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Rainbow spectrum filter in Bliss (2021)


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Can anyone tell more details about the rainbow spectrum filter in Bliss (DP Markus Förderer)? Online articles mention a "custom light filter", but this is too vague of course. There is a BTS photo available, but I am not sure what is going on there, are they using some kind of prism as well? I think the effect is unique and beautiful - lnever overwhelming or cheesy like in commercially available filters - and wonder if it is possible to DIY something like this.

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Thank you! So it is indeed a rectangular filter in the mattebox. I was wondering how they achieved the spectrum effect in various frame regions, without direct light sources - from the BTS it looks like they were strategically hitting the filter with a flashlight!

The diffraction grating film may be available somewhere like aliexpress... worth experimenting ?

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yes i am sure there was endless experimenting with something like this from amazon

jeremy benning, DP for "the expanse", recently shared another funky filter that he thought of.
in his words, it is "a custom filter sandwich that incorporated green glitter floating in mineral oil and smeared with green-tinted Vaseline and lit with an LED light internally to create variable sparkles"

you can watch the effect here: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1639128986296082 
(i think he only posted it to facebook)

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This is all very interesting!

By the way, looking through amazon options, I noticed different types of diffraction grating, such as linear, double axes, and spiral.

I have an idea that maybe double axis grating produces a star rays effect around light sources (like the Cokin Universe filter I have; I believe some version of it was used in "Love Witch"), and linear version can produce horizontal streaks like in Bliss?

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Yes, this is exactly what I was referring to ? I was so impressed by this Love Witch scene that after reading the thread, rushed to ebay and was lucky to find a used Cokin diffractor. The filter looks like some kind of plastic with rainbow reflections, so it is probably based on the same principle. That is why I had an idea it may require a different kind of diffraction grating film - linear - to get just horizontal streaks.

Nets are a totally different thing (though just as interesting) - they do give a very subtle rainbow diffraction effect, but in the form of concentric circles around sunstar rays. Their main advantage over glass cross filters is that stars have much shorter rays, not so overwhelming.

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13 minutes ago, David Mullen ASC said:

I don't know if you can shoot through this stuff...

I would expect it to turn the whole frame into a smeared spectral mess, splitting up the whole picture.

The shots Alissa cites look like glints reflecting in from outside the main picture area, almost like the effect you get when mounting a prism on the mattbox on a magic arm, or something like that. I wonder if that's how it was done.

P

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Or perhaps the diffraction sheets were cut into thin strips and placed across the frame selectively.  Or some sort of thin prism like you say.  Or perhaps some glass was at a 45 degree angle to the lens reflecting a diffraction sheet that then had a small light hitting part of it, so the camera only saw a reflection of that one area of the sheet?

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Thank you David! I was thinking of cutting the film into strips for selective placement on a clear filter, too. Although Markus Förderer"s filter is totally covered with holographic film, probably they were able to find something translucent enough.

Phil, no, we did not use a prism in the test shots. Somehow the Cokin diffractor multiplied the lightsaber light, though it was not supposed to ?

diffractor-.jpg

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6 minutes ago, Stuart Brereton said:

Yet the filter he's holding in the picture on his website appears to have diffracted light across the whole surface.

It seems I might be in a position to answer this definitively fairly soon; wait out!

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24 minutes ago, Alissa Alexina said:

Yes, the effect looks spot on! Their bespoke filters with rainbows, golden nets and dandelion seeds probably cost a fortune ? Some nice ideas to DIY.

A lot of the fabrics that they are using in their filters can be purchased at fabric shops very cheaply. I recognize some of the mesh, tulles, and nets. You can just stretch them over an empty filter frame or the front/back of a lens without having to buy an expensive glass filter.

 

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19 minutes ago, Satsuki Murashige said:

A lot of the fabrics that they are using in their filters can be purchased at fabric shops very cheaply. I recognize some of the mesh, tulles, and nets. You can just stretch them over an empty filter frame or the front/back of a lens without having to buy an expensive glass filter.

 

Call it glassless optical path modification technology, claim it reduces unwanted reflections, and charge extra.

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8 hours ago, Alissa Alexina said:

Yes, the effect looks spot on! Their bespoke filters with rainbows, golden nets and dandelion seeds probably cost a fortune ? Some nice ideas to DIY.

I was thinking that the actual price, while high, wouldn't be that bad for high toleranced optical glass, but this filter would actually be $1,176 from Band Pro! That is pretty expensive for a filter. (And it's not just this filter - all of their filters are either $1,176 or $948: https://www.bandpro.com/brands.html/ib_e_optics .)

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