Vertical Smear

[Sean Conaty]

I was doing some tests with my friend's cheap digital point and shoot camera and happened upon a pretty nasty vertical smear from a bunch of point lights in the frame.

 

i've been looking around and there are a lot of posts on the web about removing the vertical smear, but what if you want it? i know that shooting on film would require putting the shutter out of phase but how would you accomplish this digitally? i'm guessing some sort of vertical hilighting filter, but i'm curious if anyone has been successful in achieving this look digitally.

 

thanks,

 

-sean

[Brian Drysdale]

You could use a two star filter and mount it vertically in the matte box, so that the streaking effect is vertical.

[Phil Rhodes]

If you actually want CCD blooming, then fire bright lights into a cheap camera and increase the shutter speed (which will have other effects, obviously, but on most cameras will increase blooming.)

 

Otherwise, yes, two point star or perhaps one of those anamorphic flare simulation filters (which tint the flare blue) vertically mounted.

 

Easily done in post, but won't react so organically to highlights.

 

Phil

[John Brawley]

I was doing some tests with my friend's cheap digital point and shoot camera and happened upon a pretty nasty vertical smear from a bunch of point lights in the frame.

 

 

 

-sean

 

 

IT (interline transfer) based CCD's suffer this as a problem. IT based CCD's are cheaper than the FIT CCD's so most of the cheaper cameras will suffer this. In Sony for example a DVW 709 Digibeta is an IT based CCD whereas a DVW 790 is an FIT based chip. IT = Smear on hot point sources.

 

There's a bried description on the link below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charge-coupled_device

 

Cheaper Mini DV cameras (but not CMOS) will also tend to suffer from the same ills.

 

You also want some contrast. You'll notice the smear more on black with hot spots.

 

To actually create the effect, or something similar, then I would take a clear filter, apply some nose grease or Vaseline and try single stokes.

 

 

JB

[Walter Graff]

While I don't have FCP open in front of me, there are a few filters that allow you to create the same two point vertical smear effect on highlights in post. When I start editing later, I'll tell you which one it is.

[Sean Conaty]

While I don't have FCP open in front of me, there are a few filters that allow you to create the same two point vertical smear effect on highlights in post. When I start editing later, I'll tell you which one it is.

 

Walter, if you can come up with the info, that'd be great. thanks.