Best Filter for Filmic Blooming Effect

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Paprochy

Active member
I'm wondering what type of filter (for Mattebox) would give me that nice blooming effect in highlights or blown areas much like on film. Preferably would give the entire image a slight haze to it as well. Here are two examples, take note of the blown windows in the first one. Granted, both of these I think where actually shot on film, but I'm looking for a filter that would at least get me half way there.

https://vimeo.com/49155150

https://vimeo.com/38987284

The types of filters I've been looking at online have been black pro mist and low contrast filters (from tiffen and cavision). However I don't have access to them to actually try them out on my camera (fs100) to see if I'll be getting the effect I'm looking for. Can anyone with some experience point me in the right direction?

Thanks!
 
In the first video take note of shots at 2:35 and 2:39 in case someone doesn't feel like watching the whole video. Specifically my goal is to create somewhat of a gradient or smooth falloff from completely blown to normally exposed areas instead of a hard line. I heard that the Alexa has a special internal filter that does something like this, I believe it would be possible to mimic this effect by using 4x4 filters. Anyone have some input? Please, pretty please? :)
 
I have used a diffusion filter like Pro-Mist, Black Pro-Mist, or GlimmerGlass to get the effects you're referencing. It always seems to me that f-stop will have some effect on the amount of diffusion. Tiffen also has a software version of their filters that allow you to add/modify these effects in post with After Effects. Not exactly the same, but the results I've seen are very good.


Jim
 
Thanks Jim! A few follow up questions :)

What exactly is the difference between a Pro-Mist and Black Pro-mist?
Is the diffusion effect greater with a larger aperture or is it the other way around?

Also, thanks for this tip on the plug in, I'll have to check that out.

Thanks!
 
The only filter in the Alexa is a clear to ND 1.3 filter. Clairmont is developing a in-camera filter holder for the Alexa but I do not think it has been released yet.

A white diffusion filter in your matte box will add bloom to white areas, but in the videos you linked to what I see is very shallow depth of field contributing to the out of focus white areas in the backgrounds.
 
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Thanks David, that's very helpful information about the white diffusion filter! That's exactly what I was looking for because I'm not after the overall diffused look that you get from glimmerglass style filters, just some diffusion in the highlights.
 
I find that the Black Pro-Mist has the effect of diffusing more in the shadows. A white diffusion filter would likely have the effect of more blooming in the highlights. Larger f-stops equal more diffusion, although it seems to vary a bit with lens/camera. You may also want to look at the Fog and Double Fog filters which are specifically made to bloom the highlights.

Be aware that entire reputations are built around the skill of using the right filter for the specific look. I've seen serious shooters show up with dozens/hundreds of filters. In the diffusion area alone, there’s the Pro-Mist, Black Pro-Mist, Soft/FX, Black Diffusion FX, Gold Diffusion FX, Fog, Double Fog, and Softnet, in addition to the many contrast control filters.

Barry Braverman's book "Video Shooter" has a chapter or two on filters you might want to look at.

In addition to Tiffen, RedGiant's Magic Bullet Looks also can be used for post-production 'filtering' and has adjustable black diffusion, white-diffusion, vignette, star filters, gradients, film stock emulation, etc. Even if you prefer your filters in front of the lens, the software filter tools make a great way to learn the ways filters can impact an image.


Jim
 
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Black Pro Mist is a good subtle one. ProMist, Soft Effects, Fog, Smoke, etc... all do it too, but have varying contrast reduction properties, as does the BPM's. BPM's are probably the most popular.
 
Try out a white Pro-Mist, though you should call up your local rental company and see if you can try out different filters - Soft F/X, Classic Soft, Black Pro Mist, White Pro Mist etc. etc. at varying strengths all have slightly different looks that may or may not be what you want.

I personally like using Classic Softs on digital.

Supposedly the Alexa employs a 1/4 Classic Soft over it's sensor, but whether or not that's true I'm not sure.
 
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