Barry Cheong believes in making the most of his time, and investing in great equipment has always paid off for him—like Matthews, for example. While in film school in Toronto, he bought his first equipment staples. Smart kid—living at home with his folks, he put income from his first gigs into future-proof gear that he still uses today for his cinematography. “I got clamps, C-stands, sandbags and more, that have always worked well and I still use 20 years later,” he explains.
Cheong says he’s a gun for hire, and owns a small van equipped with gear including LED and HMI fixtures all of which he rigs with his Matthews grip equipment. He has plenty of C-stands, mainly 40” sliding-leg-style and some 20” as well. He prefers a black finish so reflections don’t get in the way.
Instead, he likes to carefully use reflectors for his light source—especially when doing table-top or short form work. That’s where the Lightbridge CRLS Cine Reflectors come in. Cheong discovered this new tool pallet when he saw them being used by local Canadian cinematographers. Once he started playing with the CRLS unique reflected light he got hooked. With their elegantly polished surfaces, he bends the light with ease, manipulating his light source without having a fixture get in the way.
His stockpile of Matthews grip accessories is a perfect match for the tiny 7×7, 15×15, 25×25, and 50x50s all the way up to the 100×100 Cine Reflectors. With Matthews C-Stands and tools like the Knucklehead articulating arm equipped with a 6” Collar pin, Cheong and his gaffer articulate the C-Reflectors exactly to his liking.
What makes CRLS different than ordinary reflectors? “Its about speed and efficiency on the set,” says Cheong. “They output a natural look that that I have not seen out of other tools. The idea is to get the light to travel further so you achieve a more natural fall off and impression. The system allows you to achieve different levels of diffused light while maintaining a high degree of control because of the way the polished surfaces work. I truly believe you need to experience putting the reflectors in your own hands, to see in person what they can do.”
C-Reflectors come in various surfaces and Cheong owns an array to get different results. For his table-top work he often uses the Dif (diffusion) 1 and 2 with a punchy source light. He makes up his own combos to suit the shot. “Sometimes I use a softbank as a source and put a C-reflector into it to get a harder quality blend. In a little time CRLS fits into your existing workflow.”
Today Matthews distributes the complete Lightbridge CRLS system and offers the biggest array of trusted grip gear to go with them.
