I find myself taping mat lights to Walls and ceilings quiet often, you can get a nice soft toplight, with a grid, even in rooms where the ceiling is not that high and without the room for a menacearm. Impossible with any other kind of Light. Mat lights have made locations that would have been impossible to shoot in 20 years ago (or at least very difficult) accessible.
I've got a pair of these for top lighting a dinner scene in an upcoming short. So lightweight I can toss them on varipoles that span across the room, and not worry about stands getting in some of the shots.
Nicely answered, Andrew. These lights are indeed one of the biggest game changers (going hand in hand with surface mount LEDs). I don't imagine we'll have another lighting revolution in our lifetimes that greatly improves upon this tech (but it would be great to be wrong).
Love this. I have been doing product and commercial videos with a mat light for about a year and have found that I naturally was using my mat this way, mainly as a back light/hair light, literally used it yesterday to back light a flask for product shots. I do use it as a key sometimes in a pinch, but just like you said, usually at that point I have room for a soft box which I like a little better in most cases as a front side source. I have some edge-lit LED panels that are lower power but work really well for placing on the table/set for product fill and reflections. Love the channel, thanks for sharing all your advice!
Mat lights are also easy to rig onto existing fixtures on locations. I often end up gripping them to things like shelves or curtain rails, when it's not possible to get a boom in. In a pinch you can even tape them to the ceiling! Strap/tape a small battery up there for power and you're good to go!
@@gaffergear why did you choose litemat spectrum 4 and aladdin over litecloth when litecloth appears to lighter ? what are the downsides with litecloth ? also what do you think of Westcott flex cine ..I've seen them at an event here in las Vegas ? thank for your advice it very appreciated
@@creativegreats6924 lumen radio was a big decider in what I selected. With the spectrum the ability to run hundreds of feet of head lead was also a plus. I purchased the Aladdins must be close to 3 years ago now, not as much options back then.
I love these lights, I can literally velcro them to a wall or ceiling, boom them out further than anything else, sneak them in for wrap or fill very quickly. Their only real downside is the output.
I know several gaffers here in Ireland who have FalconEyes as their "flexipanel" option. So handy for tight spaces and booming things out a long way. I've found their controllers to be a bit crappy though, especially the power supply part. That might have improved on newer models though.
Andrew, you can put all the black boxes over peoples faces you want, but I clearly recognized Jason Mamoa in the shoe shoot, Tom Hanks in the interview, and Tom Cruise in the Foodie videos. Good work!
I'd be interested in an episode about deciding how much weight you can put on a given menace arm, when you choose a double barrel menace, and how long you can make a menace arm.
I keep revisiting your videos from time to time, it's always a good recall. How about LED TUBES instead of MATLIGHTS? Now we have a pretty good range of LED TUBES in price and quality. Not talking about replacing MAT LIGHTS just want to know the Challenges or PROS N CONS in vice versa.
LED tube mainly for some special shooting, Compare with Mat Lights, Their Beam Angle, Light area, and also Power have much different. Mat lights use more widely than LED Tube Light.
@@jackcaptain4839 well, thanks for reply, what if we stack 3_4 tube wether it's 2ft or 4ft light - it might get some how MAT LIGHT lighting. I don't have MAT LIGHT nor TUBES. And I am eyeing on tubes to invest in. Any suggestions?
Hi, i'm Andrew Lock and my garage is soooooooo cold that i'm wearing a duvet jacket!!!!! Look i love my Aputure 300x however they are heavy to cart around and not that 'nimble'. If i'm being totally honest, i think i may need to buy some Falconeye 2x1 mat lights to get me out of some situations. I can fly my 300x over with a C-stand with an arm when doing a 1-1 interview, however there's only so far you can safely go. Many thanks for the video Andrew 👍🏻👍🏻
@@gaffergear I’ve got a couple of Falcon eye lights, and honesty they’re the best bang for buck in the industry. I use them all the time, no noticeable difference to the aladdins apart from feeling slightly less premium. Light quality is the same to my eye
@@gaffergear I know quite a few DP's over here in the UK who have the Falcon Eye mat lights and love them. Whilst the control boxes are a bit lumpy and not as streamlined as the Aladdin or Fomex brands, their actual mat lights are brilliant value for money
I actually just bout the 12td and while the light quality/output is good the quality of the unit i received was pretty poor. Fortunately my gaffer taught me how to make light mats so i can repair and make the unit more sturdy but without this information i doubt the unit would last more than a year of setup/breakdown
Great video! How about size? Between 2x1 or a 2x2 model, which one would be more convenient for backlight? Getting a 2x2 model is worth the extra $300 more? Thanks for your time!
