It was pitch dark so to add interest I did 3 things.

1. I set up the camera in a way that included the distant street lights in the frame. I did this to add some practicals which help the audience believe the light is motivated. It was very subtle but effective.
2. The second thing I did was add some smoke at a distance near a tree.
3. Then, I lit the tree with the background light. The scene was so intriguing. The smoke helped us catch the light and fill the frame.
   (Quick tip: Most of the time shooting pitch dark is a bad idea.)

As intriguing as the scene was looking, we failed to shoot it.

Just before rolling the camera, a voltage fluctuation happened and burned the internal circuitry of our LED panel.
We were using this powerful LED light as a background light.

After failing, we were left with no choice but to shoot against almost dark. We lit it with the extra small LEDs we had, but the result was far away from what it was before.

(Quick tip: Voltage fluctuations are a common thing in India. To avoid such complications, bring voltage stabilizers on set.)

Now coming to the title of this blog.

Imagine… all the lights failed due to that voltage fluctuation.

Do you realize what was at stake, because we wanted to save a few bucks (rent) on some lights?

So to back up my statement in the title let’s discuss some stakes involved in such scenarios: 

1. Time: We often hear that filmmaking is all about teamwork. This also means there are a whole lot of people whose time is at stake if anything goes wrong like this incident.
2. Effort: There are ADs, actors, DPs, directors, etc. on a set who have come to make this possible.
3. Cost: This is a substantial cost related to commuting, food & rent of equipment even in a no-budget production.
4. Demotivation: Maybe, the cut isn’t too deep in your pockets but it can cause demotivation.
5. Unhealthy relationships: Imagine, your actor leaving a paid gig for you, and then this happens…
6. Bad Image: Your image can suffer as a filmmaker in the market.

A no-budget/Collaboration project can cost way more than you think and that too without achieving anything.

Just because you chose the cheaper lights!
Come on…
We can do better than this.

Don’t even get me started on what if it was a shoot with a celebrity or your first high-budget gig!
You know the stakes right. You don’t want to lose to your competition this way.

Arri lights could have saved our @sses the other day.
How? You may ask…

Because they are reliable, solid-built like a tank, weather-sealed for rough and tough use and they come with this protection circuitry (Ballasts) which Arri has developed with years of research and has been industry standard for so long.

Did I mention the quality of light you get?

It’s just unbeatable (more on this in my Masterclass blog).