HMI & Tungsten Lights

Here is how this works in practice. HMI and tungsten inventory in Peru runs through Audiovisual Project Perú, El Niño Rentals, Filmtek Perú, and Audiovisual Mendoza in Lima, with Cinesphere Rentals, Tondero Rentals, and Filmotechnik Perú filling out the regional spread for Sacred Valley, Arequipa, and Trujillo blocks.

Here is the short of it. Our team books ARRI M-series HMIs from M8 through M40 and M90, K5600 Joker2 800 and 1600 with the Beamer optic, ARRI Alpha Par 4K/9K/18K daylight units, and the full Mole-Richardson tungsten run — 5K Senior and Junior, 10K Big Eye, 12K and 20K Wendy — alongside ARRI T-series Fresnels from T1 through T24, Source Four ellipsoidals for the Lima theatre and Cusco church interiors, and Dedolight DLH4 and DLH1000 kits for tight tabletop and product blocks.

Here is the breakdown. Power realities in Peru sit at 220V/60Hz coastal and Lima. This differs from neighbouring 50Hz countries, so every HMI ballast is spec'd for the local mains before it leaves the warehouse, and high-altitude ballast handling — the M40 and M90 starting issues that Cusco at 3,400m and the Colca Canyon edge bring out at low atmospheric pressure — is factored into every Sacred Valley load plan.

Here is what that looks like on the ground. Each fixture leaves the rental house with electronic ballasts cycled and lamp hours logged, condensation-resistant cases for the Madre de Dios and Tambopata Amazon humidity, and Bates feeder, distro boxes, and 4/0 cam-lok runs pre-coiled and labelled for the run order.

Here is how the picture comes together. Our gaffers — Lima-based, mostly PUCP-trained, travelling with kit out to Sacred Valley, Puno, and the Amazon lodges — handle load calculations against the 220V mains, neutral and earth verification, and the silent generator tie-ins where the mains can't carry an 18K Alpha or a Wendy 20K on a the valley exterior.

Here is what we have to work with. We stage Pramac and SDMO generators imported under SUNAT ATA carnet for the Manú, Tambopata, and Paracas reserve blocks where mains power isn't an option, SERNANP heritage paperwork moves through prep for any reserve filming day, INC and Ministerio de Cultura permits cover Machu Picchu and Ollantaytambo, and DAFO sign-off covers the Lima and Sacred Valley filming windows so the truck and the cherry picker reach Plaza de Armas, the colonial cores, and the Inca terraces without permit delays on the call sheet.