6 ms·

I don't understand, if those lights are so powerful then how do actors survive under their light?

buildbot 3y ago
Humans are actively cooled, and I think these lights were much higher power and much closer than typical film lights are to actors.
dmitrygr 3y ago
Your cells will multiply to heal damage. Most polymers will just crumble.
tjohns 3y ago
First, stage lighting is already uncomfortably hot for anyone working under them for any length of time. Second, these weren't ordinary stage lights. These were lights for use outdoors to simulate natural sunlight, which is much brighter (and hotter) than what you'd normally use indoors. Third, they were probably positioned too close, and left on for too long. Just a guess on this one.
- wkat4242 3y ago
  Still, if they are sunlight stimulators, wouldn't that mean that the heat from real sunlight could cause this also? These lights were too far for air heating to be an issue. So it must have been all IR. Maybe this kind of foam isn't entirely up to the spec either.
  - WalterBright 3y ago
    When I lived in Arizona, one quickly learned not to leave vinyl records near the car windows! Or crayons.
    - wkat4242 3y ago
      Yes my ex' glasses broke on their own while lying on the dash in Australian summer. I still have them lol
  - jjk166 3y ago
    If you put it through the same reflectors and lenses, yes. Same way you can start a fire with a magnifying glass.
hengheng 3y ago
There's a minimum distance of like 10-30ft with these lights. They're also uncomfortably warm, prompting humans to leave after a while but not airplanes.
- rosywoozlechan 3y ago
  Can LEDs be used to create the same brightness without the heat?
  - ceejayoz 3y ago
    If you're filming at high frame rates the flickering might become apparent.
    - gpm 3y ago
      So feed them with DC current? It's not like we're talking consumer lightbulbs that need to convert AC to DC as cheaply as possible to stay competitive.
      - Scoundreller 3y ago
        It’s possible, but I’m thinking a lot of constant-current devices will have some ripple in their output, even if smoothened. Human eye won’t see it, but high frame rate camera might capture at just the wrong rate to see it. It’s an surmountable problem, but can be expensive if it doesn’t need to be overcome often. (All speculation on my part)
        mrob 3y ago
        Follow your switching regulator or rectifier with some analog filtering, then a linear regulator to convert the remaining ripple to heat. It doesn't have to be very expensive, and only loses a little efficiency. I have LED light bulbs that work like this.
        3y ago
reactordev 3y ago
I’ve explained this before but I’ll chime in here and explain it again. Spotlights like these used for filming get hot (temperature wise) as well as having the ability to focus the beam. The lights heat will fall off but a focused beam will retain more of its energy. Now, some movie makeup has built in SPF. Stage makeup definitely has some. On stage, you’ll often see fans blowing to keep people cool or they will use diffused lighting and not spotlights which don’t generate so much heat. Spotlights like these though, you might as well be holding a giant magnifying glass. The beam is culminated and will cook whatever it’s pointing at. Will it cook a human? Yes if you stand there, still, for long enough. You will definitely get sun burned. If you get within 10 feet it will feel like your standing in an oven. Within 5 feet and your skin could boil.
- LeifCarrotson 3y ago
  It culminates in cooking the human. A laser beam is collimated, a spotlight only approximately so.
jacquesm 3y ago
I've been on a couple of film sets and when those big lights are on you better not be caught unprepared especially not when they are focused. The lights are usually kept running between takes (and during shorter breaks) and you will definitely realize you are 'in the beam' when you walk across the set. Another commenter here mentions UV protection built into make-up, I wasn't aware of that but it makes good sense. One thing I learned while webcasting Yves St. Laurent's fashion show in the mid 90's is that the flowers wilt within minutes of being placed due to all of the heat from the lights. So the way they dealt with that is that backstage there is an absolutely enormous amount of flowers ready to be deployed and they just cycle through flower arrangements continuously for the duration of the show so that the flowers are always fresh. It's tens of people walking to and fro without pause.
- js2 3y ago
  > Loy wrote that the biggest problem during shooting was the climactic dinner party scene in which Nick reveals the killer. Powell complained that he had too many lines to learn and could barely decipher the complicated plot he was unraveling. It was the one scene when several retakes were necessary, which brought up an entirely new problem. The script called for oysters to be served to the dinner guests and, in take after take, the same plate of oysters was brought out under the hot lights. Loy recalled that "they began to putrefy. By the time we finished that scene, nobody ever wanted to see another oyster". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thin_Man_(film)#Filming https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thin_Man_(film)#Filming (Great movie BTW!)
  - jacquesm 3y ago
    That's why food photography is an art form. Often the actual food is substituted by something that is more resistant to the thermal onslaught of the lighting but that looks identical. As to the number of takes and food: one particular set I recall was for a cookie brand, they did endless re-takes and the actress that had to eat the cookies started to get sick enough to vomit. We were all pretty happy when the director was finally satisfied with what must have been his masterpiece.

