile fill, we pushed around a Nanlux Dyno 650c which helped dig light into the players’ eyes. To motivate large

stadium backlights, we used four Aputure 1200Ds shooting into 4x8 beadboard placed up-and-over the LED wall at a 45-degree downward angle.

Will shot with Zeiss Supreme Radiance glass. To spike the lens with a touch of flare, we used what we called the ‘LED Flare Gun’, a Nanlite Forza 60 bi-colour with mini projector mount, powered by a Core SWX Nano V-mount. My SLT was able to hand-hold the unit, find the lens, and effortlessly add a flare

in a run-&-gun manner. For scenes with the cheering crowd, I used three Kino Flo Freestyle 31s to uplight the bleachers. To mimic flash photography, we had four Astera PixelBricks –two pointed at camera, two towards the crowd – manually triggered through the Astera App. The combination of all these dynamic lighting elements created a convincing environment which ultimately helped sell the look.”

Images: Kino Flo BTS photos from a music video shoot at Fuse Studios, Glendale, by DP Rob McLachlan ASC, courtesy of Frieder Hochheim.

RUPIXELS –THE ROAD TO INTERACTIVE

Sitting in-front of a blazing array of LED panels, Michael Kelly, president of RuPixels Inc., started-out in Detroit as a photographic stills assistant, honed his craft working as a DP and electrician, before eventually settling as a gaffer, amassing an impressive credit list.

His first foray into interactive lighting came when working as an electrician on There Will Be Blood (2007, DP Robert Elswit ASC).

“For me, the idea of self-contained interactive lighting started almost 20 years ago on the way to the shoot in Marfa, Texas. Our gaffer, Robby Baumgartner, asked me to help build interactive lighting units for fire effects which would play a pivotal role in the film. The lights were 2ft x 4ft and contained 200 x 25W clear globes controlled by six circuits in conventional dimmers. We quickly discovered that our fixture made the real fire look smoother and brighter. In my brain, a switch flipped.”

Transitioning to LA, Kelly stepped-up and worked on many films as a gaffer, including Warrior (2011, DP Masanobu Takayanagi) and The Magnificent Seven (2016, DP Mau -

ro Fiore). Working on Strange Angel (2018, DP Andrew Droz Palermo), he discovered a gap in the market for pixel-controllable LED fixtures with lightweight build and lower power consumption.

“I wondered how hard something like that might be to build, and after countless hours over five years, we’re at the point where the RuPixels fixture is a fascinating product for interactive and image-based lighting. It’s also waterproof, flexible and you can wrap it around an eight-inch tube.”

The package consists of the RuFlex panel and ACF16 controller. The RuFlex is madeup from four panels with 2,048 individually-addressable pixels. The panels are flexible, foldable, waterproof to IP66 and, at 1ft x 4ft each, can easily adapt to frames and shapes. With integrated side zippers, larger assemblies are simple. The RuPixels panel has real emphasis on flexibility and works on many lighting consoles, including Grand MA and Hog.

SUMOLIGHT – IBL –READY WORKFLOW

IBL can range from subtle enhancements to full-blown lighting rigs, and it is essential to have flexible control, whether it’s creating effects like fire, fireworks and water reflections, or the Unreal Engine-driven lighting of 3D content.

One of the game-changers, Sumolight’s Sumosky system, is reshaping the way we think

The AFC16 controller is the custom-built brain of the RuFlex system. It features an 800W power supply with ultra-quiet fans, plus a 2.8” LCD screen for programming on-set. Eight 12V outputs carry two universes, each at 50W per universe. The ACF16 accepts sACN and ArtNet via an industry-standard etherCon port, and integrated rigging points ensure mounting is fast and safe.

We can now approach lighting from a more photographic perspective

The ACF16 integrates standard lighting profiles, including CCT, HSI, xxY, video-based profiles such as Rec.2020 and P3DCI theatre, and features ‘Dynamic Dimming’, which allows pixels to be dimmed at different rates to smooth the overall dimming curve, while increasing low-end dimming dexterity.

“Our development was

about lighting and virtual production, for things like in-shot surface lighting, green/bluescreens and even lightboxes for animated, coloured reflections in car shoots.

Designed for versatility, Sumosky can be rigged in vertical or horizontal arrangements, from just a few bars on a C-stand to entire ceilings or walls in a studio. The Skybars can be daisy-chained for both power and data. The Sumo Control Box is the secret sauce that enables easy addressing and mapping, allowing

up to 20 Skybars to be controlled as a single node. To further streamline the set-up, Sumosky offers automation for addressing and mapping in proprietary, intuitive software. Nothing needs to be done manually.

In virtual production, achieving perfect light quality and colour is paramount. Sumosky translates video RGB signals into RGBWW within the Sumo Control Box, with the ability to adjust the proportion of white light to suit different situations. The system can be fine-tuned to conform to

not so much a video tool, and I never wanted this to be just a regular lighting tool. I wanted beautiful, dynamic, intelligent interactivity,” says Kelly. “It’s fast to deploy too. Anything that aides moving quickly on-set, to get the light close to the camera, on an actor’s face, or the into the interior of a car, helps the production schedule.”

