Jurassic Park Ellie’s spotlight

[reccerecon]

I’m going to attempt to make the flashlight used by Ellie in the bunker scene. I found a brand new Underwater Kinetics UK1200 dive light as that’s what I understand was originally used as well as a UK600. I’m having trouble figuring out what was used as the clear extended defuser and was wondering if anyone here has ever done this build. Going off of screen shots from Jurassic Park, The Lost World and Congo it almost looks like an extra reflector was put over the lens and some type of clear tube is used to hold it all together, some scenes look like the tube is open one the end and some look closed. I’m thinking about using some type of round display case for the defuser unless anyone knows of a better solution. I attached pictures of the light from Jurassic Park, The Lost World and Congo. Thanks for any help.

 

[electromage]

I’m going to attempt to make the flashlight used by Ellie in the bunker scene. I found a brand new Underwater Kinetics UK1200 dive light as that’s what I understand was originally used as well as a UK600. I’m having trouble figuring out what was used as the clear extended defuser and was wondering if anyone here has ever done this build. Going off of screen shots from Jurassic Park, The Lost World and Congo it almost looks like an extra reflector was put over the lens and some type of clear tube is used to hold it all together, some scenes look like the tube is open one the end and some look closed. I’m thinking about using some type of round display case for the defuser unless anyone knows of a better solution. I attached pictures of the light from Jurassic Park, The Lost World and Congo. Thanks for any help.

I keep coming back to this - I can't pin it down to a specific model but it does looks a lot like UK. Many of their lights in that form factor have a solid clear polycarbonate head with a rubber sleeve over it. If you slide the rubber off it looks a bit like what you see in the films, but mine are tapered and I'm certain it's not a contemporary model.

The light source itself is also rather odd, it looks like an MR16 bulb, which means there's no real reason for the light body to be that large so I assume it was modified, possibly by request. Either the props department wanted to make it look more unique, or a director needed a different kind of light for it to show up right on camera.

I believe the same lights can be seen in City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold, where it's used extensively in the cave scenes. You can get a much better look at them, and some points to glean from this:

• the body appears larger than the head in some shots, or has a kind of cover over it
• it has a pronounced rearward cast (which is used to illuminate the actors' faces)
• they might even be yellow painted black, as evidenced by the scratches.
• In the beginning of the sequence, Stern's character clearly needs two hands to switch it on.
• the head is sealed and it appears to be waterproof.

Screenshots (may contain spoilers)

I suspect this might be some kind of utility light that was used in production that had handles added. I'm a flashlight collector and I've never seen one outside of film. I'd be very interested to see what you can find out.

 

[reccerecon]

That’s awesome, thank you for the pictures. It’s been so long since I’ve watched City Slickers that I completely forgot about the lights in the movie. The same setup is used in Congo and it’s clearly yellow UK lights. After looking at your pictures it almost look like some type of focusing tube is placed inside of the extra reflector. It’s hard to tell what it could be from and almost looks to have a slight convex shape. Possibly it’s a magnifying tube or insert observer. It’s also interesting that the extra reflector looks to be painted grey. I have both UK600 and a UK1200 and both of mine also have the tapered clear plastic. The closest thing I’ve found as an option to use for the clear extension is a round 4” display case. I’m going to order one and try modifying it and thanks to your pictures I’ll search for something to use for the “focusing tube”. I’ll post progress pictures along the way. I’m also a flashlight collector so this is quite the fun project. Thanks again.

 

[reccerecon]

I’ve also come to the conclusion that the lights used in The Lost World are similarly modified Pelican dive lights based on the shape of the body. They don’t appear to have the same clear extension, but use the same extra reflector setup inside the cover from what I can tell.

 

[electromage]

I was looking at my UK 800R and if I removed the label sticker, painted it black, and attached a clear plastic cap to the front I think that might actually be it. I think it's an acrylic or polycarbonate cup of some kind. Any ideas?

 

[reccerecon]

That’s basically what I did with my UK1200. I actually just peeled off the labels and painted it black today, though I don’t like the look of satin so I’m going to repaint it flat black instead. Just a warning though, don’t use adhesive remover on the clear bezel. Mine had part of and old sticker on it and even the smallest amount of remover frosted what it came in contact with. I’m going to try a 4 inch acrylic beanie baby display case for mine. I’ll have to cut out the bottom some probably with a hole saw so it leaves a small ledge that the forward reflector can have something to be secured to. I’m finding different cheap spotlights at the thrift store to use for the reflector once it gets here. I have an idea for the center focusing tube also. I’m going to order a few different size light focusing lenses and attach it to another section of 2 inch clear pipe. It should work until I come up with a better solution. If it works out I’m planning on doing the same to my UK600 and leaving it unpainted as the Congo version. I’m wondering what they used to get the cool white in the movies as both my lights have the warm orange halogen bulbs.

 

[moviebuff5]

The best image I ever found of the extension was from City Slickers 2.
It looks like an acrylic tube over the existing clear cap, with another tube (or rod) in it leading to the black cone.
The cone usually appears glossy, but you can see one light in City Slickers 2 looks matte when off.

 

[reccerecon]

I checked just about everywhere for a acrylic container today and wasn’t able to find anything with the right diameter, the lights cover is 3 7/8”(96mm). I found a source online for acrylic pipe with 3 7/8” inside diameter, I think that might be the only option unless anyone here knows where I can find a container with that inside measurement.

 

[electromage]

I checked just about everywhere for a acrylic container today and wasn’t able to find anything with the right diameter, the lights cover is 3 7/8”(96mm). I found a source online for acrylic pipe with 3 7/8” inside diameter, I think that might be the only option unless anyone here knows where I can find a container with that inside measurement.

I think pipe or tube with a cut piece of sheet glued to the end would look good.

 

[reccerecon]

I’ve found a source online for an acrylic display riser with 3 7/8” inside measurement and 4” outside, it should be a perfect fit. I’m not sure if I’m allowed to post the company name, but feel free to pm me if you want. I haven’t ordered it yet, but will update once I do and receive it. I did however find a Dorcy flashlight at a Family Dollar with a reflector that almost perfectly matches the profile in the City Slicker picture where they are piled on the ground. I also picked up a 2” piece of acrylic tubing for the center. I’m going to order a 2” magnifying lens for the center tube, to me it looks like there’s a slight dome and I think a low profile 2x magnifier would also act as a light focuser for lack of a better word. Another thing I just picked up is a led g4 bi pin bulb to achieve the cool white look though I’ll probably replace it later with a true daylight color bulb. I’m undecided on the color of the extra reflector. The back looks chrome, but I can’t tell if the front is grey, blue or a bluish grey.