Thinking of buying some lighting

[Brandon Pert]

Save the money and get that cs3e you have been eyeing.. I don't think the lights would pay off too quickly.

[johnpaul215]

There was a similar thread about this in the past. I have worked on plenty of jobs where camera and producer people fly into town to do an interview or something, bringing a camera. Sometimes they hire a PA to go pick up lights the day before, often a basic Arri kit, Deva or two and now maybe LED panels. I also worked with people the flew with a bunch of c-stands, or sent them ahead FedEx. I can't even imagine what that costs, and offered a few names of local places to call next time. 

 

If it turns into a huge hassle, I would think basic lights would be pretty easy to sell. If it makes you more money, then great. You never know what will pan out. Kinko's started out as a pizza shop on a college campus that added a photo copy machine (at the request of the students) because they had later hours than the copy shop down the street, especially during exams they would stay open super late. 

I have no idea what lights rent for versus what you have to pay for them, but you wouldn't be the first person to do it so it seems to work for some people. 

[John Blankenship]

Like I said, renting lights as a sound person would only be an occasional thing.

Some other points to consider:

Adding lighting considerations into your initial discussion with a production company sometimes works, and sometimes only serves to diffuse the focus on sound.

Furnishing lighting means that your attention will be more divided as you prep, load and unload, set up, etc.

To a skilled DP, lighting isn't generic, they often want specific types of fixtures for specific purposes. Do you plan to stock fresnels, Kinos, LED's, etc., along with all the necessary flags, scrims, lighting stands, C-stands, a full complement of gells, clamps, clips, carts, etc., etc.?

As I addressed in my previous comments: If you are purchasing the lighting just as a rental item, then it's not an advised venture unless you wish to try to grow a rental business as such. If you're purchasing the gear for other purposes and might occasionally rent something from that inventory, then that's doable.

Although, in my case I do the latter, it's still a rarity. When I'm called for a sound gig, I usually don't bring up all the lighting and camera equipment I have available unless I think it might be of benefit to the production. I also consider if I wish to deal with the complexity of additional gear and the added prep and diversion of attention required.