question about Black Promist

assa bosa · November 24, 2005

hi There.

I am Ben from korea.

I am working on a Short film which is shooting with 35mm at the moment.

My D.P is using Black Promist all the time during the shooting.

But we are confused with the use among 1/8, 1/4, 2/1, 1.

What is the right thing to use accroding to the shot?

For example, When I shoot wide shot( 18mm~25mm ) , I think I gotta use Black Promist 1.

Does this use depend on the focal length, the part of highlight, the distance, or the size of shot ?

I think I have to use promist according to the part of highlight.

Am I right?

I am sure you guys know about this.

Please help me out. ~~

Edited November 24, 2005 by assabosa

David Mullen ASC · November 24, 2005

There are no rules -- use what looks good to you. Shoot some tests to see how each filter looks on film, especially if this is for print projection.

There are two semi-conflicting theories on filter strengths, just to confuse you... One is that filter strength is related to detail you need to see, so you less diffusion in wide shots (because you need to see more detail) and more in close-ups. The other idea is that wider-angle lenses need more diffusion than longer lenses -- but since wide-angle lenses tend to be for wide shots and long lenses for close-ups, it's the opposite advice of the first rule!

So a third "rule" would be to just use one filter strength for everything most of the time, which maybe you should do just to keep things simple. Then in situations where the image is softer than normal, you can reduce the strength of the filter. Like, let's say, you have to shoot a scene wide-open in overcast weather, or you have to use an older softer zoom lens for one shot. Then you'd want to back down on the level of diffusion.

A typical use of Black ProMist in a movie would be to use a #1/4 Black ProMist for most shots and a #1/2 Black ProMist for close-ups. You don't want to overdo diffusion so use the next grade lighter filter than the one you like looking through.

A #1 BlackProMist is pretty strong; the only movie that I can think of that used that heavy a Black ProMist for most of the movie was "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas".