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anamorphic flare by a filter - create a filter


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hey guys,

 

Perhaps this has been asked before but I just cannot find it by searching for it. please re-direct me to that thread if you know of it.

 

i am shooting RED ONE on Saturday, with a set of Cook primes and wanted to try and do some horizontal flares in the shots. I don't dare say I want to do as many as Michael Bay is known for or even JJ Abrams (crazy stuff Star Trek) ... anyway, those are the flares in mind, but not as many as that

 

 

I was led to believe that a filter by the name of Cokin 2 star A058 may do the trick. Unfortunately, this is NOT something I can find in Brisbane Australia 4 days before the shoot. Photocontinental (a still camera place) has one, but not in stock.... and the order would take too long and it wouldn't get here before the shoot. Their filter is also a screw on, 77mm i believe, which is great for 5d mk2 work but not for Cooks that are 110mm in diameter.

 

So, can i create this myself?

 

Can I can smear vaselin? How, vertically, horizontally? how thick? Onto a CLEAR filter in the matt box...

 

Can i SCRATCH a filter ?! I've got a couple of clear plastic filters, given to me by an AC... 5.5x4 inch large. I can scratch any line on them to try it out...

 

i've searched for the Cokin filter to see the pattern on them and have found that it is not as simple as the line, but rahter, diamond shape pattern - see below

 

Any tips on what i should do?

 

Lav

COKIN-Filtre-A058-Star2.jpg

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You can use what's known as a 'streak' filter to change a hot spot into a line. These are basically one (two?) point star filters, and I would imagine you could create one fairly easily by scratching regular parallel lines along one of your plastic filters with a blade and a steel ruler. Just remember to always cut away from your body and towards your buddy. The streak produced would then be perpendicular to the lines.

 

These are rather popular in low budget music videos in order to supposedly mimic anamorphic flare.

 

Be aware that with a deep stop or a wide lens you may see regular lines breaking up the 'flare'

Edited by Mathew Rudenberg
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HEY! I found an overhead projector on the street and I opened it up and started pulling the plates of magnifying sheets apart. You know those floppy plastic magnifying sheets? I have a dof adaptor for my XHA1. I cut out a piece of the magnifier and placed it behind my 50mm lens. It does make the streaks, not nearly as beautiful as an anamorphic lens, but by darn it works alright. Those magnifying sheets have the etched lines for the 2 point. With it behind the lens it didn't make too much distortion. Just a little. TRY IT!

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Put a piece of fishing line across the re-element of the lenss using some snot tape, just remember that the streak will be opposite from however you put it on.

 

I really like this trick. Regular fishing line will give a cooler streak. The yellow or brown line that's supposed to be extra invisible on the water gives a bit warmer streak. It comes in many thicknesses you can try on various lenses. Generally, I think anything finer than about 000 (three ought) is pointless and you won't see it.

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Put a piece of fishing line across the re-element of the lenss using some snot tape, just remember that the streak will be opposite from however you put it on.

 

 

this is an awesome idea!

 

OK,no joke here...i went to bed last night after scratching two clear glass filters - one i made into a diamond 2star scratch and the other i pulled a horizontal line across. The result - vertical flare...on both! A total miss...

 

Anyway, what i did learn from that is that i need a vertical line to get a horizontal flare... and i thought, as i lay there half awake in the bed for hours... i should try a fishing line!?

 

Not only can i move it around in front of the lens (i.e. center, to the left, to the right) but i can choose colour, thickness, etc...

 

 

To read your posts about the fishing line now is scary crazy! I must admit i am thrilled to hear someone here has already done this and that it works! As i will try it on Saturday... but i am slightly dissapointed it wasn't an original idea of mine, because when i thought of it... i thought it was not done before... Oh well, i probably read it somewhere long time ago or saw it on some behind the scenes and my unconscious waited till I was almost asleep to remind me.

 

Thanks again guys, for all the suggestions!

Ill try this out on SAT

 

cheers!

Lav

 

PS: you reckon across REAR of the element? I thought to just tied a piece of fishing line onto a matt box filter holder, so the light hits it infront of the lens... you reckon rear of the element?

Edited by Lav Bodnaruk
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Here's an example of a music video shot with various levels of fishing line across the rear element of the lens.

 

All American Rejects - I Wanna

 

Directed by Rich Lee.

 

Btw, shot on the Red One as well.

Edited by Patrick Kaplin
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OK,no joke here...i went to bed last night after scratching two clear glass filters - one i made into a diamond 2star scratch and the other i pulled a horizontal line across. The result - vertical flare...on both! A total miss...

 

Well, since a horizontal scratch gives a vertical flare, a vertical line scratch will give a horizontal flare.

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post-7076-1265979726.jpg

 

hey guys,

 

i did a test tonight - i just put some thin white fishing line behind a 'zoom lens' of my canon 30d stills camera... so obviously, not the result ill get with red and cookes but it was good enough to give me an idea. Anyway, i merely tucked the fishing line over the rear element of the lens and sort of held it when i put the lens into the mount. i can see that to do this proper I will have to tape the fishing line to the rear of the lens, and in saying that, i can see that this will have to be done rather carefully not to damage the lens or the red chip... but anyway, the image i took is attached - which is promising enough for me.

 

ill give it a crack tomorrow morning with cookes and red ;)

 

thanks again for the suggestions guys!

cheers

 

ps. it would be a horizontal flare if i had put the fishing line vertically... i had it on a weird angle, hence the line being as it is... but it works!

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just a quick update on the shoot

 

whilst i am yet to check out the rushes proper, judging from the onboard monitor on the day (and some split footage) we certainly had flares where we wanted them and yes, they flared horizontally as we placed the fishing line vertically. the main problem however was in how they flared... since the fishing line is on the rear of the element and not the front (it doesn't work when on the front of the lens), we had to have a light in SHOT to get a flare... all the ideas of shooting lights into the lens of screen were straight away abandoned. Another issue was 'stringiness' of the flares... yeah, a strange term to use but not sure how to better explain it.

 

basically, the flares were there but they were a bit stringy on occasion - you can see 5-6 lines inside a flare (that make-up the flare). This is not a trademark of an anamorphic flare so it certainly gives it away as a 'fishing line' trick straight away when viewing. Anyway, I am hoping that in post they can blur it out a bit to make it less obvious and more anamorphic flare like... we will see.

 

Overall, it was easy to apply, easy to do and fun. It worked and got the job done.

Different colour and size fishing lines, flare different. I ended up using a very thing, white (see through) fishing line on most of the shots as it gave the 'cleanest' line... least stringy.

 

Thanks again for all the suggestions

Cheers,

Lav

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  • 8 months later...

I have been developing a rear end element adapter for B4 mount lenses. Also using special coatings on the monofilament to create different flare effects. It's simple to attach, and is safe for your camera, no tape, no worry of something falling or hitting your sensor.

 

I will update when it has been finished. We have also been developing a 4x4 front end filter for matte boxes, we know Vantage has one, but this is a more budget friendly filter.

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  • 2 years later...
Guest Ashley Dellinger

 

Ive never tried this....found this thread looking for a way to do it. Going to try the fishing line....on the stringyness my guess would be your depth of field. Try going wide open at 1.8 and i bet it would give you in camera blur on the lines. Also i seen another oost where they glued th line to a filter so im going to try rear mounting to a lens but also a filter to see the difderence...that might make the difference too

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