Elvis "look"

Sam Goetz · April 1, 2004

I'm shooting a 16mm short about an open mic singer who is enfatuated with Elivs. The director wants extreme color saturation and contrast, which I was going to achieve by overexposing 1 to 2 stops and printing down (telecine) or pushing 1 stop with out compensating exposure wise. We're going to be using stage lights and only stage lights so we'll probably need a higher film speed, somewhere around 500, I suppose. I was thinking of using Vision 1 500T(7279).

But what I really want to know is how I might achieve a gold-ish hue to the film. I'm not talking about a gold filter, which puts a yellow happy sunrise feel to a scene, what I want is almost bronze-ish. Like gold the metal. Like an Elvis impersonator, rediculously flashy, and covered in gold. I was thinking a yellow-ish filter in combination with a 1/2 skip-bleach might help, but then I'd lose the saturation. There's a lot of black and white still photography out there that gives skin a shiny metallic feel. Is there something that could help me achieve this effect in color, leaning towards gold, and with motion picture film?

Any comments would be appreciated, thanks,

Sam

p.s. I was also thinking of using a star filter to help emphasize the sparkles on my main characters costume. Should I worry about screwing up the flares I will be getting from the stage lights? Is there a good star filter anyone reccomends?

p.s.s. ALSO, thinking of using a smoke machine to create ciggarette smoke in the club. Is there a less annoying technique?

Mitch Gross · April 1, 2004

I think you might like an Antique Suede filter, but really the best way to pick the color you like is to visit a local camera rental house and check them out for yourself. The variations of shades and tints are quite subtle and plentiful. There are also variations on star filters. There are two types of fogging machines, the heated fluid type and the atomized oil type. The fluid (such as a Rosco fog juice machine) is more annoying and you'll find that you'll want to keep drinking water and rubbing your eyes. It is also difficult to keep the consistency of the material in the air. An "oil cracker" keeps a very consistent amount of diffusing material in the air and since it is basically cooking oil there is little health issues. The negative is that it gets over everything and leaves a thin film of oil on all surfaces, including your lenses. Most rental houses have the fog machines available and not the oil crackers.

John Pytlak RIP · April 1, 2004

I'd try achieving your "gold tinged" look with lighting, rather than just filtration. That way, you can put the gold tone into selected areas of the scene, like the "Elvis" character or the band, retaining normal color elsewhere.

Try some saturated gold filters over the key lighting for those parts of the scene. Perhaps some of the gold-toned Rosco filters would be appropriate. Reflecting light off a gold-toned shiny reflector might also do it, especially if you want the speculars (like in the sequins) to have that gold glint.