December 03, 2024

Voices From The Set – An Interview With 30-Year Veteran Gaffer Rick Kalivoda

1 hour 7 minutes

Mixing Light Contributor Rich Roddman CSI interviews Rick Kalivoda, a 30-year gaffer and on-set veteran. Kalivoda talks about his craft in executing the DP's vision, the emergence of LED lighting, and its challenges. This starts a new Interview series featuring on-set crafts that affect post production workflows.

Full notes and additional links, including the video, are on this Insight's homepage: https://mixinglight.com/color-grading-tutorials/interview-rick-kalivoda-gaffer-lighting/

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(00:00) - Introduction

(00:43) - What is a Gaffer?

(02:57) - A typical example of a Gaffer's work

(05:29) - CRI vs SSI

(07:02) - The evolution of LED lights

(09:03) - Why Tungsten is the industry reference

(12:02) - Light fixtures as the painter's palette

(14:46) - Conversations with DPs

(17:22) - LED Volume Walls as lighting instruments

(19:55) - How has large dynamic range changed lighting?

(25:20) - Lighting instruments & lens/camera choices

(27:47) - Tungsten is our butter

(27:53) - Tungsten - it's butter for chefs

(29:15) - Are young DPs missing out on Tungsten?

(31:20) - Managing Depth of Field

(34:04) - Lighting is Logarithmic

(36:30) - How to become a gaffer

(37:32) - Advice for PAs

(39:12) - Passing details from set to post

(40:17) - Key & Fill Ratios

(43:07) - The value of Makeup Artists

(43:55) - What monitor to look at?

(47:38) - What's Rick's trusted measuring device?

(48:18) - Value of the on-set monitor

(51:10) - Zero-budget lighting

(56:45) - Replacing practical lights

(59:39) - Wireless DMX vs Wifi and apps

(01:01:05) - Essential roles on set

(01:02:00) - Wrap Up

...more

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By Mixing Light, LLC

4.3

44 ratings

December 03, 2024

Voices From The Set – An Interview With 30-Year Veteran Gaffer Rick Kalivoda

1 hour 7 minutes

Full notes and additional links, including the video, are on this Insight's homepage: https://mixinglight.com/color-grading-tutorials/interview-rick-kalivoda-gaffer-lighting/

Related Mixing Light Insights

The Essential Gear For An On-Set Color Correction DIT Cart – Rich Roddman C.S.I. shows how he sets up his Cart for on-set color correction… and the thinking behind his choices.Part 4 of a DIT series.
Being Flexible As A DIT: The Always Evolving DIT Cart – We all know that a good cart is essential to a DIT’s kit. But what if there is no room for your cart? What options do you have when size becomes a cause for concern?