How to avoid flare

[Peter Smuts]

Good day all,

 

I'm trying to figure out how to avoid flare if the light source is in shot - like for example a candle that the character is walking around with.

 

Does anyone have any tips or is there a filter that helps reduce flare?

 

 

 

Many thanks.

[Adrian Sierkowski]

It's going to flare if it's in the shot and at the correct angle to flare- that's just the nature of the beast. However, most modern lenses, Cookes, Ultra/Mater Primes ect, will handle it very well. But all bright sources in the frame will have some sort of flare going on. Adding more filters/glass in front of the lens will only exacerbate the problem.

[Tom Jensen]

Flares are caused by light bouncing off one piece of glass onto another. The more glass you have, the more flares you have. This is one reason why people shoot with primes as opposed to zooms. Like Adrian mentioned, modern primes and some zooms handle this problem fairly well with in frame sources. But one of the major problems with flares comes from light sources outside the frame. I've heard it said the the difference between an electrician and a grip is that electrician's light the set and grips remove the light from a set. Great pains are taken to flag or remove unwanted light from hitting the lens. Camera assistants will use hard mattes and french flags to remove unwanted light from also hitting the lens. Some flares look creative and artistic but for the most part they ruin a shot,

[John David Miller]

You may also consider set dressing around the problem. Think of something clever to block the flame at the sweet spot that is bugging you. Perhaps it's as simple as having your actor cup/cradle the flame with a his free hand, as if to protect it from wind, but what he is doing is using his hand as a lens flag for you. Using a smoke machine to diffuse the entire space may help and is well motivated, just don't get too thick with it. A smaller flame may be helpful as well. Get candles with small wicks and candles with double or triple wicks for large flames (to help with lighting off camera if needed). Try using a different set of lenses if you have the means. Some of the newer lens coatings do a better job mitigating the flare.

[Peter Smuts]

Many thanks :)

 

I think I'm going to have to take this into consideration and perhaps adjust the staging/blocking of the shot around some of the worst flare moments.

Many thanks all

[Peter Smuts]

Many thanks :)

 

I think I'm going to have to take this into consideration and perhaps adjust the staging/blocking of the shot around some of the worst flare moments.

Many thanks all

[Ari Davidson]

Many thanks :)

 

I think I'm going to have to take this into consideration and perhaps adjust the staging/blocking of the shot around some of the worst flare moments.

Many thanks all

 

Avoid filters and seal the lens/mattebox to prevent internal reflections what will appear as duplicate-offset pin sources in the frame. Those are more annoying to me, than alittle flaring

[ian dart]

you could charge $2000.00 a day and call it a hilight........

[Adam Brown]

What lenses are you using? This definitely has a major impact as an anamorphic cine lens vs. a Canon SLR lens vs. a Master Prime will all behave very differently. And, in some cases, worrying about flare might not even be necessary.

 

I've shot exposed bulbs of a chandelier plus headlights into the lens on a set of Cooke S4s and seen very little flare. On the other hand, anamorphics will pick up and emphasize flare very easily.