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we have already talked about how important lighting is in video, and with cheap halogen
and incandescent worklights, it is really easy to get a professional looking video.
One of these popular lighting rigs in the clamp light, due to its cheap price and flexibility
of bulbs accepted, but in most cases you are going to need a light stand for it. Now, there
are a ton of different tutorials for light stands all over the web, but to keep price
down they often skimp out on height and stability. I have made my own light stand that stays
very simple, sturdy, and costs around 10 bucks. To build this lightstand, you are going to
need a cheap plastic tote box, a painter's pole, spare 2 by 4, a spade bit or hole saw,
electric drill, saw and some screws. First cut your wood so it fits your dimensions.
For some extra stability I cut it so that I had a piece of wood running lengthwise at
the bottom of the box and a piece running widthways under the lid. Now, use a spade
bit or hole saw to cut a hole with the same diameter as your painters pole through the
center of the box lid and the two pieces of wood. Since the base of the box is somewhat
flimsy, don’t drill all the way through the bottom piece, leaving a bit of wood for
your painter’s pole to stand on. Once you screw the wood in place, you can put the lid
on the box, and put the painter’s pole through the lid. your light stand is ready to use.
The tote box design allows you to weigh down the lightstand with sandbags and other filmmaking
gear when it isn’t in use. Since most painters poles are made of metal, they can take a whole
lot more weight than pvc, allowing you to use two of these as a backdrop stand. Although
this design is a little more expensive than others, the tote alone is something you should,
and probably already have in your filmmaking arsenal. Also, for the stability alone, I
still consider this lightstand a great investment.