Kelly points towards the RuPixel panels behind him, which are glowing with a brilliant fire effect. “What’s useful is that you can record any input from your sACN or ArtNet source to a thumb-drive. So, if I wanted a fire effect, I could record the fire input onto a thumb drive and output the data later without the need for an input source.” Kelly says a library of pre-programmed effects is on the way soon.

Whilst the concepts of interactive lighting and IBL in LED volumes go hand-in-hand, Kelly speaks

of some of the technical difficulties involved.

“We can take a live feed from the video source of the LED volume or wall, but have found the effect isn’t as dramatic as we would like, and we need to really feel the movement of the light. This is because video has so much information in it. You end-up with a muddy image and we often layer additional effects to create more contrast.”

As most LED panels have RGB emitters, Kelly explains that the colour space is not as refined as the one gaffers are used to in the lighting world. Due to this, the colour science and processes inside the ACF16, developed by Bobby Peter Lynas and Eli Just, aid in working within video specific colour spaces. “It ensures that everything we do happens within that defined space. These developments will allow the flexibility of being able to have lighting blend seamlessly with a volume.”

The running theme with IBL is the need for crews to take a novel approach to lighting technology. Kelly believes technical-based lamp operators will soon be the imperative.

“The way that lighting is performed onset is changing. It is time to discuss lighting the same way we discuss capturing an

various standard colour spaces, like wide gamut LED, Rec 709, Rec 2020 and Adobe sRGB, providing filmmakers with impressive control.

For small set-ups, Sumosky software offers an intuitive control interface. For more extensive, interactive backdrops, control can be managed from a lighting desk or mapping software. Sumosky integrates with Unreal Engine, allowing users to map directly within the software or use mapping software as an intermediate control device.

On the movie Borderlands (2024), DP Ro-

image, using similar ideas and terms. Where colour was once based on more basic tools, like corrective or modifying gels, we can now approach lighting from a more photographic perspective. Creating a sunset with lighting can now be achieved by using a sunset image as the input source.”

RuPixels panels have been used on Twisters (2024, DP Dan Mindel BSC ASC SASC, gaffer John Vecchio) as well as CSI: Vegas (2021) and Dark Matter (2024), and some yet un-namable projects. One of the most significant productions has been The Mandalorian (2019-present), overseen by gaffer Jeff Webster ICLS.

Images: Sumolight BTS images from Borderlands and The Peripheral.

gier Stoffers ASC used 1,500 bars, in a set-up measuring 124m x 10m, as an interactive backdrop for gradients and in-shot canvas for later VFX-work. For Amazon’s series, The Peripheral, DPs Stuart Howell BSC and Roberto Schaefer AIC ASC had 1,800 bars rigged vertically over an existing set in three days, before using the Sumosky as both an interactive overhead light source and a regular spacelight. A vertical section was also used for interactive lighting as well as bluescreen.

APUTURE – PERFECTION OF INTENTION

“My philosophy about IBL started from documentary-making, and working out what makes light look natural”, explains Tim Kang. His thoughtful approach to lighting has been a major proponent in developing the technology and education surrounding IBL.

With an extensive career, Kang started out as a DP and studied at the American Film Institute, taught by Stephen Lighthill ASC. Kang’s fascination with light saw him “take a look under-the-bonnet”, and he worked for several years as a consultant at Quasar Science. Now you can find him at Aputure’s Glendale offices in LA, where he is principal engineer with a focus on imaging applications. He also heads the ASC’s Lighting Committee.

Kang makes an important distinction between on-set IBL and the kind that originates from VFX practices, where highresolution images are stitched together to understand where light sources and reflections are coming from.

In motion picture terms, Kang explains, “Onset IBL is really a philosophical approach of how you use a photo or video as your lighting source.” This doesn’t necessarily apply solely to LED volumes as Kang uses a great recent example of Sir Roger Deakins CBE BSC ASC’s work in Skyfall (2012, gaffer, John ‘Biggles’ Higgins ICLS).

“They did a fire gag where an elaborate lighting rig on a sound stage was used to mimic the real flickering flames of a burning house shot on location, with the two combined in VFX. The idea that we can light with some sort of image is part of the DNA of lighting effects.

“As lighting people, we are creating windows to the world, whether they’re flat windows, whether they’re three-dimensional windows at different distances, whether it’s a point source or a bounce. We’re always selectively placing things and they’re becoming lighting windows. If we’re doing

STEVEN SODERBERGH’S FULL CIRCLE USES ROSCO’S RDX LAB SYSTEM

Academy Award-winning director Steven Soderbergh employed virtual production for the TV mini-series Full Circle, harnessing the RDX LAB System from Rosco with software by FuseFX on the series.

that but it’s all just blank white sources, why not turn those blank white sources into the environment?”

Colour is a subjective psychological idea

Kang has been at the forefront of pushing for education and a level of standardisation within IBL. As head of the ASC Lighting Committee he has held meetings with many lighting manufacturers to iron-out the issues of dealing with differences in spectrum when utilising the light from RGB emitters in LED volumes.

