window filming

[jijhh]

im shooting a short on 16mm reversal (either tri-x or plus-x) and one major shot consists of a slow dolly towards a corner of a room that has an open window (it will be daytime). i will be using artificial lighting on the subject indoors, but i know that this stock has terrible latitude for this type or situation, and i don't want the window to be blown out, or the subject to be incredibly silhouetted. should i cut light from the window or increase indoor light? what's the simplest way to cut the window light (with very few resources)?

 

thanks

andrew

[Charles MacDonald]

...slow dolly towards a corner of a room that has an open window (it will be daytime). i will be using artificial lighting on the subject indoors, but i know that this stock has terrible latitude for this type or situation, and i don't want the window to be blown out,

 

You can probaly do both. If you can't see out the window, you could put paper on the outside. If you can you would want some filter material on the outside.You can get gels that are basicaly ND filters. but since you are using B&W you can just use dark gels.

 

Then put enough light on your subject to balance the effect you want.

[David Mullen ASC]

Well, it's pretty simple: either you darken the window, increase the interior light level, or wait until it is less bright outside the window, or any combination of the three.

 

ND gels are the most common way of darkening a window. A large Double Net scrim on a frame can darken a background too, but only by one stop, and it diffuses the background, plus you can't have any sunlight hitting the scrim. Usually you would probably use an ND.60 or ND.90 gel.

[Guest gregorscheer]

A way to handle this situation is to cover the window with ND (neutral density) Grey Gelatine and use CT blue color correcting gels on your light or daylight HMI lights and a 85 daylight filter on your camera if the film is calibrated for Tungstene.

[jijhh]

thanks for all the help, but i just have one more question. as i mentioned in my post i have few resources when it comes to gels and scrims. are there any household or consumer products that i could buy to act as nd?

 

thanks

andrew

[Matthew Skala]

but since you are using B&W you can just use dark gels.

 

That wouldn't be a very good idea. Even though it is B&W, color gels effect the lattitude and contrast of a Black & White Image. For example, if you used a dark red gel on the window you will have a very contrasty exterior.

 

are there any household or consumer products that i could buy to act as nd?

thanks

andrew

 

Check the likes of Home Depot & Lowes. You might be able to find some ND like material that is used for windows to keep homes cooler during the summer and to save energy. Or you could just get some curtains and cover the window. You could try a variety of transparent window dressings to knock it down, essentially acting as a scrim. Or you could also get screen material from a hardware store and apply that to the window (also like a scrim). A combination of these would work great.

 

Good Luck!

Edited November 2, 2005 by cinephile

[David Mullen ASC]

While I'm sure there are household window tinting materials at Home Depot, I'm not sure they are necessarily cheaper than ND gel. It all depends on how large an area of windows has to be gelled too. And it has to be done well, with no ripples.

 

You know, there isn't ALWAYS a cheaper method to do every type of shot. If you can't gel a window properly to be darker and you can't bring up the light level inside, your choices really are: (1) live with it being too bright outside or too dark inside; or (2) wait until it is less bright outside, like in heavy overcast or twilight, etc. I've had to do the second suggestion many times even on bigger movies. Sometimes it's better to not have to fight with mother nature and just shoot at the optimal time.

[andres victorero]

thanks for all the help, but i just have one more question. as i mentioned in my post i have few resources when it comes to gels and scrims. are there any household or consumer products that i could buy to act as nd?

 

thanks

andrew

 

Hi i´m spanish and I worked in a architect studio. we used a vegetal paper and a "croquis" (spain name). We used them for make plans and sketchs.

You can find their in a tecnic paper shops. They are cheap and their size are larger. One thing You don´t use this paper with hot lights becuse can produce fire, be careful.