SEATTLE—As a seasoned broadcast and news cameraman, my workday can take me anywhere from pitch-side reporting for the NFL to corporate interviews and everything in between. In a fast-paced environment where things can change in an instant, having reliable and versatile equipment is essential. 

I think the most challenging thing about being a broadcast and news cameraman is having all your ducks in a row in order to work quickly and anticipate what the client expects. On one hand, you have to interface with the client, subjects, and people involved with the production and story as a human being, but you also have to be deliberate in order to achieve what you want to accomplish.

You have to clear the list quickly, whether it’s talent lighting, making sure your camera’s set perfectly, accounting for variables in the background and ambient lighting. There’s lots to consider in limited time and you have to understand what needs to happen in a certain order.

The Right Tools
I’m always interested in the build quality of my lighting instruments and the Litepanels Gemini 1x1 Hard is built for the field. It’s a solid panel, with easy controls, that punches out daylight and tungsten temperatures that are as close to natural as you’ll find.

I also need something that’s easy to use, that doesn’t demand a lot of external ballasting or lots of cables running here and there. I want a light that’s self-contained, easy to pull out of a case, pop on a stand, add a battery or AC and I’m off and running. But most important is light quality.

I like going into a shoot, knowing the Gemini 1×1 Hard will give me a punch-through quality. The fact that you can add diffusion, remove diffusion whether it’s on the light itself, or shoot through a softbox or other add-on diffuser, provides flexibility. You’re going into any situation knowing you have the power of an HMI in an LED source.

Covering news and sports can be challenging in many ways for a TV cameraman; space, ambient light, and the availability of power all play into it. The Gemini Hard fixture gives me the punch to tackle any ambient light condition, usually with power to spare.

Easy to Use LED
The number one thing I found after going 100% LED and ditching my HMIs, was the ease of use. For almost any situation, with RGB LED panels, the speed, and convenience with which you can dial in the color is amazing. Depending on the event, the footprint of your setup can be limited by other crews right next to you. 

The ability to power the Gemini 1×1 Hard with battery power—and retain the same output—is a massive plus on location. This wasn’t always an option with HMIs where I was always worried about power draw and if I had enough battery power for live shots.

These days we’re being asked to shoot more interviews—even single person interviews—with multiple cameras…a wide shot, a tight shot, another camera on a slider, perhaps. In my case, I use matching cameras and I want the light to look the same from all angles. There’s no time to deal with color issues coming out of light fixtures. With Litepanels I know that when you set the temperature that you want, you’re going to get it. 

The Gemini Hard is just as at home pitch side with the NFL as it is inside doing a corporate interview. It’s just a great light, either as a harder source or through diffusion, to create that soft look. It’s a great fixture. 

More information is available at www.litepanels.com/.

ATLANTA—We started Plaid Turtle during the pandemic when organizations were forced to come up with a virtual event model and were unable to meet in person. Having been in the industry for a combined 50+ years and having worked together for more than two decades on various film and live event productions, we pooled our resources, knowledge and relationships to launch our new company, with the goal of producing virtual learning events that feel like a cinematic—rather than a virtual—experience. 

After producing some events and re-engineering some systems within a client’s studio, we were asked to manage the equipment, labor and calendaring for the space—but we quickly realized that lighting needed a major overhaul. The studio had around 70 traditional lighting fixtures ranging from 750-2kW each, and while not all of the fixtures were in service, the age and color temperature shifting made it extremely difficult to produce projects of a consistent quality.

Moving to LED
As the end of the year approached, the client approved funds from a canceled project to replace the traditional fixtures with LED. Having worked with Litepanels and really liking the Gemini 2x1 Soft and Gemini 1x1 Soft lights, we called for some advice on the fixtures and scale for the space. 

We were connected with Litepanels co-founder and Gaffer, Pat Grosswendt, who recommended the Gemini 1x1 Hard. In our initial designs, we anticipated using eight fixtures above each 20x20, but after talking with Pat, he was confident we could accomplish our goals with five. Taking budget into consideration, we knew we could afford 20 of the 1x1 Hard fixtures, so we built designs ranging from 5-8 fixtures per 20x20.

