American Cinematographer - May 2007 - 2

See the Lite Litepanels Shines on World Trade Center “I love what I can do with Litepanels,” says Seamus McGarvey, BSC. “On World Trade Center we were looking for a light source that was cool, because of the confined conditions and restricted environment. Litepanels were the best, perhaps the only solution.” Much of the high drama of World Trade Center played out in extremely small sections of an elaborately designed set that was difﬁcult to reach. “The beauty of these lights was we could hide them in existing girders and twisted bits of metal. They were unobtrusive. They could exist in the shafts and when we went wider, we could look right at them and they would literally meld into the set.” McGarvey also took advantage of the dimmer function to adjust the intensity without affecting color temperature. Often, he was working at 2 or 3 stops under exposed. “We had to be able to control the light quickly,” he says. “Even with barely any light, the Litepanels remained constant and gave us what we needed every time.” www.litepanels.com MINIPLUS • 1X1 • LITEPANELS IR • LED RINGLITE • RINGLITE CINEMA Cinematographer Joe Pennella has a new favorite lighting tool for the J.J. Abrams created series What About Brian? “One of our couples is a dark-skinned husband and a light-skinned wife. Recently, we brought them into the set and I realized I couldn’t read him. No problem. I grabbed a Litepanels Mini, stood outside of frame and popped just enough light in to see his face. “I ﬁrst used Litepanels on a night driving sequence with Rosanna Arquette, Amanda Detmer and Rick Gomez,” he explains. “The most challenging element was shooting the cast from an insert car while they were free driving. “The cast was simply “ you don’t have to disturb the and effectively lit with — one in the whole process to bring power and 3 Litepanels compartment open glove light onto the set. You just pull a — one under the steering panel out and light.” Joe Pennella wheel and one on the console for Rosanna in the back seat. It turned out great! “Since then, Litepanels have become a workhorse. Instead of a huge rig or pulling out a wall, we pull out a Litepanels.” Pennella Chooses Litepanels on What About Brian? Wireless Lighting Wireless lighting comes of age with Litepanels innovative, portable LED lighting systems. Thanks to the company’s ingenious snap-on power packs, operators are freed from the limitations of lighting with auxiliary power lines and ground cables. Whether it’s the MiniPlus battery pack or the BackPack PowerCell, designed especially for the slimline 1x1 and Mini Ringlite, Litepanels compact, convenient power supply attaches to the back of the system to create a self-contained lighting unit with an amazing degree of untethered mobility. “Even with barely any light, the Litepanels remained constant and gave us what we needed every time ” Seamus McGarvey, BSC 1.75 Hour Detachable Battery Colin Hudson, Steadicam Operator, adjusts focus on shot lit by Litepanels 1x1 & Mini. Litepanels Help Live Free or Die Hard “Shooting Live Free or Die Hard, we were often in tight situations such as cars, trucks, helicopters, elevator shafts, air-conditioning ducts and tunnels in industrial environments,” says Australian cinematographer Simon Duggan. “The size and proﬁle of the Litepanels made them a great addition to the lighting package. “We were often hiding them inside nooks and crannies of our locations and sets, just adding that extra glow where you couldn’t ﬁt any other ﬁxture. They were quick to set up, especially when powered by their batteries. They have a very soft yet directional quality, causing “the built-in dimming feature made it very little spill. We found them a pereasy to adjust levels on the ﬂy.” fect ﬁxture for adding ﬁll and eyelights and the built-in dimming feature made Simon Duggan it easy to adjust levels on the ﬂy.” phone 818-752-7009

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American Cinematographer - May 2007

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - May 2007