DIY Diffusion sheet.

R

ReelFilmGeek

Well-known member
Looking at making a DIY Diffusion Panel and have been looking around and everyone seems to say to use either a Shower Curtain or A white bed sheet. They both seem like they would work but the only Thing I am worried about is the material catching on fire when using with hot lights. So what material should I watch out for to not buy?
 
Back when I did this I used parchment paper that you would use for baking. You can put it right up on a light safely, since it's meant to go in the oven.
 
You can also just buy pre cut Lee diffusion gels. There are a lot of companies online that sell 24" sheets for $5 and you can buy full, half and quarter diffusion sheets.
 
DNN said:
You can also just buy pre cut Lee diffusion gels. There are a lot of companies online that sell 24" sheets for $5 and you can buy full, half and quarter diffusion sheets.
Click to expand...


+1

You might as well get the proper diffusion gels as mentioned above. Rosco has them as well and I use them on my fresnels. They cast a great diffused light and won't burn to flame.

Steve
 
ReelFilmGeek said:
the only Thing I am worried about is the material catching on fire when using with hot lights.
Click to expand...
Anything approaching that size will usually be rather far away from a light in order to maximize the use of the material. It won't catch on fire unless you have it pretty close to your unit(s).
DNN said:
You can also just buy pre cut Lee diffusion gels. There are a lot of companies online that sell 24" sheets for $5 and you can buy full, half and quarter diffusion sheets.
Click to expand...
I think he was looking more for larger pieces of diffusion material since he mentioned shower curtains and bed sheets. If not, well, 24" really can't amount to a whole lot of diffusion unless you have it pretty close to your subject.
 
There are plenty of online resources for "real" diffusion fabrics, where you can order based on the amount of light loss you want (from 1/4 to 5 stops or so). They are generally sold in much wider widths than fabric store stuff. I've gotten diffusion fabrics for huge projects at the fabric store, but the "white" can range from very blue to warm.

A shower curtain can be about anything - my daughter's has palm trees on it. A bed sheet will suck up 3 - 5 stops of light. The "real" stuff is pretty affordable.

There are plenty of professional fabrics that are not flame proofed - it's expected that you won't stick 'em right against a light. I've got fabrics that are 15 years old with no burn marks. Generally, the effect you're trying to achieve with diffusion and lights means the lights are backed off enough to flood the entire sheet/frame anyway.

For raw fabrics, try rose brand, advantage grip, etc. Canvas grip sells ready-made rags that are really affordable and great quality, too.

The best DIY scrim you can make is to buy the corners and connectors from Film Tools or a similar supplier, and locally source 1" square aluminum tube (for up to 8' or so 1" sq. aluminum is fine - and you can choose round or square in several sizes for the connecting parts). The stuff's not insanely expensive, and then you'll have the exact frame that's used on Spielberg's sets.
 
I have used all kinds of DIY material for diffusion from tracing and regular printer paper to fabric remnants (My roommate is a costume designer and she has our garage full of fabrics to choose from). I am really concentrating now on getting a workable low budget grip kit together and have built some DIY PVC pipe frames, 48"X48", 24"X36" and 24"X24", and I am very pleased with the results. While I have some of the DIY solutions from my roomate's piles in the garage, I am really thinking of picking up at least a roll, or two, of "Real" diffusion gel to use. I have been shopping around and it really is not that expensive. In a case like this, what would the more experienced member suggest I get. I think that I really want a roll of Rosco 216. I have a few small sheets of that, and I like it. Say I can only get one more roll, what do you suggest? I would like something a little more translucent than 216 (Which is, I believe, and correct me if I am wrong, considered "Full White). What I am thinking is being able to set up a "Book light", or layers of diffusion for varying effects.
 
As an alternative suggestion, we've made tons of light boxes from plexiglass. Just spray paint 1 side and your good to go.
Plexiglass is pretty cheap/sturdy and you can make some nice looking soft boxes from it.
 
Michael Carter said:
The best DIY scrim you can make is to buy the corners and connectors from Film Tools or a similar supplier, and locally source 1" square aluminum tube (for up to 8' or so 1" sq. aluminum is fine - and you can choose round or square in several sizes for the connecting parts). The stuff's not insanely expensive, and then you'll have the exact frame that's used on Spielberg's sets.
Click to expand...

Even though its a bit thicker, you should really go for the 1.25" speedrail fittings, as you'll find they are more so the industry standard. You'll be able to use them much further down the line and won't have to have the specialty 1" pipe around to use it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top