“Because the colour spectrum is the same in most volumes, it’s ultimately three peaks RGB. If you’re getting spill from the wall and you’re using it, you need to bring your fixture down in colour fidelity to blend with the wall. It’s not about the perfection of technology, but the perfection of intention.”

He believes the importance of standardisation lies in the communication of the intent

Powerpoint screenshots

The RDX System combines FuseFX’s VFX software with Rosco’s extensive digital content library, granting DPs and filmmakers with access to high-resolution cinematic backdrops which can be displayed and adjusted in real-time on any LED volume. Full Circle was the first production to deploy the RDX System, and background imagery was manipulated via an app. The backdrop images seen on the show were displayed on a flat 180ft LED wall and

required a purpose-built system that could support the virtual set. Teams from Carstage and Visual Alchemy supported the RDX System and enabled the scale-up of images onto the LED wall.

The RDX System significantly reduced the time and cost typically associated with constructing environments in pre-production, said Rosco, and also saved time during post production.

“It’s changed the way that I think about

as well as the lighting hardware.

“Colour is a subjective psychological idea. What defines my shade of white light? It’s the identity itself, which is the spectrum. And that’s where the standardisation comes in. So, if I want a certain shade of pink light, what I really want is CIE daylight spectrum at 5,200 Kelvin through a little minus green filtration to provide a little negative DUV tint.”

Aputure has been hard at work developing lamps to function in operation with IBL and within an LED volume. Aputure houses a vast arsenal of LED lighting fixtures, including ranges like the new Electro Storm, Light Storm, MC Pro and Nova ranges. Kang explains that the new MC Pro can function as a wireless LED lighting pixel for accent work, with the more punchy COB fixtures acting as sunlight or a hard source.

“Right now, the difficulty is how you get a video source pixel-mapped onto fixtures, and there are some tools for that. What we’re trying to do is make that process straightforward on the lighting fixture side. I’ve already created a set of video profiles for RGB so that the light fixtures understand the colour. Aputure were already onto this before I arrived, and they’ve been doing spectral calibration so the entire

map is as good as it can be.

”Kang is a major advocate of Assimilate Live FX due to the ease of mapping fixtures onto high resolution 360-degree plates. Aputure is creating new DMX profiles that allow for further accuracy in pixel-mapping.

During this insightful conversation, Kang makes frequent reference to the importance of education in the emerging world of onset IBL.

“Who do we educate, and why?” he asks. “I would say the person that has to adapt the most is the lighting programmer, because they’re going to have to understand the server side of working, and it’s likely that more positions may appear below the lighting programmer.”

Predicting a strong and positive future for LED volumes and the application of IBL, Kang exclaims, “LED walls will never go away. The talent and crew on-set now have real-time images to react and respond to, allowing everyone to work on the same page.”

During this insightful conversation, Kang makes frequent reference to the importance of education in the emerging world of onset IBL.

“Who do we educate, and why?” he asks. “I would say the person that has to adapt the most is the lighting programmer, because they’re going to have to understand the server side of

working, and it’s likely that more positions may appear below the lighting programmer.”

Predicting a strong and positive future for LED volumes and the application of IBL, Kang exclaims, “LED walls will never go away. The talent and crew on-set now have real-time images to react and respond to, allowing everyone to work on the same page.”

When it comes to learning about IBL, he has some words of wisdom. “I honestly think the best way is to grab the bull by its horns, to start doing it yourself by mixing lights, and looking at how you balance the colour differences on a picture that you see on a phone with the ones in your head.

“Just think about it, start evaluating the light. Are you getting 5,600 Kelvin or is it too blue? All these nuances start coming out, and I think you just can only learn it by doing. You’re always going to have to do a little mixture of techniques, a mixture of different types of fixtures. Don’t get hung up on the toys, get into the technique first.”

conceptualising scenes and story,” said Soderbergh. “That’s the way technology is supposed to work. It’s supposed to unleash your imagination as opposed to scaling down your ideas to what’s possible at that moment in time. I’m thinking about doing things now that I wouldn’t have thought about doing before.

“ We’re really in a space where you have the freedom to imagine things. My horizons have expanded just due to technology like

this. I can move at the speed that I want to move and do things visually I’ve never been able to do before.”

Images: ROSCO BTS photos – LED wall at Carstage in Queens, NY; a night scene test using the RDX LAB System displayed on the LED wall; interiors with views of Manhattan using the RDX LAB System; and, gaffer Derek Gross with the RDX LAB System controller.

CREAMSOURCE –BRAINS NOT BRAWN

Over in Burbank, California, Tim Duff, director of Creamsource’s North Americas branch, explains how the company is making leaps and bounds in in IBL. Duff, who’s experience spans across various departments within the film industry before settling in the lighting business, gives a brief origins story.

“The birth of Creamsource really came where we had the opportunity to build custom LED lighting fixtures for Happy Feet (2006, DP David Peers).” Since then, Creamsource has produced a host of LED fixtures, including ranges like the Vortex, Micro and Space X that can be found on a multitude of high-end productions including Dune (2021. DP Greig Fraser ACS ASC, gaffer Jamie Mills) to name a recent example.

