C-Stand

C-Stand
Extended C-Stand holding a 2000 W filmmaking light. The gobo arm can be used to hold flags or other devices

In film production, a C-stand is a piece of equipment used by the grip department to accomplish various rigging and light modification tasks.

The name comes from the official term "Century stand", which in turn comes from the earliest days of filmmaking, when the Sun was the only major source of lighting; reflectors were used to keep the light on actors. The most popular size of reflector was the 100-inch "Century"; a progenitor of today's C-stand was used to hold it up.

The Century stand is near-ubiquitous on motion picture sets because of its modular nature and versatility. Its primary purpose is to position various flags, color gels, bounce cards, and silks in front of light sources to block, direct, or modify the nature of the light. However, it can also be used to mount small lights and rig anything that can be made to fit on the stand.[1]

C-Stand retracted without lamp. This C-Stand is adjustable from 4 ft to 14 ft (1.2 – 4.3 m) tall

The stand is constructed almost entirely of metal and consists of a tripod base, and a riser column with a pin or pin receiver. The legs of most stands are designed to be nested, so many stands can be stacked together in a small space. The stand itself is extensible by a number of risers which allow the stand's height to vary from 40 inches upwards. A "gobo" arm, "gobo" head, fixture or other piece of equipment gets mounted to the pin. The arm and head are easily detachable from the stand, allowing them to be used with the other stands and clamps available to the grip department. All the parts of the stand are loosened and tightened via applied torque.

One leading manufacturer of C-stands is Matthews Studio Equipment; their 1974 design introduced the adjustable parts of the C-stand, greatly increasing the stand's usefulness. Other manufacturers include American Grip, Avenger, Modern Studio Equipment, Mole-Richardson and Norms Grip.

A variant of the C-stand is only 20 inches at its shortest height; it is nicknamed a "Gary Coleman" or a "Billy Barty" stand and a "shotgun" in the UK (a reference to the stand having been "sawn off"). Also known as a "grip stand."

Adjusting a C-stand head

References

  1. ^ Box, Harry C. "Set lighting technician's handbook" Third Edition, Focal Press, 2003. p. 119.

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Stand-up comedy — is a style of comedy where the performer speaks directly to the audience, with the absence of the theatrical fourth wall . A person who performs stand up comedy is known as a stand up comic, stand up comedian or more informally stand up. It is… …   Wikipedia

  • stand — /stand/, v., stood, standing, n., pl. stands for 43 63, stands, stand for 64. v.i. 1. (of a person) to be in an upright position on the feet. 2. to rise to one s feet (often fol. by up). 3. to have a specified height when in this position: a… …   Universalium

  • Stand — (st[a^]nd), v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Stood} (st[oo^]d); p. pr. & vb. n. {Standing}.] [OE. standen; AS. standan; akin to OFries. stonda, st[=a]n, D. staan, OS. standan, st[=a]n, OHG. stantan, st[=a]n, G. stehen, Icel. standa, Dan. staae, Sw. st[*a],… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Stand by — Stand Stand (st[a^]nd), v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Stood} (st[oo^]d); p. pr. & vb. n. {Standing}.] [OE. standen; AS. standan; akin to OFries. stonda, st[=a]n, D. staan, OS. standan, st[=a]n, OHG. stantan, st[=a]n, G. stehen, Icel. standa, Dan. staae,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • stand-by — [ stɑ̃dbaj ] n. inv. et adj. inv. • 1975; de l angl. stand by passenger, de to stand by « se tenir prêt » et passenger « passager » ♦ Anglic. 1 ♦ Personne qui voyage en avion sans avoir réservé sa place (cf. Passager en attente). 2 ♦ N. m. Voyage …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Stand Up — may refer to:* Stand up comedy MusicAlbums* Stand Up (Dave Matthews Band album) * Stand Up (Everyday Sunday album) * Stand Up (Jethro Tull album) * Stand Up! (album), an album by The Archers * Stand Up (Blue King Brown album), an album by Blue… …   Wikipedia

  • stand — ► VERB (past and past part. stood) 1) be in or rise to an upright position, supported by one s feet. 2) place or be situated in a particular position. 3) move in a standing position to a specified place: stand aside. 4) remain stationary or… …   English terms dictionary

  • stand — [stand] vi. stood, standing [ME standen < OE standan; akin to MDu standen, Goth standan < IE base * stā , to stand, be placed > L stare, to stand, Gr histanai, to set, cause to stand] 1. a) to be or remain in a generally upright position …   English World dictionary

  • Stand up paddle surfing — Stand Up Paddle , (SUP), is an emerging global sport with a Hawaiian heritage. It can be traced back to the early days of Polynesia. The sport is ancient form of surfing and began as a way for surfing instructors to manage their large groups of… …   Wikipedia

  • Stand Up — Álbum de Jethro Tull Publicación 1 de agosto de 1969 Grabación Abril de 1969 Género(s) Rock, rock progresivo, blues y …   Wikipedia Español

  • Stand — (st[a^]nd), n. [AS. stand. See {Stand}, v. i.] 1. The act of standing. [1913 Webster] I took my stand upon an eminence . . . to look into their several ladings. Spectator. [1913 Webster] 2. A halt or stop for the purpose of defense, resistance,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”