Humans are actively cooled, and I think these lights were much higher power and much closer than typical film lights are to actors.

dmitrygr 3y ago

Your cells will multiply to heal damage. Most polymers will just crumble.

tjohns 3y ago

First, stage lighting is already uncomfortably hot for anyone working under them for any length of time. Second, these weren't ordinary stage lights. These were lights for use outdoors to simulate natural sunlight, which is much brighter (and hotter) than what you'd normally use indoors. Third, they were probably positioned too close, and left on for too long. Just a guess on this one.

wkat4242 3y ago
Still, if they are sunlight stimulators, wouldn't that mean that the heat from real sunlight could cause this also? These lights were too far for air heating to be an issue. So it must have been all IR. Maybe this kind of foam isn't entirely up to the spec either.
- WalterBright 3y ago
  When I lived in Arizona, one quickly learned not to leave vinyl records near the car windows! Or crayons.
  - wkat4242 3y ago
    Yes my ex' glasses broke on their own while lying on the dash in Australian summer. I still have them lol
- jjk166 3y ago
  If you put it through the same reflectors and lenses, yes. Same way you can start a fire with a magnifying glass.

hengheng 3y ago

There's a minimum distance of like 10-30ft with these lights. They're also uncomfortably warm, prompting humans to leave after a while but not airplanes.

rosywoozlechan 3y ago
Can LEDs be used to create the same brightness without the heat?
- ceejayoz 3y ago
  If you're filming at high frame rates the flickering might become apparent.
  - gpm 3y ago
    So feed them with DC current? It's not like we're talking consumer lightbulbs that need to convert AC to DC as cheaply as possible to stay competitive.
    - Scoundreller 3y ago
      It’s possible, but I’m thinking a lot of constant-current devices will have some ripple in their output, even if smoothened. Human eye won’t see it, but high frame rate camera might capture at just the wrong rate to see it. It’s an surmountable problem, but can be expensive if it doesn’t need to be overcome often. (All speculation on my part)
      - mrob 3y ago
        Follow your switching regulator or rectifier with some analog filtering, then a linear regulator to convert the remaining ripple to heat. It doesn't have to be very expensive, and only loses a little efficiency. I have LED light bulbs that work like this.
        3y ago

reactordev 3y ago

I’ve explained this before but I’ll chime in here and explain it again. Spotlights like these used for filming get hot (temperature wise) as well as having the ability to focus the beam. The lights heat will fall off but a focused beam will retain more of its energy. Now, some movie makeup has built in SPF. Stage makeup definitely has some. On stage, you’ll often see fans blowing to keep people cool or they will use diffused lighting and not spotlights which don’t generate so much heat. Spotlights like these though, you might as well be holding a giant magnifying glass. The beam is culminated and will cook whatever it’s pointing at. Will it cook a human? Yes if you stand there, still, for long enough. You will definitely get sun burned. If you get within 10 feet it will feel like your standing in an oven. Within 5 feet and your skin could boil.

LeifCarrotson 3y ago
It culminates in cooking the human. A laser beam is collimated, a spotlight only approximately so.

jacquesm 3y ago

I've been on a couple of film sets and when those big lights are on you better not be caught unprepared especially not when they are focused. The lights are usually kept running between takes (and during shorter breaks) and you will definitely realize you are 'in the beam' when you walk across the set. Another commenter here mentions UV protection built into make-up, I wasn't aware of that but it makes good sense. One thing I learned while webcasting Yves St. Laurent's fashion show in the mid 90's is that the flowers wilt within minutes of being placed due to all of the heat from the lights. So the way they dealt with that is that backstage there is an absolutely enormous amount of flowers ready to be deployed and they just cycle through flower arrangements continuously for the duration of the show so that the flowers are always fresh. It's tens of people walking to and fro without pause.

js2 3y ago
> Loy wrote that the biggest problem during shooting was the climactic dinner party scene in which Nick reveals the killer. Powell complained that he had too many lines to learn and could barely decipher the complicated plot he was unraveling. It was the one scene when several retakes were necessary, which brought up an entirely new problem. The script called for oysters to be served to the dinner guests and, in take after take, the same plate of oysters was brought out under the hot lights. Loy recalled that "they began to putrefy. By the time we finished that scene, nobody ever wanted to see another oyster". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thin_Man_(film)#Filming https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thin_Man_(film)#Filming (Great movie BTW!)
- jacquesm 3y ago
  That's why food photography is an art form. Often the actual food is substituted by something that is more resistant to the thermal onslaught of the lighting but that looks identical. As to the number of takes and food: one particular set I recall was for a cookie brand, they did endless re-takes and the actress that had to eat the cookies started to get sick enough to vomit. We were all pretty happy when the director was finally satisfied with what must have been his masterpiece.