Duff gives a brilliant overview of IBL. “It’s an alternative approach to classic programming, instead of building from someone’s mind, you’re taking an existing piece of media, running it through your fixtures and building lighting effects through that.”

He speaks highly of the ability to create

an organic feel by lighting this way, and how Vortex units have become important fixtures in virtual production.

“Our 20-degree beam angle gives you a punch you can never get from

a soft LED panel or LED wall. The Vortex’s are also incredibly versatile because they can be that soft or hard key light. You can run whatever media through our fixtures to give you an interactive lighting effect. In a lot of studios, people are putting our Vortex’s where the seam is in the LED wall is so you can get a kicker, or if you need something to

It’s more about intelligence and the workflow than the fixture itself

DP STEVEN HOLLERAN ILLUMINATES SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL

Sympathy For The Devil centres around a driver (Joel Kinnaman) who is carjacked by a passenger from his past (an unhinged Nicolas Cage), leading

replicate the sun.”

A common theme in virtual production is the emphasis on matching colour fidelity. Duff goes on to explain that the intelligence in the Vortex is vital to its use in LED wall/ volume applications.

“We have a mode where we can take RGB data but mix it in with RGBW algorithms so you’re getting an RGB output whilst utilising the full spectrum and getting better quality light.”

Similar to other manufacturers, Creamsource is also adding the ability to work within different colour spaces, creating a more harmonious workflow when lighting in a volume.

Duff goes on to explain the importance of DMX fine-tuning when working with IBL.

“We have various DMX smoothing settings that you can add-in, as you can’t just run media into a fixture and expect it to work. So using the example of programming a fire effect, for instance, you add-in DMX smoothing and you get more of an organic timbre to the movement and colour of the light.”

Creamsource has recently introduced the LNX system, granting users the ability to quickly and safely rig vast arrays of Vortex fixtures. This creates an interesting place

to a tense 90-minute road trip along the byways of Las Vegas that oscillates between reality and surrealism.

To bring this sinister tale to life, DP Steven Holleran drew inspiration from the neon lights of Las Vegas, particularly the Neon Museum, which houses old neon signs. The colours of these signs, especially as they fade over time, influenced the film’s colour palette. Red and green were prominently incorporated to represent the

city’s stoplights and a deeper symbolism of the battle between good and evil.

For the film, where nearly a third of the story unfolds inside a car, these scenes were captured predominantly in an LED volume. Holleran and his team captured plates of the sinuous roads of Las Vegas, then brought them to Vū Studios, where he’d already collaborated with the volume operator to get the LED wall looking pristine. The volume provided a controlled

within virtual production as Duff explains.

“With an array of Vortex fixtures, you’re essentially building a lower-resolution video wall.” This is something being tested rigorously by gaffer, Jeff Webster ICLS and his crew, who have utilised the Creamsource fixtures on a number of major productions, including The Mandalorian (2019 to present).

Sheer usability of the Vortex has been a major proponent in its success, as Duff explains. “I think the brain, the firmware, the interface of the Vortex, are the secret sauce of this fixture line. But, the most important thing for us is the ecosystem and the workflows we’re creating to make it easier to plug-in whatever quality or type of light you want out of the fixture.”

A voice joining many others, Duff calls for education and standardisation when working with IBL. “You can have five different brands set to the same Rosco gel and they’re all going to look completely different. We’re

at this kind of turning-point where a lot of these different technologies, as well as the manufacturers and users, need to come together, to cooperate and educate one another, with the aim of streamlining some of these workflows.”

The pitfalls when working in virtual production come from its inherent artifice. “When you get into something like virtual production you’re fighting so many artificial things just by the nature of it,” says Duff. “If you’re adding inherent issues on top, it makes it even harder to create a natural look. What that really comes down to is how realistic the lighting is. The problems are a combination of not understanding some of these nuances and then trying to light too much off the video wall itself.”

Duff concludes, “You really have to rethink how you light in a LED volume, irrespective of having interactive imagebased lighting technology. Methodology and usability are more important than the equipment. We feel with IBL, that it’s more about intelligence and the workflow than the fixture itself.”

ambient setting for world-building, whilst additional lighting, including Creamsource Vortex8, was employed to help create a realistic and dynamic environment for the stationary car.

When shooting scenes from the front of the car, chief lighting technician Gregory Doi and crew placed a Vortex off-camera to the right, diffused with a chase pattern, and colour-tuned to match the specific environment of the scene. If the scene

was set on a highway outside Las Vegas, the light would be tuned to replicate a sodium-vapour aura. Another Vortex was placed as a back edge rim light which crew members would cut to add diversity to the picture.

While the LED volume offers flexibility and efficiency, it’s always good to remind ourselves that while technology offers tools, it’s the artist’s vision that breathes life into a scene. In an era when virtual

production is becoming more and more prevalent, it’s still the raw unpredictability of real-life filmmaking, that keeps the magic alive.

