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Elevator Flicker Effect

Published : 19th April 2006

Hi all,

I'm about to shoot a music video where there is a shoot in a elevator where I want to create a sort of flicker effect, like if the lamp on the elevator where about to die on a bad circuit electric (sorry for my English but I don’t no the exact word)... I know you guys have a flicker box to create that, but here rental houses don’t have it.

Any ideas of how to achieve\create that effect...is preferable Kinos or tungsten??

I want that strobe effect not to reach real black but dimmer is not an option cause is to soft and slow... my idea at the moment is to use a machine used to HMI rays effect but not sure I will be fine and is a heavy grip to use in the elevator roof... well that’s all, waiting for ideas!! thanks in advance!!

Manu Bullrich DoP
Buenos Aires Arg.

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One of those big old dimmers (forget technical name) and a Kino(s) - adjust the dimmer and Kinos flicker and die - bring it up and they fire up erratically...somewhere in between those points is good.

Probably not good for the ballast..

James Welland
DP UK

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> One of those big old dimmers...

Lübcke is the brand(at least in the EU)

Best regards

Jens Jakob Thorsen
Director of Photography
Denmark
www.jensjakob.com

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For a low-tech inexpensive solution, I've seen this effect simulated well using a tungsten light and a coarse metal file. Run one power lead to the lamp, clamp the other power lead to one end of the file. Then run a wire from the other side of the lamp to the hand of someone who brushes the bare end back and forth along the file. The lamp will occasionally go totally dark, so you may want to have another instrument for minimum light.

This can be dangerous, so be sure whomever is doing it is wearing gloves, the file is on a piece of insulating material like very dry wood, and everyone is VERY careful.

Bob Kertesz
BlueScreen LLC

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>For a low-tech inexpensive solution, I've seen this effect simulated well >using a tungsten light and a coarse metal file.

Make sure there's a trained paramedic on set when you try this one!

A slightly safer option I've used many a time which gives a nice random flicker effect is to take the starter motor out of a domestic fluorescent (strip light) light fitting and wire it inline with a 100w 13a tungsten light bulb. It flickers like a lunatic.

Make up a board with 5-6 brass bulb sockets screwed to it and only one of them wired via a fluorescent starter then cover the whole lot with heavy (grid cloth) diffusion. A neat soft 500w source with a 20% flicker.

Tom Townend,
Cinematographer/London.

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>Then run a wire from the other side of the lamp to the hand of >someone who brushes the bare end back and forth along the file.

I think this sounds like fun! Dangerous as hell.. but devilishly fun.

Never heard of it before but it makes me wish I was still gaffing. I'll have to mention it to some of my tabletop gaffer friends who sometimes have a good amount of time sitting on an apple-box with not much to do.

Jim Sofranko
NY/DP

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>For a low-tech inexpensive solution, I've seen this effect simulated well >using a tungsten light and a coarse metal file.

>Make sure there's a trained paramedic on set when you try this one!

Can just as easily be done with low voltage devices, like one of those 12 volt white led banks which are becoming popular. The resulting sparks and ozone won't be nearly as much fun, though...

Bob Kertesz
BlueScreen LLC

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