I've been a film/tv lighting technician for over fifteen years. I live and work in Toronto as an IATSE Local 873 member, and I started out in Vancouver with Local 891. The work is dangerous, exhausting, and far from glamorous. It is neat being directly involved in the cinematography of movies and tv, but it's not for the faint-of-heart.
One thing I can say about the lighting department, is that we embrace innovation. Whether it be LED lamps with computers built into them, complex networking setups, or testing lighting riggs in virtual environments, there's always something new on the horizon. Some of the gear we use, can only really be afforded by huge Hollywood productions, but much of it is accessible to independent productions. These innovations can save time, reduce power needs, and make life less painful for lighting technicians.
This is the entertainment industry we're talking about, so let me be as dramatic as possible. Film lighting is insane. Newer cameras do allow us to shoot in lower light, but still, massive lighting setups are usually still the name of the game. Night exteriors, or balancing exposures in large interiors with huge windows, can still require a ton of light. One of the most common practices, is to attach one or more massive HMI or Tungsten lights to the basket of a boom lift, and use it to simulate moonlight or even sunlight. On big shows, and some larger independents, it was common practice to send a lighting technician up inside the basket, in order to pan/tilt/spot/flood the lights or move the position of the basket/lift. The lighting technician could be up there for 6 hours or more, and brought down for lunch.
I was once sent up in a lift, 90 feet in the air, in a snow storm, with only a wind meter, a tarp, space heater, and a bottle to piss in. Minus the snow storm and wind meter, those were standard practices. On that day, it was my job to light up a farmer's field, that was seen through a farmhouse window during interior shots. Why not use a crank stand or a small green-screen instead? I have no clue. I almost quit the union that night. I did “condor calls” for years, until I flat out refused.
In Toronto, there is a company called “LRX”, who specialize in large remote controlled lamps for lifts. They do the same thing as the old setup, only the lights can be controlled from the ground. Minus not being able to move/drive the base of the lift, you can do everything else, and without a technician trapped up there. Some technicians like going up, but many don't. Sometimes, innovations can give you the same effect, but with less stress placed on the crew.
It's common for productions to shoot at locations with inbuilt fluorescent lighting: schools, office buildings, government buildings, etc. For years, we used to replace the standard greenish “cool white” tubes with either “daylight balanced” or “tungsten balanced” tubes. If the DOP thought they were too bright, we'd have to cut out and tape hundreds of neutral density gel sleeves, and slide them onto all of the tubes. This took forever, and on the shooting day, they were stuck with what they got. Now with innovations like LED “Titan Tubes”, and other similar brands, you can connect all of the tubes remotely to the board, and change the colour temperature, intensity, and frequency of the light. Those lights are a bugger to program and charge, but they allow so much more control, on the day. It can definitely save time, and money, without the DOP pulling out his/her hair trying to balance colour temperature and exposure between light sources, particularly during daytime interiors with lots of windows.
For me personally, I'm all for innovations in not just lighting, but camera, art department, hair, makeup, budgeting, acting technique, writing structure/style, directing methods, and any other aspect of production. If there is a better way to do it, why not explore it?
You can learn more about me at, www.angrybearfilms.com.
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