Stuart White is a London-based cinematographer with experience shooting feature films, TV shows, corporate videos and internet projects. Most recently, he's been busy shooting comedy-drama programmes for BBC3, feature films for Carnaby International, as well as TV pilots and feature teasers for various production companies. Stuart purchased his first set of DMG Lumière LED fixtures in February of 2018. He has found his SWITCH LED lights to be so useful that he shared why he likes them so much with us below.
When I first opened the packages from DMG Lumière by Rosco, I had no idea just how integral a piece of kit I had just received. Inside were two SL1 SWITCH lights and one MINI SWITCH light, as well as AC Power Supplies, and DOP Choice SnapBag & SnapGrid Accessories for each of them. After my Junior Magliner, these flexible, adaptable LED soft lights are often the first items to be lifted into my VW Transporter. I can safely say that I have had them on 70% or more of my jobs in 2019 so far. When my gaffers see the DMG lights, they often do that little happy nod, knowing they have a simple and effective addition to today’s kit.
The remarkable quality of such a small unit is sublime. The texture and softness of the light source never fails to appease me and my director. Very rarely do I feel the need to further diffuse the light source. I was recently on a shoot where I found myself inside a tiny bedroom, filming a small boy struggling to sleep with a camera on a slider just inches from his face. I lit that scene with a MINI SWITCH just next to me with its SnapGrid applied – powered at a ridiculous 2-3%.
The design of these units mean they fit anywhere. The super-slim SL1 units have been integral in bringing quality, controllable and constant light into some ridiculous environments. I have, truthfully, had a 1st AD turn around and try to find the light source on a set once, after I had slipped an SL1 behind a potted plant.
I have lost count of the number of situations where these lights have been my only lighting kit. I recently used them to light and key a number of green screen interviews. The wide-angle uniform release of light means that I can quickly and simply light and adjust a green screen setup. Using my camera’s dynamic range exposure tool, coupled with the incremental power scale on the SL1 ballast, I can be up and ready to shoot in minutes without needing to step onto the set.
Interiors, exteriors, inside vehicles, walking shots, up-close-and-personal close-ups, or shining through windows - my SWITCH lights have done the lot. The ability to add v-lock plates to all of the DMG Lumière range means that I can use them literally anywhere. Adding a DOME diffuser creates an instant china-ball for lighting streets at night, or for creating a covered-wagon style source for interiors.
I can trust them. Every time. The number of shoots where they have been the right set lighting choice is unquestionable, and they have never let me down. They have never failed to work. I have never had the slightest reason to scratch my head or look sheepishly at my director as we struggle to light a scene. All-in-all, they do exactly what a DOP needs - they solve problems and they increase the quality of my work.
If you’d like to keep up with Stuart White’s adventurous filmmaking, follow him on Instagram @stuart_white_dop, or check out his reel on his website: www.stuartwhitedop.com. If you’d like to learn more about the lights that Stuart has come to rely on in his filmmaking career, explore the SL1 and MINI SWITCH fixtures on the DMG Lumière by Rosco website: www.dmglumiere.com.
