Flashlight Sourcing - Jurassic Park

[Crenshaw]

looks like a UK style dive light to me.

also, i dont think its uncommon that the props people re-work thier lights to disguise them from being consumer products for some reason or another. I recall some movie having Orange Surefire M3s (i think it was poseidon).

you might start with something like this?
http://www.uwkinetics.com/product/25

Crenshaw

 

[ElectronGuru]

Its also possible we're overthinking this. This may not be something a heavy duty props guy spent days researching,
it may be something the prop guy's assistant picked up at Pep Boys on the way back from Starbucks.

In the video, how heavy does it look? Does she need two hands to stabilize it or is one hand plenty?

 

[kosPap]

Ahh yes, the never ending search for this light, so far this has been the only prop that we have not yet identified! and when we do it will be that much sweeter

now why did I get the impression is is a sleeved Mag?

 

[jcw122]

Its also possible we're overthinking this. This may not be something a heavy duty props guy spent days researching,
it may be something the prop guy's assistant picked up at Pep Boys on the way back from Starbucks.

In the video, how heavy does it look? Does she need two hands to stabilize it or is one hand plenty?

She actually DRAGS it by her foot while running in one scene.

 

[Chrontius]

The reflector looks to me like a Welch-Allen Solarc, a small HID designed for dive lights and similar applications. The tint also strongly hints at an HID.

Perhaps this is a HIDified-at-home dive light? Their prop guy could be a closet flashoholic too, you know.

 

[Illum]

now why did I get the impression is is a sleeved Mag?

I thought of it as something similar earlier...but your talking a sleeve that has a width close to the length of the mag bezel that's translucent enough to allow light to pass through. Given my deduction the only way it would be a mag is if it was seated behind the shroud, but in relativity to her hand only a 1D mag can be stuffed in that sleeve and not protrude out from the back:thinking:

Their prop guy could be a closet flashoholic too, you know.

you know with that statement you just complicated the search some ten times over right?

Lordy, I am going to if it had in fact turned out to be a 1D mag sporting an LED dropin :sweat:

 

[DM51]

boomerjinks... in post #16 I asked you to resize those photos. Please be advised that when a moderator asks you tom do something, it is a good idea to comply rather than ignore the request.

I have replaced the photos concerned with links; it is only out of consideration for other members, and the fact that you are new here, that I didn't just delete them.

 

[AnAppleSnail]

Can you please provide some specs on what you've done to your YJ?

I was able to find these pictures. Note, SomethingAwful forums can be sketchy.

SomethingAwful thread

 

[vtunderground]

The reflector looks to me like a Welch-Allen Solarc, a small HID designed for dive lights and similar applications. The tint also strongly hints at an HID.

I was thinking HID too... but information on early 1990's dive lights seems to be hard to come by.

Of course it couldn't be an LED mod... the movie came out six years before Lumileds even existed!

 

[Illum]

I was thinking HID too... but information on early 1990's dive lights seems to be hard to come by.

Of course it couldn't be an LED mod... the movie came out six years before Lumileds even existed!

perhaps 5mms?

 

[IMSabbel]

Also consider the possibilities of a hack.

They often used to do this when using flashlights for filming, as normal flashlights are either too dim, or can mess up the shot because of glare,etc. Not to mention the issues with color balance of the shot (as you will always have some studio lighting in order to see the actors, etc).

So its entirely possible that they just put a studio light in a tube and had the power cord up the sleeves of the actors.

 

[electromage]

I know it's been a while, but I just picked up a few UK lights at a local surplus store for $1/ea and got to thinking about this again. I remembered that the same lights were featured in City Slickers II, in the cave scene toward the end. In that scene they were featured prominently, and were not tethered. I took some screenshots which might help if anyone else still wonders about this.

CS2 Spotlight - Google Drive

drive.google.com

When Stern's character turns his light on, he uses two hands and it appears to start like a halogen, not HID. They also appear to be sealed and waterproof. In some shots there seems to be a sleeve over the body.

 

[slickrick]

I always thought the throw and lumen brightness of these lights was very impressive for the time period. My guess would be they are some high end diving light. This was a time period when the average flashlight was a dim halogen with the yellow or orange tint and maybe 50 or 100 lumens brightness at max.

 

[slickrick]

I just did a google search and found people in another forum claiming it to be an Underwater Kinetics UK1200 diving light. I searched ebay and found this in the recently sold, it looks pretty similar. https://www.ebay.com/itm/186550191308

 

[yellow]

Haha, what a blast from the past, that thread


At the time of the movies, white led were pretty noneexistant, so no led!
And for sure no halogen!

The girls light might be an
Underwater Kinetics light cannon 100
but modded:
* rubber sleeve over bezel removed,
* some strange plastic added extending from bezel forward.

