As long as there is a sun and moon in the sky there will be a place for a large HMI on interior and exterior sets because small HMIs, Kino-Flos, & LED light panels don't come close to balancing direct sunlight in day light scenes or covering deep background in night scenes. Feature production values just became a lot more affordable for low budget digital productions with the introduction of the new ARRI M90/60 with ARRIMAX reflector. The ARRI M90/60 introduces a new power class for daylight fixtures. Utilizing a 9 kW lamp, developed by Osram according to ARRI's specification, the M90/60 can be operated on portable gas generators, like Honda's new 10kw EB10000, to achieve remarkable results.

Like all M-Series lamp heads, the M90/60 is equipped with MAX Reflector Technology, a unique and very bright open face reflector design that combines the advantages of a Fresnel and the output of a PAR in one fixture. Focusable by the turn of a knob (from 17-55 degrees), the MAX reflector produces a remarkably even light field and a crisp, clear shadow. The elimination of spread lenses, makes MAX reflector lamp heads comparable to par configurations of even a higher wattage. In fact, the M90 is brighter than some 12K PARs on the market.

The light generated by the CAD designed Max Reflector of the new M90/60
is incredibly bright and sharp.
To power the new M90/60 head, ARRI has engineered a dual wattage ballast. The EB 6000/9000 will operate either the traditional 6kw SE globe or the new 9kw SE globe on supply voltages ranging from 195-250V. With Active Line Filtration (ARRI's system of Power Factor Correction) built in, the EB 6000/9000 ballast is incredibly efficient and generates virtually no harmonic noise - enabling it to reliably operate on portable gas generators like Honda's new Digital AVR 10kw EB10000.

Not only does the MAX reflector of this head provide more output but it is also incredibly versatile. When you need a lot of light for fill on day exteriors you can lamp it with a 9kw globe. When you don't need quite the punch of a 12kw Par, like on a night exterior, you can swap the 9kw globe for a 6kw globe making more power available to run additional lights on a portable gas generator. For example, you save 27 Amps when you swap out a 9kw bulb for a 6kw bulb. The 27 Amps you save by burning the smaller 6kw globe will power quite a few more lights when you consider that both the ARRI L7 LED Fresnel and Kino Flo Parabeam 400 use approximately 2 Amps.

The Active Line Filtration (ALF) of the new ARRI EB 6000/9000 ballast
makes it an incredibly efficient and clean load.
The number of additional power efficient LED and Fluorescent lights you can now use on portable gas generators, makes feature production values obtainable on a low budget. The problem with the night exteriors of a lot of low budget productions is that they generally don't have the power to create separation and depth by edge lighting their talent or by lighting the deep background. As a result, their talent's faces quite often look disembodied like they are floating in a black void.

One of the biggest hurdles to lighting night exteriors for low budget digital cinema productions is the high cost of blimped studio generators. Not only are blimped generators expensive to rent, but they also come with hidden costs. Since rental trucks like those from Ryder or Penske are not equipped to tow, you quite often have to hire the rental house's grip truck to tow them. And, since most rental houses require that one of their employees drive their trucks (for insurance reasons), the production has to hire a driver at roughly $575/10hrs - which is probably more than anyone else on a typical indie crew is getting paid. One solution to this dilemma, now that energy efficient high output heads like the new ARRI M90/60 exist, is to use a portable generator like the new 10'000W Honda EB10000 with a boost transformer. 10'000W is just enough to power to light the deep background with the new ARRI M90/60 with a 6kw globe and have enough power left over to power not only talent keys but also backlights, rim lights, and kickers to edge light and separate talent.

A lot of productions hesitate to use non-blimped industrial generators, like the new 10kw Honda EB100000, because of the noise they make. Whether you pick up generator noise on your audio tracks comes down to how you use it. The problem with open-frame industrial generators, like the EB10000, is that by the time you move them far enough off set that you don't hear them you have significant "Line Loss" (often referred to as "Voltage Drop") from the long cable run back to set. To the problem of line loss, you have the added problem that as you add load, the voltage drops on portable generators (it is not uncommon for a generator to drop 5-10 volts under full load.) The combination of voltage drop on the generator and line loss on a long cable run can cause voltage to drop to the point where HMI and Kino ballasts cut out unexpectedly or won't strike at all. Low voltage can also cause problems such as reduced efficiency and excessive heat in equipment, unnecessary additional load on the generator, and a dramatic shift in the color temperature and in the output of lights. For these reasons, portable gas generators are typically operated too close to set where they are picked up on audio tracks or eliminated as an option from the outset. The trick to recording clean audio with the EB10000 is to use the generator with a boost transformer that will enable you to operate the generator at a distance where it won't be heard, yet maintain full line level on set.

