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How to make a homemade LED light for your VUZE camera for under $20 / Nick Childers

on VR, How-To

Step 1

Gather your supplies:

  • Vuze Camera
  • 6ft long multi-colored LED light strip w/remote and battery powered
  • Empty 1 Liter plastic bottle
  • Glass cup with about 3 ½” diameter
  • Clear packaging tape
  • Ruler
  • Scissors
  • Razor blade
  • Three AA batteries
  • Wax paper

Step 2

Cut the top and bottom of your 1 liter plastic bottle making sure there is just over 5”. Maker sure to clean and dry the inside of the bottle.

Step 3

Cut directing down the middle with scissors

Step 4

Clean any rigged plastic off bottom and top of cut bottle

Step 5

Fit your cut plastic bottle over the glass cup. This will be your template.

Step 6

Press the plastic around the entire glass cup to it fits completely snug. Then, hold plastic and tape edges so it holds the form of the cup.

Step 7

Take plastic off cup when taped and tape edges inside of plastic so it holds form

Step 8

Place plastic back on glass cup and cut bottom edges with razor so that they are completely level. Make sure to leave a ½” notch at bottom where plastic edges meet so your LED wires can snake inside.

Step 9

Un-spool your LED lights making sure not to damage loose wires. Temporarily remove battery pack by pulling from pin plug.

Step 10

Begin wrapping your stick-on LED light making sure the colored wires are starting at the bottom beginning where the plastic notch is.

Step 11

You will be wrapping up with slight angle and very little space between rows of LEDs.

Step 12

With razor or scissors, cut the remaining plastic at the top.

Step 13

Tape battery pack inside of light.

Step 14

Place on top of your Vuze camera making sure it sits level. When filming, it’s recommended to tape the bottom inside edges of the light onto the camera.

Step 15

Wax paper can be used as diffusion if cut to glass template and taped together with clear tape.

With LED

Without LED

About The Author

Nick is a multimedia photojournalist and filmmaker based out of Brooklyn and Pittsburgh. He specializes in shooting, producing and editing documentary projects as well as documentary-style advertisements. His personal projects range from documenting the conflict in east Ukraine to constructing conceptual multimedia art installations. His most recent work has been experimenting with VR/360 video in order to immerse viewers into his projects.

Follow Nick! Website:
https://www.nickchilders.com/
Documentary film reel:
https://vimeo.com/213162978
Commercial film reel:
https://vimeo.com/213162978