Recently while reading a couple film blogs on the web I stubmled across a pretty nifty little secret hidden in the webs of ebay. A 3x650w light kit that looks a heck of a lot like Arri but won't break the bank like Arri. The problem was that these blogs made reference to the find, but had no information on how well they worked, how sturdy they felt, how long they've lasted, etc. I had to find out so I made the plunge and received mine on Christmas day.
I'll post some footage shortly to give you a better idea of how well they work and what they actually look like. I must say, I'm pretty impressed. It seems that the only real difference is that "ARRI" isn't branded into the side (possibly underground sales from the Chinese manufacturer?) Even the parts are interchangable (screws, clamps, bolts, bulbs, etc.).
As a bonus, It comes in a nice, lightweight case. I know, it's not quite an aluminum case but I like it.
See the price comparison below:
When shooting a wedding solo with a single camera the key is to run around as much as possible. I've learned that I need to mentally mark my "Camera 1" and "Camera 2" positions and move quickly to hit those points. In post, you can then give the illusion of a multicamera shoot. This was shot on a Canon T2i (550D).
Stephen and Kelly were married in September of 2010. It took me awhile to get this one done. I had to work through some issues I had with lighting, etc. All in all I'm loving how it turned out and so did they. I've come to realize how important these highlights are. You can relive your wedding day in 5 minutes. How cool is that.
