HMI & Tungsten Lights

Here is how this works in practice. Our team sources HMI and tungsten lighting in the wattages a gaffer specifies, from compact daylight units up to large HMIs for exterior fill and big interior spaces, with tungsten Fresnels for warm, dimmable control. Iceland's light makes both key: HMIs supplement and extend the short winter day and lift shadows under the flat low sun, while tungsten warms interiors against the cool cast of the subarctic exterior.

Here is the short of it. Fixture stock comes from the skilled Reykjavik rental base. For larger packages we supplement HMI heads, ballasts, big tungsten units and spare lamps from suppliers in the UK and mainland Europe under ATA carnet, since the country is outside the EU customs union. We plan power distribution alongside the lighting because mains is 230V at 50Hz and many locations run on power packs. We carry spare lamps and ballasts because a failed HMI head on a remote Highland location is hours from replacement. Fixtures, cable and connectors are weatherproofed against wind, cold, blowing volcanic grit and meltwater, and we can supply skilled Icelandic gaffers and electricians familiar with local power.

Here is the breakdown. Iceland's natural light drives the case for strong fixtures. A subarctic island on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, it gives near-24-hour daylight under the Midnight Sun in June, when the low cool sun lingers for hours, and only four to five hours of weak light in midwinter, so HMIs routinely stand in for or extend a daylight that is either endless or scarce. Interiors range from controlled Reykjavik stages at RVK Studios in Gufunes to historic turf houses, where tungsten gives warmth and dimming control.

Here is what that looks like on the ground. Power is widely ready and clean, with the country running on close to 100 percent renewable geothermal and hydroelectric supply, though remote exteriors need power packs. Weather changes fast and wind is a real factor for rigging heavy heads. Productions including 'Game of Thrones', 'Interstellar' and 'Prometheus' have lit across these conditions, where a well-named HMI and tungsten package gives a gaffer trusted control over the country's extremes of light.