Excellent Bristol Lighting Event Held in October

VMI held a very successful lighting event at the brand-new Boomsatsuma studios in Brislington, Bristol on 25 October 2022.

Thanks for running the led lighting day in Bristol, which was very interesting seeing the up to date kit.

John Samuels, GBCT Hon GTC, Oct 22

The sold-out event was the most recent in a series that VMI is hosting to spread awareness of the creative and sustainability advantages of LED lighting technology and a central part of our award-winning role as an Ealing Business Pioneer.

Attended by several notable DPs, production companies and students from the Boomsatsuma Film School, the workshop began with a short introduction to different lighting technologies, progressing from tungsten lamps to Fresnel and HMI, onto LED and finishing with the latest LED COB (chip-on-a-board) fixtures. 

The feedback for our first Bristol lighting event was extremely positive.

Barry Bassett, VMI Managing Director

While the first generation of LEDs only provided a binary choice of daylight or tungsten, and the second generation enabled switchable tungsten and daylight options, the latest advance of the technology – using RGBWW LED – enables lighting crafts to synthesise any colour without having to use gels.  

It’s all very well reading the specs or even seeing a review on YouTube but when it comes to lighting choice there really is nothing like seeing it and manipulating it yourself. 

I’ve been a cameraman for over 20yrs and mainly came to check out 2 lights that were on display and was able to do that, so pleased that I came.

Course Attendee, Oct 22

That was what attendees could do with visitors encouraged to compare and contrast the performance of fixtures side by side.  

The results were as clear as daylight. 

For example, some gels permit less than 1% of light through so you would traditionally need a fixture capable of generating a commensurate amount of brightness and power.  

But with RGBWW lighting you can create and control the same colour temps accurately at a fraction of the cost in power and heat from a fixture a fraction of the size – all with positive environmental impact. 

Another example: if you need to simulate the midday sun through a window you would typically reach for a powerful lamp fitted with a large Fresnel lens. At our workshop visitors could see for themselves a demo of an ARRI M18 1.8K HMI side by side with the output of a Nanlux EVOKE1200 LED fixture. 

The LED impressively stood up to the test and yet draws far less power from a smaller, lighter footprint – and it’s cheaper. There really is no downside. 

Graham Reed, Lighting Director, succinctly describes the advantages of this new technology as this:

HMIs are about 4 times more efficient then tungsten lamps. An HMI 575w gives about the same light output as a 2kw tungsten. Tungsten bulbs are only about 20% efficient.

Colour correcting a tungsten light, with full CTB, will reduce the light output by about 1½ stops.

Using LED light fixtures which  are much more efficient than either HMI’s or tungsten light sources and they are much easier to use and generate far less wasteful energy.

For example, an Arri 1.2 HMI will produce approximately 3000 lux at 6 m whereas a Nanlux 1.2 will produce approximately 4000 lux and little heat, plus you can use it in the rain! But in the real world situation it is all about light control.  Nanlux1.2 is dimmable from 0 to 100% so much easier than using N.D!

Coming to the workshop will give you a real hands-on experience of using the latest lighting fixtures.

Graham Reed, Lighting Director and co-presenter of VMI Lighting Workshops

“The feedback for our lighting events has been extraordinary and so positive,” said Barry Bassett, VMI’s Managing Director. “Everyone was able to compare the very latest LED technology alongside conventional illuminations. It sounds strange but after COVID, being able to see with our own eyes rather than via a screen is just so important. This was especially gratifying, as it is our first in-person event held in Bristol post COVID.” 

Thank you for organising such an informative and engaging event with the new lighting technologies currently available and being used in the film & TV Industry

Course Attendee, May 22

About The Trainer

The Bristol course was given by Anthony Wood, who is a London based freelance lighting camera operator. With experience on a wide range of productions he currently works predominantly for the American network CBS out of their London bureau shooting news, news features and documentaries.  Other work includes documentaries for the BBC and the “Making of the the Olympic Games” London, Sochi, Rio & Pyeongchang.

He has developed and presented many workshops to improve camera and lighting skills for clients including, BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and RTE.

Bassett adds, “Best of all – these events are free of charge! Having won the grant as an Ealing Business Pioneer we wanted to follow through and help the industry to recognise just how far lighting tech has improved and that making the choice to use it not only cuts production costs it can help make a positive impact on the environment without compromising the craft. The best way by far of encouraging people to change attitudes and habits is to see it in person.”

The initiative has also caught the eye of commissioning powerhouses like Netflix which has made sustainability goals a strategic priority. 

Events like the VMI workshops will help producers, broadcasters and streamers in the UK’s film and TV industry to achieve their goal of using more efficient low carbon production techniques. 

Hosted at Boomsatsuma Studio, Skyline Park, Bristol

VMI workws with the excellent facilities provided by Boomsatsuma, Bristo at their new Skyline Park Studio, which opened in October 2022, just in advance of this event.

The events will be running monthly for the next 18 months.

The VMI LED & Low Energy Lighting workshops will continue in early 2023.

Further Events to be held by VMI

Ronin workshops, New Products Day, Lighting workshops and Introductory Lighting Courses are all offered free of charge. Book early to avoid disappointment. For more information click here

Free Events paid for by Ealing Council

VMI has invested heavily in the latest lighting technologies during 2022 and has won a grant from Ealing Council to promote high efficiency lighting technologies, which are good for the climate. By running these courses with Ealing Council’s support and in conjunction with West London College in Ealing Green, we are able to provide these courses to you entirely without charge.