Honda EB10000 with Voltage Select 84A Transformer/Distro
and 14 Gallon Fuel Caddy.
A boost transformer will enable you to add 300'- 400' of cable between the generator and the Transformer/Distro. This is usually enough cable to place the generator around the corner of a building, or to run it out of a van or truck - which is usually all the additional blimping you need with these generators. The 6 Awg/4 conductor twist-lock cable that is used to supply a Transformer/Distro eliminates multiple long cable runs to the generator and reduces line-loss (eliminating the severe voltage drop you would have using standard electrical cords.) And, by compensating for the unavoidable voltage drop you will have on a fully loaded generator, a boost transformer can assure full line level (120V) on set.

Left: Honda EB10000 operating out of grip truck (note set at distance (bright spot on right side.))
Center: 84A Full Power Transformer/Distro compensates for Voltage Drop over 400ft cable run.
Right: Beach Set with 120v full line level 500ft from power source.
A good example of how the voltage boost capacity of a Transformer/Distro makes it possible to record clean audio tracks with the EB10000, even under the worst of conditions, is the indie short "Paralarva" (pictured above and below.) The film takes place around a campfire on a beach on Cape Cod. To record sync sound without picking up the noise of a generator, the crew ran our modified 10kw Honda EB10000 out of their grip truck 500 ft from their beach set. To assure full line level on set, the production used the boost capacity of our 84A Select Transformer/Distro to compensate for the generator's voltage drop and line loss over the long cable run.

Left: Beach Set lit by two 1800W Arrimaxes.
Center: Secondary side power distributed with standard 100 Bates Gang Boxes.
Right: Set viewed from generator (note: distance and extent of set power distribution.)
From the Transformer/Distro they then ran 100' of 4/3 Bates Extension to set where they broke out to 20A Edison receptacles using 100A gang boxes. While running the generator near full capacity with a lighting package that consisted of two 1800W ARRI M18 Baby Max HMIs, several Tegra 400s, and assorted Litepanels and Quartz Fresnels, they experienced no appreciable voltage drop on set even after a 500' cable run because our Select Transformer/Distro was able to compensate for both the line loss of the cable and voltage drop of the generator under near full load.

Left: Ready for rain on the set of "Gasp."
Center: Two 4kw Pars operate on a 10kw Honda EB10000 Generator through our 84A Full Power Transformer/Distro.
Right: 100A Shock Block GFCI downstream of Full Power Transformer/Distro offers Ground Fault Protection for entire 100A distro system
By comparison, had the crew of "Paralarva" run 500' of standard 14 Awg electrical cord they would have experienced a line loss alone of 24.5V. To avoid having their 1800W Baby Maxs cut out from low voltage, they would have had to move the generator closer to set where it would be picked up on the audio tracks. This example clearly demonstrates how the boost capacity of transformers can enable you to not only place generators further from set where they won't be heard, but also assures that the supply voltage on set does not drop too low. Line loss compensation is just one of the many benefits to be gained by using a boost transformer, along with the new ARRI M90/60 head, on the new Honda EB10000 generator (use this link - Lighten Up: Doing More with Less without Compromise - for details.)

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Each component of our

"HD Plug & Play Package"

is available for

Rental or Sale

Our HD P&P Pkg. capitalizes upon the following technological advances in lighting and production technology by
Mole Richardson, K5600, Power to Light, Kino Flo, and Honda.

- More efficient and compact HMI, Quartz, and now Fluorescent Par Lights.
- Brighter and more efficient "short arc" HMI bulb designs.
- 120/240V Electronic HMI ballasts with Power Factor Correction.
- Cool burning, energy efficient Fluorescent Lighting Fixtures.
- Innovative new rigging hardware.

These technological advances in lighting design now enable the use of bigger lights, or more smaller lights, off of standard wall outlets or off a new generation of quieter and more powerfull Honda Inverter Generators. Click here for more detailed information on our HD P&P Pkg.