LED lights for filmmaking have always been something of a mixed bag. On the one hand, they are portable, extremely power efficient, and very safe to use. On the other hand, LED lights are often underpowered, can produce inaccurate color renditions, and are prone to flickering issues, especially when partially dimmed. With the introduction of the Arri SkyPanel you can go ahead and toss that bag of considerations out the window. It's the kind of instrument that forces users to completely rethink what's possible from a technology.
Introduced in 2015, the Arri SkyPanel S60-C is a new softlight packed with 2,000 carefully calibrated LEDs and a large 25.4x11.8-inch aperture. It has an adjustable color temperature of 2,800-10,000K, with the ability to make spot green/magenta adjustments as needed. Arri has rated the SkyPanel for 30,000 hours of usage, and promises flicker-free performance when filming up to 200 frames per second.
List Price: $6,250
Life in Color
As if those specs weren't impressive enough, the SkyPanel has an entire second “Color Mode,” which allows it to act more like a full cyc light with a CRI color accuracy rating of 95. A full spectrum of colors can be dialed in, with separate controls for saturation and brightness. The S60-C can be controlled though DMX and RDM, and also includes connectivity via LAN and USB-A.
At this year's NAB tradeshow, Arri added several new features that will be of interest not only to video producers but to tech directors, as well. With Firmware update 2.0, the SkyPanel will now feature gel color settings based on Rosco and Lee gels, including DMX protocol for gel selection. “The new software for the SkyPanel allows you to bring up the Rosco and Lee color palette and just pick what color you want,” states Randy Reed of Arri. The new update also introduces “Tungsten Mode,” allowing for emulation of the more traditional characteristics of tungsten instruments.
Swinging into Action
After spending time with the SkyPanel, what becomes immediately apparent is just how versatile this softlight really is. Right away Arri's decades of experience lighting for studios are readily apparent. As an unexpected trick, after just a few minutes of experimentation we were able to convert a 15-foot-wide white wall into something that would work as a green screen, thanks in large part to the evenness of the coverage.
Another clear strength of the SkyPanel is location filming. With a profile only five inches deep, it's extremely flexible in how it can be incorporated into existing sets and locations. The ability to match almost any color temperature or intensity dramatically increases its utility on set, as well. For run-and-gun, documentary-style filmmaking the ability to fine-tune colors to achieve beautiful skin tones is one of the real highlights of this fixture.
As part of the review we invited Andres Rivera, the tech director at Hope Community Church in Raleigh, N.C., to spend a few minutes with the SkyPanel. He was immediately impressed with how the S60-C could be incorporated into stage and cyc lighting. It was also clear that the skin tones produced by the SkyPanel would be perfectly utilized as footlights for IMAG recordings.
Best in Class
So, what is it like to actually use the Arri S60-C? A good analogy might be to think of the SkyPanel as the Swiss Army knife of lighting, if the Swiss Army knife had the stopping power of a bazooka. This light is that powerful.
The first time I started the light up I simply was not prepared for the output coming off this instrument. When Arri listed the SkyPanel as having the equivalent output of a 2K-Watt softlight I was skeptical. But that skepticism was misplaced. This light is easily the most powerful LED fixture I've ever experienced.
The SkyPanel is also extremely versatile. With the ability to completely control color, temperature, saturation, and intensity in seconds, the S60-C is genuinely fun to use. The control scheme is incredibly intuitively as well; within five minutes I was completely confident navigating the various functions of the fixture.
But beyond the stats and features, what distinguishes any instrument is the quality light—and shadow—it produces. And this is where the SkyPanel truly excels. The skin tones it produces are second to none, and its ability to execute fine green/magenta adjustments makes it possible to quickly adjust for complexion. Thanks to its large aperture, the shadows produced by the S60-C are subtle and natural, which is not always the case with LED lighting.
Of course, the SkyPanel also retains the traditional strengths of LED instruments. The S60-C runs cool and has far less of a power draw than the equivalent tungsten 2K. It's built like an absolute tank, and it features an array of accessories, such as barndoors, eggcrates, and diffusers, allowing further customization to fit your specific needs.
Cramming this much power and technology into one instrument does make the light a bit heavier than one might expect. Coming in at around 26 pounds, the S60-C is ideal for studio and stage setups. Smaller film crews might want to consider the S30-C, which is a more portable version that still packs a lot of the same punch.
In Conclusion
Simply put, the Arri SkyPanel is impressive in all regards; the power and flexibility of the SkyPanel puts it in a class by itself. Once you try it out it will very likely become the standard to which you compare every other softlight. Of course, a high-end instrument like the SkyPanel S60-C is a serious investment, but for those needing first-rate quality and control it's worth every penny.
