PhilPowers Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 Could you please explain what Negative fill is. Sorry im being a bit dim! And in what situation it is used? Thanks for a great resource its my daily read at the moment.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member David Mullen ASC Posted April 7, 2004 Premium Member Share Posted April 7, 2004 It's when you take away some light by bringing in a large black flag near the subject -- for example, when it's overcast outside and the light is too flat, you can reduce some of the ambient light on one side of the face with a black flag. Or when you have a strong backlight that is raking a white wall and filling in the shadows too much, you can drap the off-camera parts of the wall with black cloth to kill the reflection and get more contrast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Phil Rhodes Posted April 7, 2004 Premium Member Share Posted April 7, 2004 Hi, The big problem with negative fill - and in perpetually overcast England it's important - is that the black flags often need to be absolutely gigantic, especially if you're doing more than a head-and-shoulders of someone. I always try to shoot up against some large, dark building, which has a similar effect. Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Kevin Zanit Posted April 7, 2004 Premium Member Share Posted April 7, 2004 This picture here shows negative fill in use: http://www.kevinzanit.com/hd/02/karsem006.JPG I had a large piece of duvy placed on the camera left side of the actor to absorb some of the bounce from the driveway from filling in their faces. And this is the resulting image: http://www.kevinzanit.com/hd/02/02_camera.jpg I use negative fill a lot on my exterior work, or when I am in a location with lighter color walls. I find when I bash a large unit through a window the ambient bounce back can flatten the image out more than I care for. So to combat that, I use negative fill, and then I may walk in a unit/ piece of foam core that will let me shape the fill a little more (or I may do nothing and let the contrast build up). Kevin Zanit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alvin Pingol Posted April 8, 2004 Share Posted April 8, 2004 The big problem with negative fill - and in perpetually overcast England it's important - is that the black flags often need to be absolutely gigantic, especially if you're... Meh, you're just upset because of that wonderful nickname of yours... :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Luke Prendergast Posted April 8, 2004 Premium Member Share Posted April 8, 2004 Positive Phil doesn't quite have the same ring to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilPowers Posted April 10, 2004 Author Share Posted April 10, 2004 Thanks for that guys - I get it now. Thats one more tiny step on my road of cinematogrphy taken. I must go and put it into practice. all the best PP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilPowers Posted April 10, 2004 Author Share Posted April 10, 2004 Thanks for that guys - I get it now. Thats one more tiny step on my road of cinematogrphy taken. I must go and put it into practice. all the best PP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Chan Posted April 21, 2004 Share Posted April 21, 2004 Hi all I also find it very useful when i shoot during an overcast day. I would like to say that the production photos are extremely good illustrations. I can get the idea at just one glance. Best Larry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Michael Nash Posted April 27, 2004 Premium Member Share Posted April 27, 2004 This picture here shows negative fill in use:http://www.silver-gold.com/hd/02/karsem006.JPG Is that Alfie on the far left? I haven't seen him in a couple years... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Kevin Zanit Posted April 27, 2004 Premium Member Share Posted April 27, 2004 "Is that Alfie on the far left? I haven't seen him in a couple years... " Yes that certainly is. He did great work! Kevin Zanit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherwin Akbarzadeh Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Hey Kevin, I'm working a project without the money for proper grip gear. Instead of a floppy/duvetyn, what cheaper non-reflective material would suffice for this task? Would this do it? http://www.amazon.com/Prism-Backdrops-Muslin-Backdrop-Background/dp/B001C6IWME/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top I like how big it is! Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Adrian Sierkowski Posted June 20, 2012 Premium Member Share Posted June 20, 2012 As long as it's non-reflective and black it'll work fine. I've been in situations where I've just used Furniture Pads if I'm in a bind. It's just there to kill off light bouncing 'round. Now-- whether or not that'll be controllable is another thing entirely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherwin Akbarzadeh Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 It should do it. thanks Adrian. As long as it's non-reflective and black it'll work fine. I've been in situations where I've just used Furniture Pads if I'm in a bind. It's just there to kill off light bouncing 'round. Now-- whether or not that'll be controllable is another thing entirely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John David Miller Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 As long as it's non-reflective and black it'll work fine. Your negative fill does NOT need to be black. I like to use a 18% day grey muslin or a 43% night grey muslin as well. I have both rags sewn together (back to back) in a few different sizes that I like to use when working with negative fill. The different greyscales allow you to control how much negative you want. Sometimes killing everything with a solid is too much. Sometimes backing off a solid to give you less is not an option. It is also useful when you want to stop contamination in a green/blue screen environment without losing all your ambient. It is cheap and effective. These muslins also double us as a neat backdrop for still photos. The night grey mimics a night sky tone and can be shot into as well. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Adrian Sierkowski Posted June 21, 2012 Premium Member Share Posted June 21, 2012 John; that's a pretty interesting idea-- I'll have to play 'round with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandros Angelopoulos Apostolos Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Or when you have a strong backlight that is raking a white wall and filling in the shadows too much, you can drap the off-camera parts of the wall with black cloth to kill the reflection and get more contrast. Could you explain where what is in this case? Is the light between the subject and the wall or is the wall on one side of the subject? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member David Mullen ASC Posted July 6, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted July 6, 2015 The wall is to the side of the subject and the backlight is raking it and bouncing back onto the subject. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandros Angelopoulos Apostolos Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 I see. Thank you very much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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