DIY scrims for outside use

ExposedFilm

ExposedFilm

Member
Hello everyone!

Im planning an outside morning scene and I'm trying to build a scrim to tone down the sun on the actors' faces. At first I wanted to make it with light coton but I'm afraid it'll act like a sail and be hard to keep still if there's wind. My alternate idea was to use a mosquito screen. In either way I'll stick it to pvc pipes with either tie-wraps or velcro.

Anybody has any experience with DIY scrims?

PS: On a side note, would I be better scrimming or reflecting to fill the shadows?

Thanks a lot!
 
ExposedFilm said:
Hello everyone!

Im planning an outside morning scene and I'm trying to build a scrim to tone down the sun on the actors' faces. At first I wanted to make it with light coton but I'm afraid it'll act like a sail and be hard to keep still if there's wind. My alternate idea was to use a mosquito screen. In either way I'll stick it to pvc pipes with either tie-wraps or velcro.

Anybody has any experience with DIY scrims?

PS: On a side note, would I be better scrimming or reflecting to fill the shadows?

Thanks a lot!
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If I were you I'd put the sun behind the actors (off to the side, prolly) and light their faces with a 4X4 oe 4X8 bounce board from the side front so there is some soft modeling of their features. It's a nice look and there are no problems with exposure difference between the faces and background.
 
I've always like the scrim look - you need a suitable fabric (something a little sheer vs. thick), a frame, and some means of supporting the frame. Anything from a couple guys to a pair of matthews hi-hi's.

A playboy shooter named Arnie Freytag used to stretch giant sheets of nylon up with ropes and no frames - that couple be a possibility for the low end.

Also, you can scrim with black net which cuts light intensity but doesn't soften it much; my favorite is to scrim with a white mesh; cuts highlights and opens shadows, but it's subtle - it can still look like actual "hard" daylight, but it's more flattering and easier on your exposure.
 
I've done this recently. I used scrim on the light side of the talent's face and a soft white bounce on the dark side. it worked great!

I used plastic porch screen but I ended up needing 4 layers of it to really tone the bright morning sun down enough. I bought it at the last minute because I didn't know we were going to be shooting in direct sun until the day before.

It might be worth the time and money to just find some real scrim material.
 
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Svart said:
I used plastic porch screen but I ended up needing 4 layers of it to really tone the bright morning sun down enough.
Click to expand...

This is what I was scared of too. I'll see if I can rent any. So far experiments haven't been really conclusive. I might just end up bouncing instead for this project and investigate a better mesh to build a scrim
 
We ended up having to scrim and bounce to balance the ND filters and F stops for the intended depth of field as well as keeping the background exposed well.

Here are some stills from the shoot. I think pics 6 and 11 were scrimmed and bounced to keep hair highlights down and face brightness up:

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=220114
 
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