Maxi Brutes

Hi everyone...

I'm a quite young French, London based, DP...As I still want to learn more about projectors, I try to put one I've never used on every film lighting list I make as a DP...

Here is my question, to those who got used to work with maxi brute, could they send me any recommendations about the use of those projectors. The one I'm gonna use is a Maxi brute 6 light.

I've already been inform that you've got as many shadows as you've got lights on it so that people mostly use it to de-contrasting a set or to light large frontage...I want to use it as a large backlight source...

Does some of you have any clue for a nice use of it...

Nicolas Desaintquentin, Dp

Maxi-Brutes...ahh, I loves 'em

I will almost never use one raw. If you have a chance to mess around, you can try putting different densities of diffusion in front of it - very light diffusion like Hampshire frost or Lee 251 will begin to "unify" the separate beams by mushing the beam edges together a bit, while Lee 250 or Lee 216 will turn it into a large single source - the individual beams will lose their character in the diffusion. the heavier diffusions, however, will also negate some of the control you would have in panning the rows of globes individually, and they will also throw less far, since the diffusion becomes the source instead of the snappy parabolic reflectors in each globe, so there is a trade off there.

You can also get different effects with different globes - with 9 light Maxi's for instance, I will sometimes put 4 narrow and 5 medium or vice versa. If the rental house is willing, ask them to give you some extra globes in a different pattern - take the fixture with narrows and have them send three mediums or something like that so you can get a feel for the differences - the globes are really easy to change.

I will rarely use the wide globes unless I have a very specific reason to get the super wide coverage because of space constraints - I find narrows and mediums most useful for the stuff I do and occasionally use the wides or the very narrows...but only occasionally.

Good luck - have fun with them!

Mark Weingartner
Leaving London for LA ...I'll miss you guys!

Thanks Mark for those helpful, interesting and very clear information about the use of Maxi-brutes...

All this will give me much food for thought...I was thinking of using the M-B suspended over the actress (with a slight back angle...), who will stand up near a car, with her back to the entrance of a London tube station...

The different beam and the large arrival of light behind her would have been justify by the tube station...

Do you think I'm going in the bad direction... ?

Nicolas Desaintquentin, Dp

Mark writes...

>You can also get different effects with different globes - with 9 light >Maxi's for instance, I will sometimes put 4 narrow and 5 medium or vice >versa."

I have also seen them lamped with a split of daylight and 3200K bulbs. That way by combining the bulbs the color temp can be shifted to suit the shot without gels, This would seem to work best when the fixture is not working as a key light but as a wash or when adding ambient light.

Randy Miller, DP in LA

>. . . I want to use it as a large backlight source. .

Maxi Brutes are great for backlights on big set-ups!

The nice thing about these fixtures is the way you can swap globes, pan a part of the fixture and individually toggle specific globes on or off. A *LOT* of flexibility for an inexpensive fixture.

The multiple shadow thing can sometimes be a blessing. At some distances the *multiplicity* tends to soften an otherwise hard shadow. This is particularly beneficial when you don't have the punch to allow for using diffusion. Of course, if you want to use these as a backlight, the multiple shadow thing is probably not very relevant. It *is* nice to be able to dial in the intensity of your backlight by merely flicking a few switches.

I think the real appeal to these lights is punch and price. They are quite flexible and available in a lot of configurations. With VNSP globes they offer crazy punch for the dollar.

FWIW, they can also work very well in close through a big frame.

But, shhhhhh..... don't tell too many people!!!

Let us know how you used them and how it worked out.

David Perrault, csc

>The multiple shadow thing can sometimes be a blessing. At some >distances the *multiplicity* tends to soften an otherwise hard shadow.

I like using maxi brutes raw through windows. I think the effect of the window pattern is like sunlight through light clouds and it seems more natural in some situations than a very defined fresnel shadow.

And maxi brutes are the cheapest way of getting a lot of light, for the budget-challenged! (As long as we can get enough power for them)

Bruce Douglas
DP - Sao Paulo, Brazil

>I was thinking of using the M-B suspended over the actress (with a >slight back angle...), who will stand up near a car, with her back to the >entrance of a London tube station...
>The different beam and the large arrival of light behind her would have >been justify by the tube station...

> Do you think I'm going in the bad direction... ?

Without seeing the setup I would not make a guarantee...but this sounds like as good an approach as any - Depending on how bright the entrance of the tube station looks to camera (if you see the entrance itself) you can turn globes on and off to balance.

From your description, I would think that you would use fairly heavy diffusion, maybe on a 4 foot x 4 foot frame so that the source is softened and makes nice highlights.

Good luck!

Mark Weingartner
LA based

I got one long distant quote for 650W dichroic's @ $95 each! Ouch! I'd be happy with tungsten in the narrow or medium variety.

I have a remote shoot coming up where a smaller portable light would be handy for adding punch through small windows in trailers, huts, etc. (hopefully a 5K Honda gennie will handle the load)

Thanks

Dave Luxton
Cinematographer
Edmonton, Alberta

Hey Dave,

Minibrutes are great for punch lighting through windows, or lighting up buildings/facades at night.

Invariably I find myself getting a small HMI kit since 575s and 1.2s can be plugged into a wall, and even a 2.5K can work on stove/washer/dryer adaptor. AND, it's already daylight.

Not sure a 5K Honda will do, but you can always switch off some lights.

Ahh, the NFB.

BTW, would be nice to see you next time I'm in Edmonton. Been there the past 2 times and haven't had the pleasure.

Hope you're well,

Duraid

What is the difference between a Maxi brute and a Mole nine or twelve FAY light?

Thanks

Dave Winters
DP L.A.

Dave Winters writes:

>What is the difference between a Maxi brute and a Mole nine or twelve >FAY light?

Maxi-Brute = Molepar = PAR 64 = 1000W / lamp

Mini-Brute =Molefay = PAR 36 = 650W / lamp

Go to www.mole.com

Brian Heller
IA 600 DP

>What is the difference between a Maxi brute and a Mole nine or twelve >FAY light?

Maxi Brutes are fixtures that use multiple PAR 64 sealed beam globes - 8" diameter) (same as rock and roll PAR cans.) Mole's versions are the Molepars and the Moleeno Molepar Dino Lights, Ray Lights, and similar are 24 or 30 or 36 globe versions of the same thing.

"In a world before HMI" they were often used with FGM or FGN globes which had built in dichroic filters on them and delivered a daylightish color temp somewhere around 4800 Kelvin (I think) Nowadays, no one seems to use them with the "blue" globes which are expensive, rare, and have low lamp lives.

Mini Brutes aka FAY lights or Nine Lights (Mole Richardson calls theirs the Nine-Light Molefay) use PAR36 globes (4 1/2" diameter) which again were used in the olden days with FAY dichroic globes which coughed up a 4800 Kelvin light but had the horrendous short life of 30 hours or something like that.

Nowadays, they are almost always used with FCX (medium pattern) or FCW (wide pattern) "white" globes which are 3200 degree and last for a lot longer (and cost less than the dichroics.)

If you look through the older Mole Richardson designs, you can find the Obie light which used three FAY's through diffusion as a camera - mounted eyelight for day exterior work.

HMI's, faster stocks, Kino-Flo's and similar advances make this fixture look scary big and heavy by comparison...and thankfully, no one has to deal with them anymore.

Mark Weingartner
LA based