Jall Cowasji Posted June 21, 2018 Share Posted June 21, 2018 Hi all. Excited to ask my very first question on this forum! For an upcoming short, I'm trying to achieve a pastel, somewhat low-contrast color palette in a bright daytime exterior, very much like the attached reference image from Vertigo. Being a micro budget project, I don't have the opportunity to pre test a bunch of filters or lenses. Any recommendations on filtration for this reduced contrast, slightly blooming look? For the project, I'm using the Ikonoskop A-Cam DII. I own this camera, and the colors from its Super16 Kodak CCD sensor feel inherently pure and dare I say film-like. I'm pairing it with oldish glass, the Cooke 9-50 Varokinetal (T2.5). I've rented this lens before and it is not only affordable but renders a very creamy three dimensional image. I've attached a sample I shot with this configuration, no filters. Just need to turn that into something less contrasty, more talcumy, more "vintage" for lack of a better word. Thank you! Jall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akos Baranya Posted June 21, 2018 Share Posted June 21, 2018 If you don't have money for filters, using stockings over the front or the back of the lens can help: http://coltondavie.com/tests/testing-net-diffusion/ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jall Cowasji Posted June 21, 2018 Author Share Posted June 21, 2018 (edited) If you don't have money for filters, using stockings over the front or the back of the lens can help: http://coltondavie.com/tests/testing-net-diffusion/ Thanks so much Akos! This is a great resource! I do have access to a few filters through NYU (though no opportunity to test prior to checkout!), since I'm a student there. They mostly have a range of black and white promist, along with ultra cons and glimmer glass. Any thoughts on these vs. stockings, or pairing multiple filters together? Edited June 21, 2018 by Jall Cowasji Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akos Baranya Posted June 21, 2018 Share Posted June 21, 2018 this might help regarding filter choice. No substitute for seeing/testing for yourself though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jall Cowasji Posted June 22, 2018 Author Share Posted June 22, 2018 Thanks Akos this is great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member David Mullen ASC Posted June 22, 2018 Premium Member Share Posted June 22, 2018 Vertigo used fog filters for those scenes so a ProMist would work or other misty filters like GlimmerGlass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Dunn Posted June 22, 2018 Share Posted June 22, 2018 There's a touch of softness about your image anyway. Until I read your post carefully (always a sound idea) I assumed there was mild diffusion on it. So don't overdo it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jall Cowasji Posted June 23, 2018 Author Share Posted June 23, 2018 (edited) Vertigo used fog filters for those scenes so a ProMist would work or other misty filters like GlimmerGlass.First off, thanks so much for weighing in on this David. Your generosity on this online community is astounding. I was coincidentally just looking into Glimmer Glass today. Do you notice a marked difference in the results from promists vs. glimmer glass? Edited June 23, 2018 by Jall Cowasji Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jall Cowasji Posted June 23, 2018 Author Share Posted June 23, 2018 There's a touch of softness about your image anyway. Until I read your post carefully (always a sound idea) I assumed there was mild diffusion on it. So don't overdo it. Great point Mark! Rather than going too heavy on that soft, bloomy quality, I’m really looking to lower contrast. Another element of the Vertigo screen grab that I love is the subdued nature of the colors, and I feel like I see a tint of brown in all the colors. I’m really after that. Some of the tests I’ve seen with stockings do render a similar color palette, but are often too heavy on the glowy effect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Phil Rhodes Posted June 23, 2018 Premium Member Share Posted June 23, 2018 You can get all kinds of diffusing filters for not much money. I think my first 4x4 fog filter was about £20. It was crap - it was basically a bit of acrylic with hairspray on it - but it worked for a while. In fact, try acrylic with hairspray on it. Also, look up Mr. Mullen's work on a film called Northfork, which used literally every trick in the book to desaturate things. Some of it won't apply to you since it was shot on film, but you might find some of the tricks useful - particularly just production design. If you want it to look pastel-coloured, shoot pastel-coloured objects! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshua Csehak Posted June 29, 2018 Share Posted June 29, 2018 This might be stating the obvious, but if you have the luxury of waiting till you've got an overcast day (or at least, cloudy, and only shooting when the sun's behind a cloud), that's killer low-con! If not, maybe you can find a way to stage everything in the shade? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshua Csehak Posted June 29, 2018 Share Posted June 29, 2018 Also, just remembered that a stocking behind the lens will lift the blacks a bit, white probably being best to both lift and wash out the colors. Worth a try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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