LOS ANGELES: It's been more than 15 years since my business partner Rene Jung and I opened JuriFilm in Los Angeles. What started as a small team shooting and editing projects for German television, has grown into a full-service production house. Rene and I are out shooting almost every day, and so are as many as 10 other camera teams operating under the JuriFilm banner. In the past six months, we've covered a wide variety of red carpet events, several major commercials, and more than a few documentary projects. We're always on the move.
Thomas Rist Our shooting packages have to be ready to move and shoot, quickly and our lighting gear is one of the most important parts of the package. We rely heavily on Litepanels LED fixtures, including their 1x1 Series spot and flood units, and the Bi-Color and MiniPlus products. I've used a range of Litepanels lights and always have either two or three on hand for soft or spot lighting.
NO WIRES, NO WORRIES
Early this year, JuriFilm's teams stayed busy shooting red carpet awards events—mostly stand-up with a TV host. When you're on the spot like this, there's a really tight time frame before they close off the red carpet for the VIPs—we need to be unencumbered and move quickly. There was no room for electrical hookups in the plan. Our lighting choice were Litepanels 1x1s mounted on stands, as they provided a pleasing light and eliminated the need for carrying heavy lighting boxes through security.
Once the awards season dies down, we transition back into doing commercial shoots. Litepanels LED lights are crucial for this work as well.
Recently, I used two 1x1s to light an interview with Heidi Klum for a soft drink commercial. During the shoot, Heidi's makeup people commented that they liked the illumination provided by the Litepanels 1x1 Bi-Color. Instead of using separate filters as we would with ordinary lights, my ability to instantly dial in the color temperature allowed me to create a cooler tone on her skin when needed.
Although Litepanels LED lighting devices have proven themselves in lighting celebrity faces, interviews or on-the-go shots, this isn't the only way we use them. I've done several projects for NASA and found that Litepanels 1x1s were exactly what I needed to provide a fast setup, easy control of light output, and easy placement, whether it was inside the NASA lab, under the space shuttle, or in the hangar.
KEEPS 'EM COMING BACK FOR MORE
Regardless of which team is shooting, Litepanels LED lights are key to getting the type of shots that keep our clients coming back. They're perfect for travel and we do a lot of that. The instruments fit almost anywhere—we've even slid them under a car when the moderator wanted to show the audience a chassis feature. Just try to do that with standard lights. And, they're safe. Try shooting in a house with 28,000 stuffed bunnies. We did just that, using Litepanels on battery power.
Thomas Rist and his business partner Rene Jung started JuriFilm in 1996. They shoot for both foreign and domestic film and television productions, independent or documentary films as well as corporate clients. The author may be contacted at thomas@jurifilm.com.
For additional information, contact Litepanels, a member of the Vitec Group, at 818-782-5100 or visit www.litepanels.com.
