best way to ND a window

B

Bruce Watson

Veteran
I've got an opportunity to film some educational shorts. A homeowner had volunteered their kitchen for use by the project. Filming will probably be more or less sporadic, spread out over several months. Maybe as many as 10 or 12 separate dates.

There are windows in the kitchen of course. The views are nice; I'd like to keep them visible in the film. Which means I have to ND them down a couple of stops. There are a number of ways to do this. Unfortunately, I'll have to reapply the ND treatment every time we shoot -- the owner of said kitchen doesn't want to have the windows gelled down for months at a time, and I don't blame them.

So, given those constraints, what would be the best way (cost and time effective) to gel down a couple of windows? Oh, yes, I can do this on either side of the windows (inside or outside) with fairly easy access.
 
Try the static cling type car window tint instead of the typical film that glues on and is a royal pain to take off.
 
mkfotos.com said:
Try the static cling type car window tint instead of the typical film that glues on and is a royal pain to take off.
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I've never found a static cling film that was actually optically clear. And that's the point of this -- being able to see out the windows. But my information is probably well out of date. Are there any optically clear static cling films out there? If so, who makes 'em?
 
mcgeedigital said:
a bottle of soapy water, a squeegee, and a razor blade are your friends.
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This is what I'm trying to avoid.

If I were only doing this once, and then I could film for a week or so, then tear it down, then yes -- this is what I'd do. But since I can only film for a day at a time, and I have to come back and do site prep 10-12 times, I'm not so interested in this method.

But if it's all that works, then it's what has to be done, whether I'm interested in it or not. Sigh...
 
Lee 210 (ND.6), 211 (ND.9) or 299 (ND1.2) in roll form are good for this. Clean window surface thoroughly. Cut gel to size - hold the size back from any glazing that will cause the edges to lift. Spray window with a 16oz bottle of water with one drop of Dawn brand dish soap added. Place gel into space, the water mixture will hold it there as you spray (liberally) the exposed side of the goods with the same water solution. Squeegee the gel with a new, quality blade - you can get neoprene rubber or silicon products at auto parts stores. To avoid scratching the goods, keep the side you're squeegeeing wet, working your way down.

This should stay in place for the duration of your production. I've seen it work for several days on car windows used in process work.
 
If you need to put it up and take it down every day after shooting - I can feel your pain.
I would put the ND or a NET on a frame outside the window. If the window isn't that large you could tape it to the outside frame.

However - nothing beats soaping or windex-ing the ND in place
 
If you're using a double scrim on a butterfly or overhead frame outside the window, you can shoot toward the goods if you keep the frames out of your camera's sightlines. This does create a slightly hazy effect - one which is used to great effect in many productions. The double net [sic] effect is the same as ND.3 gel from a lighting standpoint - about 1 F-Stop.
 
Bruce Watson said:
What's a 12x12 double? And one stop will not do. Has to be at least two stops.
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It's a 12' by 12' metal frame with a fabric stretched across it. A double is two layers of a fine black net called bobinette. One layer, a single, cuts light by 1/2 stop. To avoid moire patterns, in a double, the direction of the layers is alternated. A net such as this is often used overhead to reduce daylight but up to a double it works to knock down light through a window while only softening the background for the camera a little. You can use a double and a single or even two doubles overhead if you have to but this will not work if the camera is looking through the net because a double and a single, a 1 1/2 stop decrease, will create a moire pattern besides hazing up the view excessively.

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Do the windows have screens? If so, buy some screens, cut the wire out and replace it with an ND of your choice. Then you can just go in and pop the screens in when you want to shoot. Very easy.
 
The other thing you can do is just get a roll of ND and precut the pieces to fit the windows. Then from there you can put a little bit of gaff tape on the corners and use thumbtacks to secure it outside the window. That's another quick easy way to do it.

Honestly, to tell you the fastest way it's almost like it would be easier if I saw a picture of it. Is it a bunch of little panes? Do they have window screens? What are the exact dimensions of the windows? The answers to these questions would help a lot in telling you the easiest way to do this.
 
And why wouldn't you consider adding light to the interior instead of reducing the exterior? Depending on the size of the space a 1.2kw hmi par maybe bounced onto a white card might bring up the interior to balance the the exterior coming in through the windows. The exterior can be a stop or so brigter than the interior and look ok.
 
What are these ND Gels? - It it like the tint on some car windows?
I keep hearing about them, but never seen them used on a set. Can anyone post a link as to where you get them?
 
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