Alexandros Angelopoulos Apostolos Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 I stumbled upon this behind-the-scenes photo of the Transformers: The Last Knight and saw the grip holding a gold reflector. I know that for many of you this is probably nothing extraordinary, but I didnt really find many instances of it being mentioned in an interview with a DOP or something like that. The Last Knight really did have some lovely tanned, copperish skin tones in some scenes, and I wonder if at least in part that is thanks to the gold reflector. So I wanted to know is it really rare or not rare at all? Are there any DOPs that are known to use it whenever the scene might call for it or be suitable for its use? Then I saw that Manfrotto offers some other possibilities: Sunfire, Sunlite, and SoftSilver: https://www.manfrotto.us/30-tri-flip-kit-2-stop-trigrip-diffuser-7-colors https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/418586-REG/Lastolite_LL_LR3696_TriFlip_8_in_1.html Some Web sites, however, seem to show that Sunfire and Sunlite are not uniform, monochromatic, but rather striped, coming in two colours. Or maybe Im not getting something. Sunfire seems nice, though I cant firmly say which one I like best. I presume that these reflectors are mostly used by portrait and wedding photographers. I know that white, silver, and black are the most widely used, but what about the others? Anyone tried them? Anyone saw them used or mentioned somewhere? I remember that I asked David and Satsuki about the checkerboard reflector in some thread around here, and I think that they said that they seem to recall perhaps Deakins using it somewhere. https://www.filmandvideolighting.com/6x6chregolim.html http://www.filmtools.com/6x6chlacat30.html http://www.cinemagadgets.com/productdetail/465 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandros Angelopoulos Apostolos Posted December 23, 2017 Author Share Posted December 23, 2017 Once again, an inexplicable vanishing of a part of the thread title... :blink: :wacko: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Dunn Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 They've been around for decades for portraiture. They were invented by Lastolite in England. Their predecessors, metal, then tinfoil, have been used as fill in outdoor scenes since at least the 30s- the giveaway is a rather specular look as someone walks by. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Drysdale Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 Handy for docs etc, Lastolite can fit nicely into the lighting case, so can be used when lighting interiors. They also have green screen and other backgrounds, although the folding can be even more interesting than the circular reflectors. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Dunn Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 Handy for docs etc, Lastolite can fit nicely into the lighting case, so can be used when lighting interiors. They also have green screen and other backgrounds, although the folding can be even more interesting than the circular reflectors. First time I took one of the 6'x8's down I had to stuff it in the back of the car because I hadn't got the hang of collapsing it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandros Angelopoulos Apostolos Posted December 23, 2017 Author Share Posted December 23, 2017 It seems that in cinematography there’s hardly an instance where a DOP wants some kind of colour cast. Instead, it’s as if the main goal is to first shoot everything as neutrally as possible, setting up contrast ratios and stuff like that, and then mess with everything regarding colour in post. Or something like that. But these reflectors seem to be pretty subtle. Perhaps that’s my answer: if they’re subtle, hardly different than a white bounce board, then why use them? Then there’s the impression that everything these days is going for dark and moody, as opposed to light, feathery, and sunny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Dunn Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 From experience the effect of the gold reflector is quite pronounced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Adrian Sierkowski Posted December 23, 2017 Premium Member Share Posted December 23, 2017 I"ve used gold quite a few time; you also have checkerboard on a mix of gold and silver. Nice when you have it in a 12x12 frame. It's a case of; honestly, if you like the look you get, go for it. We used shower-curtains for diffusion on occasion and carboard for bounces Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Brereton Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 The gold can be a bit too much on caucasian skin, but works really nicely with darker skin tones. I don't use silver or gold that often. I mostly prefer something a iittle more subtle 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandros Angelopoulos Apostolos Posted December 23, 2017 Author Share Posted December 23, 2017 (edited) From experience the effect of the gold