The filmmaking world has been buzzing with both excitement and curiosity about FilmGear®'s new Power Beams! Here are a couple of the most popular questions that we received on how to get the most out of these beloved beam projectors:
How do filmmakers use beam projectors?
Beam projectors have been used for decades to produce visible shafts of light in atmosphere, which produces strongly directional columns of light when combined with haze. Their parabolic glass reflectors are entirely optimized to collimate the light emitted from the bulb into clean, parallel rays, though that also produces reflections of the lamp in the field. For a traditional beam projector, this was not an issue, since it delivers on its beam beautifully, but a recent growing trend of using beam projectors as narrow spotlights has led many modern gaffers to add diffusion to soften the field’s features. Experienced cinematographers often still opt to aim the field offscreen or hide it behind objects in the foreground to get the maximum brightness for their beam without worrying about the spot.
Why are beam projectors so hard to find?
The parabolic glass mirror required to get a near 0º beam angle requires rigorous engineering controls that make beam projectors a both difficult and expensive lamphead to manufacture. With so few beam projectors available for rental or purchase, filmmakers all over the world reached out to FilmGear® for a solution.
How do the Power Beams compare to traditional beam projectors?
FilmGear®'s Power Beams aim to bring this classic light back into the modern era. Their lamp holders are capable of adjusting the height to match the LCL for higher power lamps than ever before, while also maintaining legacy support for older bulbs to capture the exact same look that the industry knows and loves. The Power Beams deliver on not just a brighter beam projector but a sturdier one as well, fully equipped with a reinforced glass mirror to power through the various bumps and bruises that come as a natural part of life on set.
How can I get the cleanest field from a Tungsten Power Beam?
While the primary function of a beam projector is to produce the brightest beams possible, that doesn’t have to come at the cost of an uneven spot. For Tungsten Power Beams at full spot, the reflector recreates a perfect mirror image of the bulb’s filaments. At full flood, this effect is much less noticeable, and can be supplemented with some diffusion to smooth out any wrinkles in the field.
Why does the field from a European Tungsten Power Beam look rounder than the field from a Tungsten Power Beam in U.S.A.?
Another uniquely tungsten challenge lies in the shape of the incandescent filament arrays themselves: if the source has an uneven aspect ratio, the field will take on an oblong shape. For the 5/2kW and 24/20kW Tungsten Power Beams, the bulbs are typically within the acceptable range to produce a circular spot, but our American gaffers have found that the 110V 12kW and 10kW bulbs have a much wider array than their 220V counterparts in Europe. Luckily, the 110V 12kW Tungsten Power Beams can easily be configured to run with 220V lamps for shoots that need their perfectly round spot.
110V and 220V bulb comparison
How do I get a cleaner field from a Daylight Power Beam?
HMI bulbs give Daylight Power Beams their remarkably bright beams, but they’re not without their own challenges as well. Chiefly, the edge of the field seems to dance around the spot due to the nature of the HMI arc choosing different paths between the electrodes, thousands of times per second. This intrinsic quality of HMI bulbs has historically made daylight beam projectors less common than tungsten ones, but when gaffers need the absolute brightest beam possible, they go with the Daylight Power Beams and aim the field either out of the shot or through a smaller window to eliminate edge effects.
Why does the field from a Daylight Power Beam look like an egg?
The gap between the electrodes controls the overall shape of the field: an older HMI lamp’s electrodes will be slightly degraded, widening the gap to produce a more elliptical shape. To get a more circular spot, newer bulbs are the way to go.
Any other questions?
If your question wasn’t answered, feel free to send them in to info@filmgearusa.com. We’ll be answering more FAQs in the coming weeks, so stay tuned and stay curious!