Definition July 2024 - Newsletter

UNDER THE HOOD Watch Eben Bolter talk about The Last of Us on Aputure’s YouTube channel @aputurelighting

LIGHTS ON STAGE

THE LAST PIECE OF Bolter’s puzzle WAS LIGHTING FOR THE BEAUTIFUL SUNSET IN the volume’s display ”

LS 1200d Pro • 1200W daylight COB LED • 83,100+ lux at 3m • DC battery powered Nova P300c • 300W RGBWW soft LED • 9000 lux at 1m, 120° beam • 2000-10,000K CCT range INFINIBAR PB6 • 2ft RGBWW LED bar

Creating sunlight The final piece of Bolter’s puzzle was lighting for the beautiful sunset visible within the volume’s display. There was one clear choice for this task: the Aputure LS 1200d Pro, the industry’s highest-output Bowens mount LED. Being forced to sneak the source into a small gap between the volume’s main curve and ceiling panel was far less of an issue than a traditional HMI would have been. Despite its 1200W power, providing around 83,100+ lux at 3m, the LS 1200d Pro runs on DC batteries and remains highly usable from a remote position. This was key during recording, as Bolter reveals. “We have Mike on the dimmer, taking that light up and down relative to the content. He is using the Sidus Link app to connect to our LS 1200d above the stage.

needed, and so he reached for a series of Aputure Nova P300c soft LEDs as the perfect tools for the job. “The Novas, with softboxes, are giving our actors a three-quarter key light and backlight, so when they are taking looks at each other we can see their eyes,” the cinematographer explains. Naturally, greater output was needed in this circumstance. Offering 9000 lux at 1m, while maintaining a 120° beam angle, the P300cs gave him what he needed. Bolter was able to dial in his preferred look using the LEDs’ 2000-10,000K CCT range with green/magenta shift. The means of control was an open door on-stage. In addition to compatibility with the Aputure Sidus Link app, each Nova panel is built with an intuitive handheld control box that’s connected via 5-pin XLR.

• 48 RGB pixels • High CRI of 96

“We’re bouncing between 1-40% to tie it in with what’s happening on screen,” he concludes, referencing the LS 1200d Pro’s stepless or percent-based dimming. Above all else, this responsiveness and interaction between prerecorded plates and live light sources is what makes VP believable. It is, in the most literal sense, bridging the gap between artifice and reality – only a professionally equipped set of lights makes that possible.

Explore the range and light like a pro at aputure.com

45

definitionmags

Powered by