hot-spots

S

skankib

Active member
Sorry it always seems like i'm asking questions rather than answering them. Anyway here's another:

I'm shooting a music video in under a month and have been doing loads of tests. The problem is with my skies...they are blowing out quite a bit(over-exposed). I've been shooting using a canon nd filter to try and sort it out and it does work under certain conditions....where it doesnt it's usually fairly cloudy. I've been closing the iris but that tends to darken the foreground too much - I just cant find the balance.

Are there an tips/settings or anything to help me overcome this problem.

Thanks in advance.

:a:
 
Re: hot-spots

[quote author=skankib link=board=Events;num=1089061454;start=0#0 date=07/05/04 at 14:04:14]Sorry it always seems like i'm asking questions rather than answering them. Anyway here's another:

I'm shooting a music video in under a month and have been doing loads of tests. The problem is with my skies...they are blowing out quite a bit(over-exposed). I've been shooting using a canon nd filter to try and sort it out and it does work under certain conditions....where it doesnt it's usually fairly cloudy. I've been closing the iris but that tends to darken the foreground too much - I just cant find the balance.

Are there an tips/settings or anything to help me overcome this problem.

Thanks in advance.

:a:[/quote]

Use a mattebox and put a skylight filter in it. A skylight is a ND or colored light reduction filter which is dark on one half, clear on the other. This is the custom made solution. There are about a dozen other solutions if you want to get fancy (for example, use a reflective overhead to light your subjects allowing you to reduce the contrast ratio between sky and people, then ND your camera lens down to where you want your DOF to sit at.)

The check for this consult is in the mail.
 
Re: hot-spots

You have a couple options:

A) Filters -

A polarizer will help to darken the blues in your sky, if it isn't overcast or too cloudy. The degree to which this will help depends a great deal on your position relative to the sun (90 degrees is the optimum angle), your altitude, time of year and time of day, and the weather conditions. (i.e. clouds) For example, if you are high up in the Rocky Mountains on a bright and clear sunny day, it is possible to nearly turn the skies black. Even so, a polarizer might not be enough to help out.

Graduated filters are excellent to use for this too, which is one part of the filter is clear and the other is a color or ND and the part in between is graduated so there won't be a harsh line visible. If you don't want to alter the color balance, then you would want to use an ND grad. In addition to colors, they come in hard and soft edges, which is the level of graduation between the clear and filtered part. I prefer the softer edges personally as the hard edges are pretty easy to pick out. Grads are best use in the square filters as they can be adjusted up and down according to your horizon.

So if you used an ND1.2 grad and positioned it so it is only covering the sky, the filter would block 4 stops of light from the sky, but the ground would receive normal exposure.

The downside to grads is that sometimes they are noticeable no matter what you do. For instance, shooting in a canyon or where there is no straight horizon, or when someone has to walk through the grad part into the clear part.

B) Lights or Reflected light

You can always add light through some fixtures, although you'll have to use some pretty strong fixtures to compete with a bright sun and they should be balanced closely to daylight. (or you can bring the fixtures closer, but that could be uncomfortable for your talent) Electricity has to pulled in for the lights as well, which can start to be a hell of a set up and a budget depending on how big it goes. Despite the costs though, this may give you the most control of all your options.

Bouncing light from the sun is also another way to do it. Mirrors are the most efficient, but also the most blinding - you can cook your talent pretty quickly, so make sure they wear sunscreen. White boards, shiny board, griffylons, etc. can all help you out, and the bigger they are, the more light they will bounce. These are best used on some grip stands and/or frames, as they will give you more control. They are not as expensive to rent as lights and a generator in general, but some of the bigger frames can be cumbersome to cart around.

Hope this helps.

Garrett
 
Re: hot-spots

Great answers everybody.

Yes. An ND Grad is the best option and when you find yourself needing more light? Then you gotta add light.
 
Re: hot-spots

Thanks for all the info...i guess that means another weekend of tests for me...

Regarding graduated ND filter that you guys have mentioned...can one go the 72mm screw-in sort rather than the more expensive mattebox route?
At the moment I've got the canon multiple screw-in filter kit...polariser/nd/uv (and i'm assuming the graduated ND filter is different to the nd filter in this kit)

:a:
 
Re: hot-spots

With grads you need the mattebox. they are designed to be moved up and down to suite your needs(the horizon changes shot to shot). If it were a screw on, the filter would dictate your frame.
Keep in mind there are soft grads, and hard grads. The soft ones are a blended ND, vs a harsh edge.
 
Re: hot-spots

If yr skies are really saturated whites, just use lumakey in post and key-in whatever sky you want (e.g. a shot of the actual sky with correct exposure)
 
Re: hot-spots

[quote author=andre link=board=Events;num=1089061454;start=0#7 date=07/06/04 at 14:01:48]If yr skies are really saturated whites, just use lumakey in post and key-in whatever sky you want  (e.g. a shot of the actual sky with correct exposure)[/quote]

In this case, you may actually increase the contrast ratio between talent and sky to get a good effect. Remember, the whole issue is contrast ratio.
 
Re: hot-spots

Hmm, I wonder how well that would work? Overexposure always looks like it "bleeds"... but if that works, it could make for some interesting shots. Have to try it...
 
Re: hot-spots

[quote author=Barry_Green link=board=Events;num=1089061454;start=0#9 date=07/06/04 at 16:30:21]Hmm, I wonder how well that would work?  Overexposure always looks like it "bleeds"... but if that works, it could make for some interesting shots.  Have to try it...[/quote]

Over exposure results in lower black gammas and a reduced midtone contrast. The trick is to get the contrast ration between sky and person under control. You can do that by throwing light on the person, or blocking light from the sky.

I use a 20x20 overhead with griffolyn to do this sometimes, raising the light level on the talent and thus getting closer to the level of the sky. Then you can over run and see if you can use the light as an optical effect. There are literally a hundred neat things you can do, depending on what you are trying to accomplish.
 
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