American Cinematographer - March 1993 - 29

FLYING FEATHERS

LIGHTS, APPLES AND

continuedfrom page 25

ORANGES

They decide to sell the cocaine and
happily ever after. Unfortunately,
the drug dealer has other ideas. What
follows is a classic chase movie ending
live

where Slater and Arquette,

a scene

the

police, members of a drug gang and
a drug dealer, who is a producer looking
at rushes, are caught in a violent
crossfire.
The scene had many elements that
could only be captured with strobe

lighting - feathers flying from exploding
couches, blood erupting from gunshot
wounds, bullets ricocheting off walls
and cocaine bursting from the suitcase.
To add to the confusion and heighten
the drama, Kimball also used Unilux to
film the wild gyrations of the projector,
which was upset when the producer
tried to escape the mayhem. According
to Kimball, "Unilux is a wonderful
creative tool. The strobes really en¬
hanced the impact of each creative
element culminating in a scene of great
intensity. Tony Scott was delighted with
the work."

Kimball, whose credits
include "Top Gun" and "Revenge," has
used Unilux

lighting for several years,
including in "Jacob's Ladder" directed by
Adrian

PART 1

Once
in aabout
while thewe power
receiverating
an of
inquiry

DP for the Dallas office of N. Lee

Lacy,

gained experience in making

FILM

LIGHT

SPEED

INCREASE

HMI's. Unfortu¬

nately, that's like comparing apples to
oranges.
To answer the

STOP

mention

STOPS

192

STOPS

384

STOPS

inquiry we have to
basic film principle. You may

remember that the faster film is

run

through a camera, the more light is
required to expose each frame. The
reason the effective shutter speed is
changing is that the film is in the gate
for a shorter and shorter period of time.
This fact is what requires the light
intensity to be increased to maintain a
constant exposure when using conven¬
tional lights.
Now, let's

assume

that you

are

filming at 24 fps with a 180-degree
shutter and using conventional lighting.
The film is exposed using only 1/50°* of
a

second.

The

amount

proper exposure

light required for
doubles each time the

UNILUX GREAT TOOL

FOR WATER SHOTS

Veteran
Hollywoodusedcameraman
Mike Chevalier
six Unilux
strobe units to film the water shots in
a

recent

Dream

Bud

Light commercial for

Quest Images. Chevalier, who

bom in

Hollywood and says he
people all his

television commercials. He returned to

was

Hollywood permanently in 1972.
Most recently, he has filmed commer¬
cials for Bell Atlantic, Oil of Olay,
Marlboro, Lark and GM Trucks, including
the spot where a GM truck on bungee
cords was dropped off a bridge. "That
was an interesting scene to film," he
says in his soft Texas drawl. "You

has been around studio

should have

seen

that sucker

like incandescent

Lyne.

where he

speed is doubled. For you technical
people, this is the same as saying the
increase equals 2 to the power of the fstop. Thus, 1 f-stop is twice the light, 2 fstops = 22, or 4 times the light, 4 f-stops
24 or 16 times the light.

Unilux strobe lights. The caller is
usually trying to compare the power of
a strobe
light to a conventional light

Kimball became interested in film-

making as a career while an under¬
graduate at North Texas State Univer¬
sity. After graduation he landed a
trainee position with Warner Brothers,
but left to work for Bill Langley, a
highly regarded still photographer.
He left Hollywood in 1969 to become

film

life, thinks Unilux strobes

are

essential if you want water or

shots to have

liquid

crisp, clear look.

Chevalier has been making television
commercials since the late 1960's. ★

Filmed

drop." ★

by Mike Chevalier

BASE

So, about 16 times the light (4 fstops) is needed to expose film at 360
fps as compared to 24 fps with the same
shutter

opening.

How does this

answer our

original

question about comparing lights? It
doesn't, but we have started to explain
why the question is an apples/oranges
comparison. In the next issue, Technical
Tips will explain why there is no need
to compensate for exposure when you
use strobes, and how to combine
different light sources.
★

American Cinematographer - March 1993

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