Thanks to everyone for their input. I'm starting to get a sense of my options. As it was suggested, I'm thinking the setup will be a scrim jim and a couple of c-stands. I figure I'll rig some jugs of water with s-hooks to keep everything down. Not an easy task with no assistant. Of course an assistant is better still because they can just hold the thing...

Philip, I think this means I should buy you some coffee!

Cheers!

Icameron I ordered from Adorama, they don't carry all their products but they had what I wanted. Sunbouce's web site lists their dealers.

quote:

Originally posted by piktour:
[qb] Change your style to accomodate the situation rather than change the situation to accomodate your style. [/qb]

Probably the best answer to this and many more posts.

I remember as an assistant, during a fashion shoot on top of a hill, with wind blowing constantly, and I had to hold a butterfly above an old timer famous Hollywood movie artist (I can't remember his name, it was a campaign for Dior shot in southern France). I could see so clearly the thing would fly and tear down years of fine plastic surgery on that guy, and me fired! Fortunately the session ended before it happened, but sure butterflies are dangerous things in windy situations.

By yourself? Not a good idea at all - 100' and larger saliboats make transantlantic trips powered just by sails and wind. Can you see the similarity here?

A piece of rope might be the solution to your dilema if you can find the appropiate points to tie it to at your locations. try to get "sash cord" is what they use on sailboats, strong and more importantly it gives very little play.

I use overheads outdoors a lot and a small 6x6' at a minimum gets 2 heavy combo or roller stands, plenty of sandbags and is tied with sashcord to lightposts, fences, stakes driven into the ground or anything that is not going anywhere.

The Califormia sunbounce and similars, I use wescotts myself (mostly indoors or attached to a permanent assistant outdoors) are easy to carry but if you seldom use and assistant who's gonna hold the thing? A stand and some water jugs is not going to do,

A 4x4 flag with one C stand plus an assistant full time holding it could do in an emergency. The assistant is so he can scream to passerby's to take cover when the thing flies off his grasp.

Sometinmes in windy situations on a movie set they will simply take a knife at a silk (difussion material) and cut slits on it to make it more "wind friendly" seeing that you need to block overhead light seems to me that this will not help you.

No assistant, at a minimum a couple of C stands + the water jugs could work providing you take some rope with you and tie the thing from at least 3 secure points, if not you are just asking for trouble and quite careless.

I remember shooting a model in Chinatown one morning and the wind was so hard that the assistant could not hold a 24 x 36" piece of foamcore, imagine something substantially larger.

Always up for a cup of Coffee Aaron.

This is the endall best. Very light and portable.
http://www.adorama.com/PTSB84.html?searchinfo=sunbuster&item_no=2