1. How did you get into the television lighting business?
When I was in high school, I took photos for the local newspaper, and I wanted to be a photojournalist. When I turned 18, I went to Santa Barbara City College. The prerequisite for the photo classes was Introduction to Technical Theatre. As soon as I walked onto the stage, I knew that’s what I wanted to do. After two years at SBCC, I transferred to CalArts. I told the dean I only wanted to light theatre and dance. I interned for the LA Opera for a semester. Immediately after that, I had a chance to assist Jeff Ravitz on a music video…and after that job, I interned for Jeff and Jim Moody at Moody/Ravitz. Then after I graduated college, I went to work for Light and Sound Design as a moving light programmer, first for tours and later for television.
2. How long have you been lighting Jimmy Kimmel?
I’m going into my fifth year with Jimmy Kimmel Live (JKL). Simon Miles designed it originally, and Matt Ford took over from him. Their influence is still all over the show.
3. Talk about the switch to LEDs for the studio.
The producers of the show approached me about two years ago, asking if we could take the show LED. I told them no at the time, but the technology was very close. We revisited it last December, and I felt that, after what I had seen at LDI, and after talking to some manufacturers, we could proceed.
I also wanted to use this opportunity not just to go LED but to relight for the show we are today, as opposed to the show we were ten years ago. We shoot the show very differently, and I wanted to light for what we are doing now. We use every inch of the studio, and I want to be ready for whatever Jimmy and the writers come up with.
I looked for LEDs that will last for at least ten more years. One of my biggest concerns is color shift over time. Also CRI is very important to me. We would look at skin tones and color swatches on our cameras, and how we could shape the light.
Prism Projection Studio 3s, Profile Juniors, and RevEAL CWs, as well as Arri L7-Cs, Cineo TruColors, and Creamsource Mini Classics. I went with the Prism lights because they have realtime color calibration, a very good dimmer curve, and the fixtures, in my opinion, look the best on camera.
The Profile Junior was the brightest ellipsoidal we found. It puts out so little heat that we can make gobos on a laser printer. The Studio 3 was the most flexible Fresnel-type light I found, and the CWs are my audience backlight. I needed a light that could change color easily and one that had a wide throw. They make a great CTO if I need it, but then can fade back into a colored backlight for most of the show.
The TruColor is the best-looking LED hands down. The way it creates light with remote phosphor is like nothing else. Again the color temp will never change, and the CRI is the closest you can get to an incandescent source. I use it as a soft light replacement. I’m using the Arri L7 as keylight at the home base. The Creamsource is my audience sidelight.
4. What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?
Don’t let all the technology drive your choices. Think of every light as a tool. Find the right tool for the job, and don’t just pick the newest or brightest.
5. What would you advise young designers who want to get into TV lighting?
Light everything you can. If someone offers you a job, say yes. Don’t worry if it’s for the Internet or a school project or a live event. It will give you a chance to meet people and work on your craft.
Christian Hibbard will be a speaker at LDI2013 in November in Las Vegas and Live Design's TV Lighting Master Classes in December in LA.