As Holleran says, “You want the creativity to drive the technology, not the other way around.”

Images: Creamsource BTS photos of a rig on The Mandalorian built by CLT Jeff Webster ICSL, RCLT Bobby DeChellis, LCP Derek Hoffman, key grip Bud Scott, rigging key grip Jason Selsor, and Tom Howard on Vectorworks.

Selected Filmography (as gaffer/chief lighting technician):

Oppenheimer (2023)

Nope (2022)

Tenet (2020)

Ad Astra (2019)

Love Sonia (2018)

Dunkirk (2017)

The value of the ICLS…

I am super-excited to be a member of the ICLS. It legitimises our lives in the lighting department. Although some might think of us as roughnecks, with a penchant for drinking and fighting, people in lighting are smart, hardworking and production-friendly.

On The Road (2012) (gaffer: California)

Pirates Of The Caribbean:

On Stranger Tides (2011) (2nd unit: gaffer)

Funny People (2009) (rigging electrician) In Treatment (2008) (TV series, 3 eps) Bobby (2006)

SHINING A LIGHT ON...

ADAM CHAMBERS ICLS

By Ron Prince

Fact File:

Age: 60

Born: St John’s Hospital, Santa Monica

Training: On the job

Qualifications: UCLA Creative Writing

Lives: Westlake Village, California

Pobbies/ hassions: “the family, beach holidays, the gym & playing pickleball”

were the ones having the most fun on-set, and gravitated towards them. I worked on lots of commercials and then movies, often side-by-side with people like Adam Harrison, Scotty Barnes and Mike Bauman, who are all now ICLS members. Best boy, director and broke!

The ICLS gives members knowledge from others around the world, and insight into what they’re going through – from labour issues, to networking, to lighting philosophies. I always wanted to be a part of something relevant, where creative ambitions flow and things push forwards, and the ICLS can take that to the next level. Beginnings…

I grew-up in Hollywood in the ‘70s, and come from a theatrical family. My father was an actor, but ended-up as a successful commercials director in the UK and then LA, and my uncle, Everett, was an actor and became a successful TV producer. They were friends with people like John Cassavetes, Seymour Cassell and Marlon Brando, all of whom I knew. Early-on I wanted to be an actor too, in musical theatre, and never considered working as a gaffer. Whilst I never

made it as an actor, I learnt that, when you want something, you really have to go for it. Where did you train?

Here’s a thing. I grew-up in a tumultuous, dysfunctional household, my mother was an artist, a rebel and a drug addict. She and my father were like oil and water and got divorced. I was essentially a latchkey kid and never went to class. It was a case of survival for me and my younger half-brother, Noah Shain, who is my programmer, growing-up as white Jewish kids in a Mexican neighbourhood. We had a pretty crazy deal.

I was best boy for gaffer Larry Wallace for 12 years, on movies shot by DP Allen Daviau ASC, like Congo (1995), The Astronaut’s Wife (1999) and Van Helsing (2004), where I learnt a lot about beautiful light, especially for leading ladies, as well as good temperament on-set. I am nothing but energy, and while some may have seen me as a yahoo, goofing-around doing crazy stuff, there has always been serious side to me, a determination to get on, which people like Larry and Allen recognised and encouraged.

I am nothing but energy

I didn’t have much of an education and got kicked out of high-school in 11th grade. My father was very disappointed and said I had to work. So I started as a PA on his sets, before joining the IATSE Local 44 as a set dresser and then the Local 88 as a grip, but I couldn’t stand either of those jobs.

Looking around, I noticed the electricians

In-between movies, I started directing regional commercials and tried doing spec spots as a persona I invented, called Whitey Bel-Air III, but I ended-up broke, with tens of thousands of dollars of credit card debt, lost my home and almost my marriage. So I went back to working as a rigging gaffer and gaffer on pretty much any job I could find, because I had to make a living to support my family.

Life-changing encounter…

I worked on commercials, and had just lit a promo for The History Channel, when I was asked to help a DP called Hoyte Van Hoytema, as the gaffer on a five-day Spectrum ad, with Herb Ault as the key grip. I was already a fanboy of Hoyte’s work on Let The Right One In (2008) and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), so it was mind-blowing for me.

Hoyte was super-cool and a gentleman,

and when we shook hands at the end of the job, he said he was off to shoot Spectre (2015) and would be back in touch. I then worked pretty much exclusively for Bob Richardson ASC on commercials for the next sixteen months. Hoyte then called about lighting a five-day commercial, and we’ve worked together ever since. Working with Hoyte Van Hoytema NSC FSF ASC…

I love him, he’s a great artist, we’re great friends, and I’m thrilled for his success with Oppenheimer He never stops working, which I love because I

don’t ever want to stop working either. Retirement is not part of my deal. He thinks ahead, pushes new ideas every day, and I never give less than 110% every time I step on-set with him. Keeping up with developments in lighting technology:

It’s generally by word-of-mouth, mostly from friends who are always well-ahead of the game, like gaffer Jeff Ferrero, who is a maniac in tryingout new stuff that’s coming along and is wildlyinnovative, and also Noah Shain, who is always searching-out viable lighting/networking gear.