My guess: the original dive setup with the large reflector made a way too tight beam (outside of the water) .
So they changed to one of the reflectorized Welch Allyn HID burners.
Which imho should still fit into the original housing, but not sure of this.
If it fitted, it would not have been supported at the base and Thus possibly fell out during filming, so they maybe added that transparent "thing", that covers/hides whatever they used to hold the burner.

If I still have the remains of my lightcannon, I can check that.


Edit:
but that would make no sense, as there were diffusing "screens" present, to get the beam/light wider...
/edit


Ps: dive lights can never be "too big".
Size is almost of no importance; or better: with neoprene gloves, too small is bad .

 

[yellow]

Just looked at electromage's pics,
not possible that several of the lights have been hand modded the way I guessed above.

can a movie prop deparment have a small batch of such parts been made?



PS: just found the datasheets:
the reflectored burner is shorter than the "original" one, the one Underwater Kinetics used with their large reflector.
So that could fit into the original light.

https://www.ushio.com/files/specifications/solarc-metal-halide-arc-lamp-technology-10-watt-ballast.pdf

How about:
Underwater did not want to pay anything for "the advertisement", but there were no better lights to be used ??
So the light was camouflaged to not show its origin?
(but the housing, part of the bezel, pistol grip, switch, ..., all is totally clear, for anyone who ever saw the light)

for sure the modded part used in the movies looks much cooler



PPS: in real use, the lamp without the reflectors gave an extremely nice, white light,
the reflector ones were crap. Somehow a total monochrome light, giving a greenish impression. Not bringing colors like: brown, red, yellow, white, to life.
no wonder that technology (HID in just 10 W) never skyrocketed.
only: the ram-up-show was great, thats for sure

 

[electromage]

Just looked at electromage's pics,
not possible that several of the lights have been hand modded the way I guessed above.

can a movie prop deparment have a small batch of such parts been made?



PS: just found the datasheets:
the reflectored burner is shorter than the "original" one, the one Underwater Kinetics used with their large reflector.
So that could fit into the original light.

https://www.ushio.com/files/specifications/solarc-metal-halide-arc-lamp-technology-10-watt-ballast.pdf

How about:
Underwater did not want to pay anything for "the advertisement", but there were no better lights to be used ??
So the light was camouflaged to not show its origin?
(but the housing, part of the bezel, pistol grip, switch, ..., all is totally clear, for anyone who ever saw the light)

for sure the modded part used in the movies looks much cooler



PPS: in real use, the lamp without the reflectors gave an extremely nice, white light,
the reflector ones were crap. Somehow a total monochrome light, giving a greenish impression. Not bringing colors like: brown, red, yellow, white, to life.
no wonder that technology (HID in just 10 W) never skyrocketed.
only: the ram-up-show was great, thats for sure

I have a Light Cannon 100 too and I'm sure it's not that. I feel like they took some stage light and attached a handle to it. I've seen a lot of dive lights and the style is like UK/Pelican/Princeton Tec, but nothing is quite right.

 

[yellow]

yup, Youre right.
Checking the light, my memory was wrong about its dimensions.
body is square, not round, not big enough, bezel does not go over the housing ...

it must really be made up from some dive light.
+ that front part can only be added/glued to the original housing,
--> found a good pic here:

Jurassic Park Ellie's Flashlight replica movie prop

As seen durning the bunker/electrial shed scene.

www.yourprops.com

The notch for the grip seems Underwater Kinetics, other dive lights seem to use a rail as mounting method.
Did they have a model fed with D-cells, one that could have been the host for whatever has been put into?
The setup so powerful it needed a cable for mains Power?

 

[electromage]

yup, Youre right.
Checking the light, my memory was wrong about its dimensions.
body is square, not round, not big enough, bezel does not go over the housing ...
View attachment 67241

it must really be made up from some dive light.
+ that front part can only be added/glued to the original housing,
--> found a good pic here:

Jurassic Park Ellie's Flashlight replica movie prop

As seen durning the bunker/electrial shed scene.

www.yourprops.com

The notch for the grip seems Underwater Kinetics, other dive lights seem to use a rail as mounting method.
Did they have a model fed with D-cells, one that could have been the host for whatever has been put into?
The setup so powerful it needed a cable for mains Power?

Well, the light in the first picture looks a lot like a UK 800R with the sticker down the side removed and something added to the front... I knew there was a reason I bought these.

 

[yellow]

Now,
thats a match, isnt it?



Ps: meaning:
That is the exact light that was used to act as the host light.

Some other light source put into,
but that was longer, so the transparent front extension added,
cable for external Power added,
the side slot for the handle covered by a plastic strip (possibly an original Part)