In my experience, for what it’s worth, rectangular lights like a 1x3 or 1x2 are much more useful than square lights when used for backlight. The added width helps the backlight wrap around talents head and shoulders more, and is much less of a risk if getting in shot (which is the biggest plus for me). I carry several Matt lights on my truck, and I really wish I would’ve just got more 1x3s for those reasons.
Id love to know where you were able to source those lights. For example, I work for a high school, so getting small led light panels would be great for our small rooms - but knowing where to start and what brands to look for has been a bit of a minefield. I could navigate strobe photography lights anyway, but LED panels is something completely foreign to me. Would love some insight. By the way, love your work. This is gold for new upcoming Australian creators.
@@gaffergear I'm in Queanbeyan (NSW, on the border with the ACT.) And I'm a part time photographer in Sydney and Canberra. I'm personally looking at a range of RGB LED panels from Neewer and thinking of getting the Godox SL60 but I just need one or two flat panels that I can hang from C Stands, what you presented are just perfect as they would work for myself as a photographer as well as a teacher when we film the school podcast or online learning projects etc.
Litecloth by Intellytech might be worth a look. I don't know of anyone selling it in Australia. All my mats would most likely be too expensive, my Aladdin 350s are $6k and the spectrum are about $7k with all the bits
@@gaffergear that's amazing advice. Thank you. I have been looking at the Astra and the Aladdin too. But I will look at your suggestion so I can get started before the end of the year. Again, thankyou. Such a bloody useful channel.
They are awesome for this, but hold off a little if you can, so many new options are coming in the next few months. You will have a lot of choices in different budget areas, each with different set up advantages.
Love your stuff. Can you talk about the inverse square law and how practical it is to use them? I've been using a hard narrow source (creamsourse micro bender) onto a silver reflector for a soft and yet directional light. This gives me such a long throw that it looks like a distant window light. Do you use this technique? Do you think it has a use in your line of work? corporate type? I understand for narrative type of filmmaking, it may have a place... I would love your thoughts on it.
I work alone almost every job, I was considering this, it has the fantastic advantage of bypassing square inverse law, and giving a hard light look. But I think to work at speed, two people would be ideal for set up. One on the light and one one the reflector. Plus the panels are a rip off in Australia.
With those back/hairlights in tight spaces needing to be out of shot, couldn't you just as easily have beamed an ellipsoidal or similar into a bounce card which also removes the need for heavy rigging? With a 26deg source4 at a few meters, even gelled blue, you should get some decent intensity...
Yes, and I still do that from time to time, especially if I need to adjust the size or shape of a reflection with product shots. With the mats I have the advantage of being able to use a grid. I find mats way faster, especially as most shoots I'm working alone. The 1ft x 4ft mats I have in the last set up come in at only 1.5kg each. My go-to for bounce is now a Forza 60B with 19 degree lens. Way brighter than a 800w tungsten with a CTB.
The delta varient has broken through our quarantine and not enough people are fully vaxinated so we are in lockdown again. It's not as big a deal as it sounds. I currently can't work, but what that means is when restrictions are eased work will go crazy again. So I either have no work for weeks of lockdowns or I'm dizzy with work. Only 12.2% of Australian people arefully vaxed.
They are no longer made. They were the first flexible mat lights about 4 to 5 years ago. Some places still have them in stock under the "Ledgo" brand name called "versa tile" or "versatile" But you can't get parts if you break the fold down frames.