I am an advocate for how new technology can deliver efficiency. How can we work faster on the day? How can I make my DP’s day better? So, I am constantly testing and researching, due to Hoyte’s driving force behind innovation, and Noah’s work.

LEDs have come on in leaps and bounds, but one major thing we’re in need-of is a strong, powerful LED hard light. Hoyte made some through his company Honeycomb Modular, after he found a chip manufacturer in China, milled the housings and designed the ballast. My son and I assembled them in Hoyte’s garage at Christmas about five years ago. They’re wonderful lights, we use them on car mounts and had them on Oppenheimer, but they’re damn noisy.

I know a couple of other people who are developing 20K LED hard lights, but there are problems with heat sinks, and they’re just not there yet.

Favourite kit:

The ARRI SkyPanel has been a real gamechanger in our business, and I like the variations of LED softlights, like Creamsoure Vortex, that have come along since. The fact that we can control lights like these over cellular networks,

I never give less than 110% every time I step on-set

sometimes over many miles, with zero latency, is pretty incredible. We have to thank cats like gaffer David Smith in the UK and his work in pioneering on Spectre for that.

The importance of green technology:

Filmmaking has a gnarly carbon footprint, and we must all take active steps to do what we can to help reduce that. I’ve been mandated by Hoyte that we must be the first to run an entire movie production off green power.

Apart from Elon Musk, I’ve spoken to the most important people in the battery world, and am pleased to see a lot of development in power packs for our industry. I like the Electrix battery stacks, developed by the late, great Herb Ault at Grip Trix, that can power an M18 for three hours. There’s also a company called

Images: Oppenheimer images © Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved. BTS photo (top) of Adam Chambers ICLS with programmer Noah Shain at the back of the Shorty 40 in Los Alamos; and (below) working with Hoyte Van Hoytema NSC FSF ASC at 06:00am, the morning after Hoyte’s ASC Award win for Oppenheimer.

EcoFlow, making quiet batteries for RV camping, that I use regularly to burn LED lighting on commercials. But green technology is expensive, and I’m hopeful that we’ll see development of hydrogen fuel cell generators at some point. Crew like a family…

My crew are pretty diverse, and totally mirror the city I live in. Noah Shain and I are the only white American guys. They’re are amazing, invested in the job, without egos, and think ahead of time. We are like a family.

As my programmer, Noah is obsessive, building systems and tinkering for hours on end, and has become a genius with networks. Ramin Shakibaei, my systems technician, works so well alongside Noah. Bill Mayberry has been my best boy for the last ten years, and we’re the best of friends. My rigging gaffer Rick Carillo, and his crew, are wonderful. I am always in awe of the dedication of my lighting technicians, Jenny Trinh who is Vietnamese, Marek Bojsza from Poland, and John Linares who is of Colombian descent. Danny Jimenez has been my driver through thick and thin for 15 years.

Lighting Oppenheimer…

Typically, Chris Nolan is all-analogue. He likes shooting with 10K/20K HMIs and Tungstens, and doesn’t want LEDs, networks or even dimmer boards on his set. For authenticity we sourced and incorporated original Bardwell & McAlister 10Ks for the B&W courtroom scenes in Oppenheimer, along with open-faced 2K and 5Ks.

Thanks to Hoyte’s vision and powers of persuasion, we were able to use a wireless LED system on Oppenheimer, and brought Chris round

Retirement is not part of my deal

to our way of thinking for the first time ever when we shot the monumental Trinity explosion scene, when they’re in the bunker wearing protective eye-shields watching the detonation of first nuclear weapon.

Hoyte and I knew we couldn’t replicate that fizzling rise-and-fall of light – with multiple colour changes from bright white to golden yellow, then red to purple and violet – using conventional HMIs or Tungstens. Chris wanted to try lightning strikes, so we had every available lamp delivered to New Mexico on a 10-ton truck – 16 heads, including six 250s, seven 100s, and a couple of 40s – which took ten guys an hour to set-up, with a mayhem of ballasts and cables. When we set it off, Chris absolutely hated it.

Due to Hoyte’s foresight, we had an LED alternative on stand-by. It took about 20 minutes to get those lightning strikes out of the way, before we wheeled-in four ARRI SkyPanels 360s and two Orbiters, all battery-powered, and got them rigged and ready to rock ‘n’ roll. Unfortunately, there was a network failure, and both Chris and Hoyte got very upset. We were under real pressure, but we got it working and they both absolutely loved the result. That was an absolutely great moment for all of us, and one of the best moments in my career.

Inspired by light, art and photography…

It doesn’t matter where I am, what time of day, I’m always looking at what the light is doing. My dad and my grandfather were art collectors, and my mum was a painter before becoming a photographer. I’m always going to art galleries, and love collecting paintings and photographic works of art, although my wife reckons we have too much on the walls at home.

I love the gritty, quiet madness of photographers like Garry Winogrand, Lee Friedlander and Larry Burrows. My two current favourites and Gregory Crewdson and Todd Hido for the cinematic lighting and production values in their images. How do you spend your spare time?