We knew that on paper, the Gemini 1x1 Hard panels produce 3000 lux @10ft/3m of white light, and without diffusion it is 20% more powerful than a 200W HMI. When we got the first five up in the grid without diffusion and turned one on, the result was truly staggering. 

Comfortable for the Talent
With the output of the Gemini 1x1 Hard, the budget for 20 fixtures was enough to light the entire studio. We placed five above each set diffused through a 20x20, two butterflied as key lights with 8x8 diffusion, one for each of the five set windows, and three on rolling stands to use wherever fill is needed.

With the lighting up full, we can open our iris all the way for beautifully shallow depth-of-field, with the lighting level still very comfortable for the talent. And although we are often on-site to manage productions, we also needed to offer a turnkey solution for other occasions. Utilizing the built in DMX capabilities of the Gemini 1x1 Hards, we were able to tie them all together and set up scenes, so at the press of a button, our client can have the studio up and ready for shooting.

Finally, making the change to LEDs from tungsten provided some environmental advantages as well. We were able to reduce heat and noise level output, making the sets even more comfortable for everyone. The Gemini panels also deliver huge savings in energy consumption. 

Despite its impressive light output, the 13.25-pound (6kg) 1x1 panel has a nominal power draw of just 200W. With the traditional fixtures, we were drawing over 70,000W while operating the studio, but now, running 20 Gemini 1x1 Hard lights, we are only drawing 4,000W.

The versatility and power of the Litepanels Gemini 1x1 Hard made it the perfect solution for us and our client.  

More information is available at www.litepanels.com/en

LONDON—When we founded Version 2 in 2016, our vision was to become the most trusted independent provider of specialized lighting equipment rental and support to the U.K. broadcast and event industries. Today our company boasts a state-of-the-art inventory covering the full spectrum of moving lights and LED technologies.

When ESPN approached Version 2 to provide a full lighting solution for its coverage of the 2018 Wimbledon Championships, we were ready. ESPN has been migrating away from incandescents and towards LED lighting to reduce temperatures in the studios and environmental impact. This was the first year ESPN decided to go all-LED for its Wimbledon coverage in two of its courtside studios.

The timing was great because we had recently added a significant number of Litepanels’ new Gemini 2 x 1 soft-panel LEDs to our inventory. For Wimbledon, we devised a solution consisting of 15 Gemini panels. Six of the Geminis were deployed in the main studio overlooking Court 18 with Court 1 in the background, with nine more mounted in a smaller and more remote studio.

In addition to offering a wide, soft, and flicker-free light source, Gemini has an on-board power supply and is therefore highly lightweight and portable. The fixture’s light weight is a significant advantage for outside broadcasts in which lighting is typically rigged on low-weight-bearing structures.

Malcolm Reed, ESPN lighting director was very pleased with the Gemini’s light quality. “Whereas a previous studio setup like this would have required two separate rigs—HMI for daylight and tungsten for night shooting—we are able to dial in any color temperature and light level we need on the Gemini,” he said. “Throughout the day and into the evening, we were able to control the light levels and temperatures remotely using DMX controls and make an easy transition from daylight to tungsten as the natural light changed. We were able to control key and fill lights just by changing the color temperature as the day went on.”

In addition to the two courtside studios, Version 2 had the full lighting contract for all of ESPN’s Wimbledon coverage including multiple commentary boxes and standup interviews on a rooftop. For all of these, we made ample use of the Geminis and also used Litepanels’ Astra 1x1 Bicolor LEDs for various commentary positions. In addition, we used Litepanels Brick light kits mounted on cameras for the standups and other ENG work.

The ESPN Wimbledon project is just one example of why we at Version 2 have chosen Gemini as our multifunction lighting solution for both studio and on-location projects.

Nick Edwards is managing director for Version 2. He may be contacted atnick.edwards@v2lights.co.uk.

For more information, please visitwww.litepanels.comor call 203-929-1100.