Avoiding white cyc flare

[Matthew Rogers]

Hey guys, I did a shoot a couple of weeks ago that was on white cyc that when I got the footage into post, the image was quite washed out from what looks like flare. All I can guess is that white cyc was either so bright it flared the lens, or another light hit the lens (which I am pretty sure didn't happen due to my key and fill placement.) It was shot on an Epic-X with 2 Kino Image 80's lighting the wall part of the cyc and 2 650 fresnel's lighting up the floor.

 

Does anyone know any way to light a cyc so you can get nice bright white without bouncing so much into the lens that it flares? Is it just the matter of putting flags on the edge of frame to try and cut some of the light that might be hitting the lens? Or is it more about evening out lighting levels between the cyc and the talent?

[John David Miller]

I think spacelights work nicely. I think spreading them out every 8' or so with only the silk skirt on the lamp. Run teasers around the outside perimeter. Tease all the direct light off the camera. Hang a large diffusion frame under all the spacelights if you'd like less shadows to worry about. This should give you nice even light on your cyc walls and floor.

 

Add a backlight for your talent if you'd like. Add a topper to keep the light out of the lens and a bottom shelf off the ground of your cyc. A nice large booklight works well as a key. Perhaps an 10k into a 12x ultrabounce and finally through a 12'x 1/2 soft frost. Put a LCD on the 1/2 SF if you like. Bottom it off the ground. Depending on your taste a passive fill or even some negative should be at your disposal.

 

Be sure they are not using high gloss white paint.

 

Just some thoughts.