I work-out at the gym frequently and love pickleball.

Careers advice…

Anybody who is great has busted their ass, and continues to bust their ass, giving it everything they’ve got every time they step outthere. If you have a dream, go for it, but give it 110% and aim to be the goddam best. Even if it doesn’t work out you will land on your feet.

Also, show-up half-an-hour early, put a smile on your face, no matter what else is going on in your life, never say ‘No’, and be enjoyable to hang out with. That’s it, and it worked for me!

ADAM

Images: Oppenheimer images © Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved. BTS photo (opposite) of Adam Chambers ICLS with key grip Kyle Carden during production.

ICLS CORPORATE MEMBERS

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

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.

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

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

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.

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, Captain Marvel, The Mandalorian, Black Panther, Dune Part One and Dune Part Two, Mulan, Jungle Book, Aquaman, Mortal Engines, 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

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

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 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

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

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

www.lcafr.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

POWER GEMS

Power Gems is well-known for the design and supply of 1000Hz high-speed HMI ballasts. The GEN 2 is the next generation of the bestselling 18kW – a high-speed ballast designed to operate any lamp from 6kW to 18kW in high humidity. Every parameter has been improved ─ size, weight, noise, ambient temperature range and ability to withstand harsh mains conditions. 1000Hz operation comes as standard.

Power Gems has launched a range of LED controllers targeting applications with very high-power LEDs or LED strings. The GEM6 is a 6-way LED wireless controller; PWM40, a combined 3kW power supply and 40-channel LED driver for the sound stage. The 70W LED bi-colour GEMtile broadcast-quality replacement ceiling tile for standard 600mm/2ft commercial office style fixtures. The GEMflo LED retrofit system converts an 8×4 fluorescent tube fixture for blue and green screen lighting www.powergems.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 largescale 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

Scan here now and join the ICLS today!

4Wall Entertainment – www.4wall.com

Aputure Lighting – www.aputure.com

ARRI – www.arri.de

Astera Distribution Limited – www.astera-led.com

Avenger / Videndum Media Solutions – www.videndum.com

Blackout Lighting Console – www.blackout-app.com

Chroma-Q – www.chroma-q.com

Cinelease Inc – https://cinelease.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

Godox Photo and Equipment Co Ltd – www.godox.com

Jagoteq – www.jagoteq.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

MACCAM Studio Lighting Specialists – www.maccam.tv

Moss LED – www.mossled.com

Nanlux / Guangdong Nanguang Photo & Video System – www.nglbg.com

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

Power Gems Ltd – www.powergems.com

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

The Light Bridge GmbH – www.thelightbridge.com

RatPac Controls LLC – www.ratpaccontrols.com

Rosco Laboratories Inc – www.rosco.com

RuPixels Inc – www.rupixels.com

Skylite Balloons – https://skyliteballoons.co.uk/ Sumolight GmbH – www.sumolight.com

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

LEADING LIGHTS

By Michael Burns

Creamsource is “a company of technologists, who love film and lighting”, according to co-founder and CEO Tama Berkeljon. Hailing from New Zealand, where he worked on The Lord Of The Rings trilogy, innovator Berkeljon made his first big impression on Australian film production when he built a high-power LED system for a motion capture stage for Happy Feet (2006, dir. George Miller, DP David Peers). The 6Kw LED lighting rig he built for the CG-animated, musical comedy caught the notice of gaffers working on the liveaction component of the film, and collaboration proposals followed.

A company (established as Outsight) was founded in 2005 with fellow New Zealanders Sasha Marks, who had been building devices with Berkeljon since they were kids, and who now leads the engineering team at Creamsource as CTO, and Creamsource COO Rob Craig. Early projects included X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009, dir. Gavin Hood, DP Donald McAlpine ACS ASC), which included the development of a custom solution for the watertank scene, and Mad Max: Fury Road (2015, dir. George Miller, DP John Seale ACS ASC). Indeed, the movie’s DP John Seale ACS ASC described the Creamsource LED fixtures he used as being “great for manoeuvrability”, with “phenomenal versatility”.

Today the company has expanded exponentially, with great service and sales support from distributors such as LCA – Lights Camera Action, and is massively busy. “Creamsource fixtures have been on a number of recent films including Dune: Part Two (2024, dir. Denis Villeneuve, DP Greig Fraser ACS ASC), The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023, dir. Francis Lawrence, DP Jo Willems) and Ahsoka (2023, dir. Various, DP Eric Steelberg and DP Quyen Tran ASC) to name a few,” says Berkeljon.

“In all instances, either the gaffers or their cinematographers chose to use Creamsource fixtures for a specific application or for general use. Some of the unique capabilities of Creamsource tools lend themselves to very bespoke lighting effects, and we’ve seen this on a very large scale in projects like Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023, dir. Christopher McQuarrie, DP Fraser Taggart). We have learned that we find inspiration for improvement and innovation in these more specific cases, when working with gaffers, board/desk ops and effects crews.”

