New Age Lights SICA workshop!

When Digital Cameras took over as recording medium from Motion Picture Film Stock, there was a quite a difficult time for cinematographers to step into the new workflow gradually most of the glitches around Digital Film Cameras was solved and things improved meanwhile cinematographers also mastered the technical pipeleine.

Now again a change in the form of lights, recently LED based lights with programmed features has simplified most complex things in film lighting but at the same time most of the technicians are not aware of the new features of the Lights that can be controlled through Mobile apps or Ipad.

SICA now continuously creating awareness of fast changing phase of the technology by conducting product demos, putting elaborate write ups in the SICA website, training new members with workshop on cinematography technology.

As a important step to educate the new age Lighting medium a two day workshop was conducted by SICA on 17th and 18th September 2022 at Prasad 70mm theatre in association with Lotus Cine Equipments and Aputure India.

Treasurer Sakthi Saravanan on behalf of CAM BENEFIT TRUST planned  this initiative with the support  of all SICA Executive committee members and to mention  Diwakar, Vetrivel Mahendran, Gopi Jagadeeswaran, Rajesh Yadhav , Naga Saravanan, Moses and Lecturer Gowrishankar who worked closely for the technical support.

SICA President Karthik Raaja welcomed the gathering and General Secretary Ilavarasu started the event by explaining to the SICA members the prime purpose of this two day workshop is to get into the new age lights features which are controllable by mobile application will bridge the gap of lack of knowledge prevailing with some of the  film light rental houses. As a first step from user point of view cinematographers knowing this application will create  awareness and soon rental houses will follow and  get the point of light officers updating to this New age Lights.

New Age Lights SICA workshop day one

Day One – 9.30 to 5pm – Mr.Mohan, Mr.Gopi and team from Lotus Cine Equipment’s who won many international awards for being the best ARRI dealer for Motion Picture and Television Lights presented variety of Lights from ARRI,  Cream Source, Astera, Rosco DMG, Soonwell.

Astera 

• Hydera panel  is 17w  more flexible light which can ne mounted anywhere compact light  with The full-spectrum Titan LED Engine generates an impressive 1300 Lumen output while running on battery power and app controlled and dmx
• Astera Tubes (Titan Tubes), NYX bulbs where displayed

Astera App

To control lights from the AsteraApp, a Bluetooth Bridge (BTB) is required. It consists of “Bluetooth” for the connection with the App and “Bridge” which means that it transmits commands to the other Astera lights. Both parts include 2-way communication so the lights can send information back to the app.

The Astera fixture connects via Bluetooth to a phone or tablet and establishes a connection with all lights within a 300m range via an ultra-high frequency band (100m for NYX Bulb). This setup is recommended for smaller projects with less distance or as a backup if you forgot your AsteraBox.

Full control over your pixels which was previously only possible with DMX consoles. Create complex lighting effects that stretch over numerous lights and offer nearly unlimited possibilities.

ARRI – Sky panel s30, s60 and Orbiter 

Cinematographer Vetrivel Mahendran shared his technical expertise of pairing the Sky panel Lights to DMX devices and also control light through app application.

the SkyPanel S60-C can be adjusted to output a warm 2800K to icy blue 10,000K light and also uses the full RGB+W color gamut with hue and saturation control for fine adjustments. Full Minusgreen to Full Plusgreen is also possible, so if you’re lighting for blue or greenscreen, you can simply dial in your chosen color. This wide degree of control is responsible for a high CRI of 95 and a rating of 90 with the newer TLCI standard. All of these functions as well as 0-100% dimming can be adjusted locally with the SkyPanel’s onboard controller or remotely via DMX or a LAN. Besides inputs and outputs appropriate to these functions, the light also has a USB-A port for downloading firmware upgrades from a thumb drive or any PC/Mac.

Arri Orbiter features a highly portable design that can change its optics with a breeze using ARRI’s Quick Lighting Mount (QLM), a bayonet-style connection similar to a camera lens mount. Available optics include 15, 30, and 60° open-face optics that produce a directional beam; 15, 25, and 35° projection optics that produce a sharp, focused beam with evenly distributed color; and small, medium, and large domes that provide a large area of soft light. The light can also be used with separately available light banks, barndoors, honeycombs, and other light-shaping accessories with the appropriate adapter.

Using ARRI’s Lighting Operating System (LiOS2 available for download), you can control all color modes, effects, and lighting grids right from the built-in control panel. The updated LiOS2 features eight color modes such as CCT, HSO, RGBACL, Gel select, X/Y coordinates, source matching, effects, and a custom mode that allows you to save over 240 favorites that can be applied to a DMX or interface. It also has three operational modes—high color rendering, high output, and low noise—for your preferred mode performance. Interfaces include 5-pin DMX in and out, two LAN ports, two USB Type-A ports, a USB Type-C port, and an SD slot for future upgrades. It also features a sync input for future applications that will sync with your camera.

Soonwell

Soonwell Flexible LED mats were redesigned with Bi-Color (3000K-5600K), Smart Size, Light Weigh, High Lux, High CRI, Touch Screen Control, Turning Knob Control, DMX Control, Remote Control, Logical Design, Safer Protection, Fast Installation, Durable Materials, in mind to offer powerful, pristine, and flicker-free lighting.

At 1/4″ (6mm) thin and weighing less than 1.1lbs (500g), their brilliant pliable surface conceals in tight spaces.

Rosco DMG lumiere –DMG Lumiere DASH Pocket LED Kit. The compact 5 x 3 x 1″ mini panel has a variable CCT range of 1700 to 10,000K to meet any type of ambient light challenge, match other fixtures, or just for creative expression. It has a high CRI/TLCI 95/90 rating

MINI MIX LED Panel from DMG LUMIERE is a lightweight light source measuring 23 x 8″ and just 1.25″ thick, allowing it to go where traditional fixtures can’t. The fact that it barely generates any heat makes it an even more valuable tool in tight situations.

DMG used a proprietary blend of red, lime, green, blue, amber, and white LEDs backed by a Color Mode plus hue and saturation adjustment to create the colors needed for your requirements. There is also full +/- green control, as well as Rosco’s commonly used gel presets. The wide color latitude provides access to color temperatures from 1700 to 10,000K with a CRI of 95 and a TLCI of 90. Light intensity is also variable from 0 to 100%, and while you can make these adjustments locally on the fixture, you can also make them wirelessly via DMG’s myMIX phone app.

Cream Source Vortex – Creamsource is a fully water proof light suitable for  high-end production for a wide range of colors, effects, and powerful illumination that rivals a 1200W HMI light. The Vortex8 features a massive 14,000 lux in daylight at 9.8′, a color temperature range of 2200 to 15,000K, full RGBW spectrum LEDs, full hue/saturation control, 0 to 100% dimming control, and a CRI/TLCI of 95.

This RGB LED panel offers a solid redesign aimed at professional DOPs and gaffers with durable aluminum and technopolymer construction. Its array of 512 powerful LEDs in 128 groups allows for a tight beam angle of 20° using a series of SPOT lenses. The light features an updated version of CreamOS that provides full configuration of color, temperature, digital gels, and effects.

After the product demo was done SICA members had registered early for the program was given a token splitted into groups..so every members had a elaborate time with the lights, accessories and mobile application.

Complete program was also projected on a huge LED wall screen.

Article continued for next part – day two event 

drafted by

C J Rajkumar

cinematographer/Author