types of filters and its effects

[Geet Suri]

I want to learn about different filters like promist etc and its effects on the image is there any resource for that ? like books , websites etc 

[Michael Hammond]

 

[David Mullen ASC]

https://www.amazon.com/Image-Control-Picture-Filters-Techniques/dp/0935578293

It's an older book so isn't going to cover the most recent diffusion filters. But you can learn the principles.

[David Mullen ASC]

 

 

 

 

[David Mullen ASC]

Lots and lots of YouTube videos, just ignore claims that filters give you a "film look" or "cinematic look". Use filters because you want a filtered look.

There are two types basically: (1) "Mist" filters that spread light using small particles in the glass, some soften more, some create more haze and lower contrast rather than soften as much. (2) "Diffusion" filters that have some optical element like a pattern of dimples let's say that bend light and throw that area out of focus where the clear areas allow sharp images to pass through -- it's the overlay of blurred detail and sharp detail that creates diffusion. Like a mist filter, whatever is causing the softening will also cause some halation around lights (often more of a blurred glow rather than a misty glow).

There are a few "combo" filters that mix a mist filter with a softening filter: Schneider Hollywood Black Magics (which combine a #1/8 Black Frost as a consistent base with degrees of HD Classic Soft for levels of softening) and the Tiffen Black Satins (which combine a base of -- perhaps -- a light Black GlimmerGlass with degrees of Diffusion/FX for levels of softening.) The nice thing about these filters is if you want less mist halation for one shot, then also carry the diffusion portion alone (HD Classic Soft or Diffusion/FX) and if you don't want as much softening, carry just the mist portion as well (#1/8 Black Frost or Black GlimmerGlass).

I used the #1/8 and #1/4 Schneider Hollywood Black Magic for much of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" but when the #1/8 was still too heavy, I could switch to a #1/8 Black Frost.

[David Mullen ASC]

I took some macro photos of diffusion filters to see what was done to create their effects. Here is a photo of the Hollywood Black Magic, the larger dimples are the HD Classic Soft diffusion and the tiny particles are the Black Frost mist filter.

[David Mullen ASC]

Here is a Black Satin filter -- the "C" shaped impressions are the Diffusion/FX filter which create the softening and the tiny black particles are the Black GlimmerGlass mist filter.

One advantage of the "C" shaped pattern (originally created for the Black Diffusion/FX) over the dimples of the HD Classic Soft is that they do not also create their own halation -- with the Hollywood Black Magic you'll see two types of halation around points of light, a blurry glow and a hazy misty glow. With Black Satins, you just have the halation from the GlimmerGlass.  There's no right or wrong but sometimes that type of halation from a Hollywood Black Magic is very distinctive, like when pointing at a chandelier with lots of tiny bulbs.

I had a shot in "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" with a row of lightbulbs next to the actors' heads and I didn't want any halation causing your eye to notice the bulbs too much, so I switched from the Schneider Hollywood Black Magic to the Tiffen Black Diffusion/FX. If I had wanted to stick to Schneider filters, they have a diffusion called Radiant Soft that hardly causes halation.

[David Mullen ASC]

Here's the shot of the switchboard room where I switched to Black Diffusion/FX compared to this scene in the dining room where you can see the halation effect from the Hollywood Black Magic (which I think is pretty... but with the lightbulbs right next to her head in the switchboard, I didn't want the audience thinking about the bulbs):