Diffusion material

[Newtricks]

I have questions about using diffusion material (cloth, gel or paper)... I've a pair of Bardwell & McAlister 1000w Baby keg lights with single and double wire scrims (reducing output without changing color temp), a dozen gel frames and adapters for using mogul base lamps, set up with 250w halogen's. The light from these lamps indoors (tabletop) is to harsh, needing to be diffused, before spending money (I don't really have) on an array of Lee & Rosco diffusion gels I was hoping to get some input as to what might be the best two or three white/opal gels to start with.

Thanks,

Anthony

 

[Newtricks]

I'm thinking Lee 216, 250 or 251 might be a good starting place.

 

[Derrel]

Rosco #3022 Filter - 1/4 Tough Spun - 20x24" RS302211 B&H

Rosco Tough Spun.

 

[Scatterbrained]

If you're shooting tabletop you can look into a roll of vellum or you can buy rip stop nylon from a craft store by the yard and make a diffusion panel. Inexpensive and versatile.

 

[Newtricks]

Rosco #3022 Filter - 1/4 Tough Spun

Thank's Derrel, tough spun never came to mind, I rarely think about the older fiber based diffusion materials.

 

[Newtricks]

vellum or rip stop nylon... a diffusion panel.

Vellum is a good old school choice, yet a bit to dense for my current application and using ripstop brings me back to trial and error which is why I want to use a Lee or Rosco diffusion. Making a 3x3' or 4x4' panel is a good idea and one of the first things that came to mind, having two pony stands, both holding lights and shooting in my dining room, both space and equipment are limited. I appreciate your thoughts and know full well that a panel set between the source and the subject would be a better choice than a 9" frame set in the ears of the lamp but we work with what we have.

Be well,

Anthony

 

[Scatterbrained]

Another option would be to get a bounce card (20x30 foamcore posterboard) and bounce the light off of it, instead of trying to diffuse the light at the light. You can stand a bit of foamcore on a table with something as simple as a small block of wood with a slot cut in it, or a clamp; or you could put slits in one side of the board allowing it to fold and hold itself up.

 

[Derrel]

I really like Speedotron's mylar snap-on diffusers. They can stand up pretty well to 250 Watt-EXPOSED quartz modeling lamps for quite some time, even in non-fan-cooled heads like 103's, where that doggone pencil bulb is VERY close to the mylar on the 7-inch models. These are available in a few sizes. But I am not sure if the 7, or 11.5 inch or the 16-inch will fit your lights. Speedotron Products Accessories

In their Brown Line, they have 5.5-inch and 8.5-inch models. Speedotron Products Accessories

These fit right on to the reflector with three small spring steell clips, and they do stack well. I have used as many as three at one time. Either with or without a grid and or barn doors.

Using the diffusion material RIGHT ON the light itself is very different from shooting it through a panel...you have directionality AND a lot of diffusion; it's an unusual combo, and it creates a smaller catchlight on people. This is a system that's been around for decades and decades, and it has advantages over panels and scrims...it's just not "the same thing:...it is different, and it also requires no additional grip gear or stands. so...you know, I say what the heck, try at least some kind of on-the-head diffusion system. Maybe one, or two, or even three layers.

 

[studio460]

I'm thinking Lee 216, 250 or 251 might be a good starting place.

Yes, Lee 216, 250, and Opal Frost are pretty much industry-standard on any grip truck. I work in TV, and these are the three rolls of diffusion that we keep on hand. Either 216 or 250 on a Matthews' "knife-blade" gel frame (adhered with 3M Super 77 spray-adhesive), set on an arm a few feet away from the lamp is the standard application.

 

[Newtricks]

Yes, Lee 216, 250, and Opal Frost are pretty much industry-standard on any grip truck.

I'm a retired grip (IATSE local #80) the last ten years I worked where running the Diffusion Room at 20th Century Fox, ten years selling this stuff, not a day of using it.