Most lighting companies are defined by their flagship products, and Creamsource has produced quite a few in a relatively short space of time. The Creamsource Doppio+ high-power LED flat panel array, described by Berkeljon as a “very punchy

and very versatile workhorse”, and its more compact sibling the Mini+, were championed by the late DP Andrew Lesnie ACS ASC, who put the first Doppio units through their paces in 2009, and later used the Creamsource fixtures to light Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes (2011, fir. Rupert Wyatt) and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012, dir. Peter Jackson).

The Creamsource Sky full-colour-controllable RGBWA fixture was an array of six powerful LED engines, cooled by a highly efficient and silent heat pipe system. Water-resistant (IP65-rated), it first saw action on Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016, dir. Gareth Edwards, DP Greig Fraser ASC ASC).

“That film was the jumping-off point for a number of technology providers on several fronts, especially in the advancement of colour science,” says Berkeljon.

We are extremely conscious about environmental impact

“The main focus for the Creamsource team has been on filling demand and maintaining exceptional quality, despite how challenging the times are,” he continues. “As we grow and optimise

Images: Tama and Sasha, back when it all started; Tama pictured at IBC 2023; and pictures of the current product lines.

innovation include SpaceX, a 1200W RGBWA fixture that is equivalent to a 5K Tungsten, developed primarily as an overhead alternative to conventional space lights, as well as the portable 80W Micro Colour and Micro Bender panels, a riff on the aforementioned Mini+.

The past year has been our most significant in terms of growth

These days, the Creamsource name has become synonymous with Vortex. The waterresistant Vortex8 LED fixture was the first of the flagship line to hit the market. The 2×1 RRGBBW system offers CCT ranging from 2200K to 15000K, a 20° beam angle and 650W of LED power providing the equivalent output to an HMI 1.2Kw Fresnel.

“Vortex8 was the culmination of years of customer feedback from our legacy users,” says Berkeljon. “It launched in July 2020 as a unique, high-powered hard light that’s IP65-rated, and it’s an all-in-one light in a sense, as there is no external ballast or antennas,” he continues. “When you need to light large areas, you may have tens to hundreds of fixtures and costs can quickly climb as higher illumination levels or larger coverages are required. In terms of dollars per watt, the narrow beam angle of the Vortex8 and the high wattage design can cover more area with fewer units.”

Building on the success of the Vortex8 platform, Creamsource has since augmented

its Vortex ecosystem to provide more lighting solutions for its growing community of users and their diverse production needs. The 325W Vortex4 was designed to provide the same highquality light of Vortex8, but in a compact 1x1 form factor, whilst accessories such as the LNX mounting system and multi-yokes for Vortex8 help streamline rigging and set-up.

Fast forward to February 2024, Creamsource has added three new products to its flagship line. The Vortex8 Soft and Vortex4 Soft panels are high-output full-spectrum dedicated soft lights and siblings to the Vortex8 and Vortex4, respectively. The Vortex24 is a powerhouse with 1950W of power, a 20° beam angle and 24 independently controlled pixel zones. All these Vortex fixtures are unified

by their advanced operating system, CreamOS, which allows for seamless integration.

“The industry has definitely got more aggressive in its demands over the years we’ve been at it,” says Berkeljon. “The requirements for last-minute stock, flexibility of product, and what is expected in terms of features has changed a lot. Competition has also changed totally since we started. In the early days we felt like we were competing with traditional light sources. Now we’re competing with ourselves to make things more innovative, to really polish the details and to give the world an alternate platform for their success.”

As with the rest of the industry, Creamsource is taking the climate crisis seriously, with low-power, high-output solutions and a

sustainability-friendly, five-year extended warranty programme being the norm.

“Being able to offer high volumes of light level and throw is achieved using lensed LEDs,” says Berkeljon. “At Creamsource we are extremely conscious and aware about the environmental impact of running large-scale productions. We take pride in our contribution to our industry and offering tools that are capable of achieving excellent light levels at a fraction of the power consumption.”

He also adds that, “these last few years have been the company’s most significant period of operation in terms of growth, in all aspects.”

Creamsource has rapidly expanded its footprint to better-serve its global community, with growth in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. In North America, Burbank showroom, marks a major hub for product demonstrations, plus educational and social events, whilst an Atlanta facility acts as a distribution and support centre. Creamsource is targeting Canada for its next destination as the market continues to evolve.

“The custom work that we have done in recent times has resulted in commercial releases, so our general customers are

becoming the beneficiaries of this work,” Berkeljon reveals. “Evolving our technology is an on-going pursuit. As a result of our success with Vortex we can now focus on R&D for upcoming projects. We continue to keep working on the feedback from our customers and use this as the inspiration for our product and technology development.

“For example, we have found that the need for fixtures that work effortlessly in image-based lighting scenarios has become more common in the past couple years. This natural progression has inspired us to focus on solutions that work well in environments that require nuanced lighting effects.”

He adds, “Creamsource will continue on its current trajectory of innovation and offerings to the professional market. Our goal is to continue to inspire creativity and out-of-the-box thinking in our community.”

Image: BTS shot of a Doppio being used on 007 James Bond.