Total Lighting - March 2016

eview
And the winner is…
Hollywood-based
lighting grip, Jason
Lee Klinger reviews
the Bright Shot
Luminator LED after
on-the-job testing on
the sets of two movies
The fi lm industry as a whole is
generally a very fi ckle beast. Scared
and slow to change: from silent to
sound, from fi lm to digital, or the neverending
debate over aspect ratio. The
truth is, much like well-worn jeans, once
comfortable with a certain technology, any
new addition to the wardrobe is going to
feel a little stiff, no matter how stylish.
This is the challenge that proponents of
LED lighting face. No matter how versatile,
no matter how effi cient, no matter how
perfect a particular light might be for a given
situation, there is an inherent reluctance to
use a new tool until it has stood the test of
time, and is considered tried and true by
one’s peers.
A bit of a Catch 22, ain’t it? Not really all
that fair, but that being said... Light emitting
diodes, or LED lighting, despite having
been around since the early 60’s, and
used in fi lm since at least the early 90’s, is
certainly still considered very much the new
kid on the block. If you have been to an
industry trade show in the last ten
years, like it or not, you will have been
accosted by their glow, and it is doubtful
you could have failed to notice their rise
to prominence. From gimmicky gadget to
a legitimate tool that now stands poised
to become a permanent part of the fi lm
painter’s palette, LED is changing the way
we think about low power lighting.
Having fi nally decided to give LEDs their
long-awaited day in court, the consultant
grip and grid group (awesome alliteration),
The Scene Snipers offered up their services
in the hope of shedding some light on
this subject. With two features booked
back to back, The Scene Snipers agreed
to put some of the hottest new LED units
on the market through the ringer... twice,
and report back. They contacted Bright
Shot, (an LED lighting design and supply
company with houses in both LA and
New York) to see if they were up to
the challenge…
Eager to show their wares, and stir the
honey pot of debate, the people at Bright
Shot chose to throw the Luminator RGBAW
fi xtures into the ring as contender. The
Bright Shot Luminator RGBAW boasts “3.8
Amps, which allows you to power multiple
fi xtures off standard 20-amp circuits, while
providing a massive maximum output
equivalent of a 3000-watt fi xture”.
Impressive claim. That would then
make possible four 3K fi xtures, with colour
temperatures ranging from 3200k to 6800k,
on one circuit! And if you consider the
Wireless DMX capabilities built into the
fi xture.... Ladies and Gentlemen, we may
have a winner.
But would they perform in the fi eld, as
promised on the page? The fi rst feature,
Enter The Fist and The Golden Fleece,
www.total-lighting.com • MARCH 2016 • 65