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Help with finding this sort of "non-white" frost filter / film?


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Hi folks!

 

I don't know If I'm in the right forum for this, but I need some help to find a specific sort of lighting filter.

I'm looking for a filter that diffuses the light but doesn't add that white color, more like a "clear translucent" / "non-white" frost / diffusion film.

 

Rosco has got a lot of different filters, for example:

E-Colour #216: White Diffusion

E-Colour #220: White Frost

E-Colour #480: Full Atlantic Frost

E-Colour #253: Hanover Frost

E-Colour #129: Heavy Frost

etc.

 

I've made two comparison pics in ps so it would be easier to explain, notice how the second example diffuses equally as much but doesn't add the white color to it.

 

For example (#1), this is a white frost film:

 

Rosco_white_diffusion_film_example_zps45

 

...a this example (#2) is a "non-white" frost film:

 

Rosco_non_white_diffusion_film_example_z

 

 

 

I don't know if such a diffusion film exist, but if you happen to know any please let me know, I would really appreciate it!

 

Best regards

/Patrik

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Perhaps a black pro-mist or even black stocking on the rear element. To my eye, most "soft" filters tend to cut out the extreme dark tones, so maybe it's just an issue of bringing them back down in post. That second image really just looks like the first one but with the blacks brought back to their proper level.

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I am pretty sure he is talking about lighting diffusion, since he is mentioning Rosco. When I want a less "white" diff material, I normally go for Hampshire Frost-- but that's just me. Another nice mid between something like 216 and Hampshire is Opal (Lee 410) which I use very often to take the "edge" off a light without taking away too much from it's directionality.

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I am pretty sure he is talking about lighting diffusion, since he is mentioning Rosco. When I want a less "white" diff material, I normally go for Hampshire Frost-- but that's just me. Another nice mid between something like 216 and Hampshire is Opal (Lee 410) which I use very often to take the "edge" off a light without taking away too much from it's directionality.

 

Thank you guys for your replies! Yes I'm looking for a lighting diffusion film on roll. Tnx for your input Adrian! Is Lee and Rosco the same manufacturer? Rosco #410 is also Opal frost. Most rental companies where I live sell only rosco.

 

Regards

/Patrik

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Hm, guess I misunderstood the problem based on the examples he showed. I've never really considered how the diffusion affects the quality of the blacks.

I second the Opal, I personally haven't used it, but one DP I crew for uses it ALL the time and I'll probably pick up a roll for myself when I get my next paycheck.

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They aren't the same company-- but the numbering is often the same for common materials-- and should be just about the same. I've never been "brand loyal" particularly aside from normally ordering from whatever swatch book I happen to have at the ready.

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Hm, guess I misunderstood the problem based on the examples he showed. I've never really considered how the diffusion affects the quality of the blacks.

I second the Opal, I personally haven't used it, but one DP I crew for uses it ALL the time and I'll probably pick up a roll for myself when I get my next paycheck.

 

No worries, my example might not have been the best ;) Imagine this Matte box flag lying on a white table with the diffusion film on top of it. I tried to illustrate it using photoshop, don't if it worked or not ;) I'm gonna check out the opal!

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They aren't the same company-- but the numbering is often the same for common materials-- and should be just about the same. I've never been "brand loyal" particularly aside from normally ordering from whatever swatch book I happen to have at the ready.

 

Ok thanks for the info! It's very hard to judge by only looking at those small thumbnails, but they appear to have the "same" characteristics.

 

Btw, I should mention it, I'm not going to use the film do diffuse the actual light source, I'm going to use it infront of the camera. I'm just fooling around with an affect similar to this picture:

 

why_so_serious-wide.jpg

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Well that's most certainly photoshopped-- but perhaps something like a Fog Filter on the top half combined with an optical flat and vasline/ky to blend the edge of the fog towards a clear bottom. This isn't something you'd use a lighting gel for @ all really.

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Well that's most certainly photoshopped-- but perhaps something like a Fog Filter on the top half combined with an optical flat and vasline/ky to blend the edge of the fog towards a clear bottom. This isn't something you'd use a lighting gel for @ all really.

 

It certainly is, but it sort of givs you an idea of what I'm trying to achieve (almost). Regarding using lighting gel, I really do think this might work! As I said, I'm just experimenting, but I have gotten close with normal white diffusion film, but I'd like to try with something less white but equally diffusing.

 

I really appreciate the input! :) I guess the picture was a bad example, I'm not trying to achieve the fade between frost and clear, just the frost effect (commonly scen in films with shower curtains ;) ) Like this one:

 

9D3F799A.jpg

 

It's kind of hard to describe this since I don't really know my self, I'm just looking for the right material to experiment with and I think this rosco gel could work excellent! I have this nightmare dreamlike scene in my head that I want to visualize.

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Before you buy a $100+ roll of gel, I'd do what Adrian suggested and look into Visqueen. I don't know what kind of stores you have in Sweden that are similar to Home Depot or Lowes, but I was at Lowes the other day, and they stock several thicknesses of clear plastic sheeting. You can get a pretty huge piece of plastic for far cheaper than a roll of gel.

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