playing with nets

[Samuel Berger]

Anyway, I know he pushed the Ektachrome. I wonder if he pulled it in processing.

[Rodrigo Otaviano]

This is from a feature I'm shooting right now. I used a very fine black veil material, similar to the one posted by Mr. Mullen on the first post. I used it in front of the lens.

 

Edited July 17, 2018 by Rodrigo Otaviano

[Habib Khan Awan]

This is from a feature I'm shooting right now. I used a very fine black veil material, similar to the one posted by Mr. Mullen on the first post. I used it in front of the lens.

 

 

Nice looking shot Rodrigo! Love the CA that's affecting the foliage, gives a real Annihilation vibe to the shot.

[Akos Baranya]

 

Nice looking shot Rodrigo! Love the CA that's affecting the foliage, gives a real Annihilation vibe to the shot.

Very interesting effect, makes it surreal. Reminds me of deep dream images

[brian hanson]

Planning on shooting with rear nets and wanted to share some learnings after testing:

 

•Every lens make and focal length reacts differently to rear nets. I tested supreme primes against masters and ultras. I found Ultras to yield the best results in my testing whereas the masters and supremes i tested revealed the nets pattern more easily in their bokeh. I'm taking the advice given in this thread and planning on mixing classic softs and glimmer glass when nets become too visible in scene.

 

•I've tried the snot tape route and found it very difficult to control the net and its distribution as well as replicate a density of net. A better solution for me has been to use a keychain ring and slowly pull the net into the ring as you would a key until you've filled the center of the ring. This parks the net and allows you to make the spread of the net very even. The standard keychain ring is also pretty close in size to most rear elements and allows you to reuse and achieve reproduce-able results. 

 

 

[David Mullen ASC]

4 hours ago, brian hanson said:

•I've tried the snot tape route and found it very difficult to control the net and its distribution as well as replicate a density of net. A better solution for me has been to use a keychain ring and slowly pull the net into the ring as you would a key until you've filled the center of the ring. This parks the net and allows you to make the spread of the net very even. The standard keychain ring is also pretty close in size to most rear elements and allows you to reuse and achieve reproduce-able results. 

Good to know!

[Mark Kenfield]

I just shot a little short over past couple of days and (for the first time) did the whole thing with nets.

We had originally planned to shoot anamorphically to lend a more chaotic feeling to the backgrounds, but at the last minute, my budget for camera got slashed, so the anas were out, and I decided to bring in nets instead to add some texture to the bokeh and soften the image a little.

With the tighter budget I had to shoot on my little Fuji X-T3s instead of the Alexa Studio (my first time shooting a narrative piece entirely on a little mirrorless/DSLR camera). The little Fujis generate a VERY detailed 4k image, so I wanted to soften it up a bit.

I ran some tests on various materials, and different densities of Black Promist, and compared rear-mounted nets to my Tiffen Softnet Black 1 filter as well. Ultimately I settled on using something quite unusual - it's a fibreglass mesh from the hardware store (primarily intended for use as a flyscreen). 

I was interested to see what the flyscreen would do, as being a solid black material, I wondered if it would create cleaner flares with less chromatic artifacting. It turned out I'd guessed right, and it yields really clean cross-hatched flares around sharp highlights, whilst providing a gentle softening of detail.

I'm really quite taken with the look. I paired it with an 1/8 Black Promist to add a little extra glow to the highlights as well:

[Satsuki Murashige]

Nice Mark! I like the play with color and the intimate lensing. The diffusion seems to add a feeling of gentleness that is really lovely. Beautiful work! 

[Stephen Sanchez]

Am I correctly identifying this as a net or pantyhose? And is this in front or rear of lens?

Screengrabs from Man in The High Castle Season 3.

[David Mullen ASC]

Net and pantyhose are the same thing -- in this case, I don't know why it is crumpled, are you sure there wasn't some netting in the car as a prop? Usually a net used as a filter is stretched tight. Maybe it is some odd combination of a net on the lens and some water on the car window in the foreground.

[Stephen Sanchez]

I re-watched this to be sure. The cross pattern remains consistent. What you're seeing are circles (reflections of the flashlight) multiplied and overlapping.  And the flashlight itself is not a solid blob; the reflector has a hot streak in it, giving each circle an uneven illumination. Giving appearance of wrinkles without motion.

Having never worked with nets,  I don't know their flare characteristics. I wonder if a filter added to the many circles.

[David Mullen ASC]

Usually you would only see the pattern in the bokeh because the lens itself is enlarging the net so much that it is way out of focus. It's hard to see how that pattern is happening unless the lens is stopped down or that is a large out-of-focus blob with the net pattern in the bokeh.

[Alissa Alexina]

We have finally watched "Excalibur" - what a weird movie acting/directing wise, but probably the most spectacular diffusion ever! Especially the wedding and the Round Table scenes, with sparkling wardrobe and armour, candle lights and green reflections everywhere. Naturally, we could not resist playing with DIY nets afterwards, doubling them with a 1/4 Hollywood Black Magic filter and haze to boot. The nets were mounted in front of the lens.

Besides softening, these black nets made a variety of different flaring effects. The cross-patterned veil net (used in my hat decoration) creates lots of small cross sparkles. The hexagonal-patterned tulle bridal veil makes the soft chromatic glow. And a stocking makes the classic rainbow bloom. All these look great in motion (the glass balls were spinning).

An idea just came too late: while rear mounting seems too challenging, maybe try and mount the nets on the taking lens instead of the front of the anamorphic? Would it give a tamer version of the effect? Will probably try it next time ?

 

[David Mullen ASC]

"Excalibur" used rear-mounted white nets and Harrison Black Dot Texture Screens in front.

[Alissa Alexina]

Thank you David! It is a unique look indeed, perfect for the fantasy settings.
A funny thing that while I can replicate any possible diffusion in post, I find real nets and glass filters so much more fascinating...