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Gear Hacks: Make Your Own DIY LED Bar Light

By Logan Baker

Published: October 31, 2016 Last Updated: October 31, 2016

Make your very own DIY LED bar light! It’s surprisingly simple and cheap thanks to this quick in-depth video tutorial.

Production guru David Mudre recently shined a light on an affordable DIY LED bar light setup that he’s put to use in several of his projects. At just over ten minutes, the video tutorial is well worth your time for its solid lighting advice and excellent procedural walkthrough. If you’re interested in lighting interviews and narratives without cleaning out your bank account, give this video a watch.

The four-foot long LED light he utilizes is also available in a two-foot long version for a fraction of the price. Pick the one that’s right for your location and environment. At 4000 Kelvin, this light can be used as an edge light or a key light. With no power cable directly attached to the device, Mudre teaches you how to wire a cable directly into the light.

To do this, you just need to pop the actual light off from the plastic base, run the cable through the hole in the bottom, and connect the power. You’ll need to pop the side connector off to run the cable out of the side so it doesn’t stick out on the bottom.

Once you have the light hooked up to power, you can mount it in the appropriate manner off the ground. To hold the light up parallel to the ground, you’ll need two light stands and two clamps. The clamps can be screwed to the top of the light poles.

Gear Hacks: Make Your Own DIY LED Bar Light - Step One

For attaching the light to a C-stand, you’ll need to purchase a a 4″ bolt with two nuts and two washers. Once you’ve fashioned the bolt together, you can pop it through the bottom of the light using a screwdriver and hammer or “anything heavy to hit it with.”

Gear Hacks: Make Your Own DIY LED Bar Light - Pop the Bolt Through the Bottom

After you’ve made the hole, just slide the bolt through, tighten the nuts up, and fasten the bolt in a secure way. Once the bolt is firmly in the light, pop the actual LED back into the frame and mount it to your C-stand.