reflector is quite pronounced. The gold can be a bit too much on caucasian skin, but works really nicely with darker skin tones. Gold indeed does seem like a bit to much in that Spanish panel above. I’d really like to know what they used it for for The Last Knight. I’m a bit intrigued. :) It’s not a big frame, it seems to me. Edited December 23, 2017 by Alexandros Angelopoulos Apostolos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Brereton Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 Gold indeed does seem like a bit to much in that Spanish panel above. I’d really like to know what they used it for for The Last Knight. I’m a bit intrigued. :) It’s not a big frame, it seems to me. The reflector in the frame is obviously not what is lighting her face. Without seeing the movie, it's hard to say why they would have been using gold. Maybe just to accentuate warm skintones, or maybe to complement some VFX to be added later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samuel Berger Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 The gold can be a bit too much on caucasian skin, but works really nicely with darker skin tones. I don't use silver or gold that often. I mostly prefer something a iittle more subtle I think I see your grip coming with that white Sony reflector. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin R Probyn Posted December 24, 2017 Share Posted December 24, 2017 Sony actually are often criticized for their overly warm yellow look.. its Arri,s REC709 that supposedly have a bit of green tinge.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ANTON CHIA Posted December 29, 2017 Share Posted December 29, 2017 IMHO gold reflectors are usually too deep in color, even during sunset the colors just don't match. The half gold, ie the Zebra Gold from the likes of California Sunbounce and their imitators, are more natural. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerald King Posted April 14, 2018 Share Posted April 14, 2018 I stumbled upon this behind-the-scenes photo of the Transformers: The Last Knight and saw the grip holding a gold reflector. I know that for many of you this is probably nothing extraordinary, but I didnt really find many instances of it being mentioned in an interview with a DOP or something like that. The Last Knight really did have some lovely tanned, copperish skin tones in some scenes, and I wonder if at least in part that is thanks to the gold reflector. So I wanted to know is it really rare or not rare at all? Are there any DOPs that are known to use it whenever the scene might call for it or be suitable for its use? Then I saw that Manfrotto offers some other possibilities: Sunfire, Sunlite, and SoftSilver: https://www.manfrotto.us/30-tri-flip-kit-2-stop-trigrip-diffuser-7-colors https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/418586-REG/Lastolite_LL_LR3696_TriFlip_8_in_1.html Some Web sites, however, seem to show that Sunfire and Sunlite are not uniform, monochromatic, but rather striped, coming in two colours. Or maybe Im not getting something. Sunfire seems nice, though I cant firmly say which one I like best. I presume that these reflectors are mostly used by portrait and wedding photographers. I know that white, silver, and black are the most widely used, but what about the others? Anyone tried them? Anyone saw them used or mentioned somewhere? I remember that I asked David and Satsuki about the checkerboard reflector in some thread around here, and I think that they said that they seem to recall perhaps Deakins using it somewhere. https://www.filmandvideolighting.com/6x6chregolim.html http://www.filmtools.com/6x6chlacat30.html http://www.cinemagadgets.com/productdetail/465 Sorry to open this thread up again after it finished, but, was this the same method that was used in previous western classics? Like the Once upon a time in the west? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Brereton Posted April 14, 2018 Share Posted April 14, 2018 A lot of the old westerns used hard reflectors rather than bounces to fill in hard sunshine. It's one of the reasons for Clint Eastwood's famous squint. He apparently banned them from his sets when he started directing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member David Mullen ASC Posted April 14, 2018 Premium Member Share Posted April 14, 2018 The old Sergio Leone westerns used a mix of techniques to fill in the shadows outdoors, from regular lights (from carbon arcs to maxi and mini-brutes) to silver reflector boards. I don't think they used gold reflectors, the actors were tanned enough. http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/once-upon-a-time-in-the-west/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Mark Kenfield Posted April 15, 2018 Premium Member Share Posted April 15, 2018 Balancing the camera for 4500k and then using a gold bounce on skintones, can work quite nicely for pushing a really heightened, saturated look. Super blue skies and bronze skin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now