Open-Ended Scrims?

HybridCreations

HybridCreations

Well-known member
Has anybody created (or tried to create) they're own scrims like these?

filmandvideolighting_1889_34446045

http://www.filmandvideolighting.com/18doscbl.html

I'm thinking they would be relatively easy to make, and would be much cheaper than going with Matthews brand. I'm looking for something to shade my lights gradually for faces and whatnot. Couple questions...

1)Do you think these would be effective with Open Faced Lights (barndoored or blackwrapped to prevent spill)? Or just fresnels?

2)What material would be good for the screen itself. Steel? Bug Screen? Etc.? Would these get too hot? Also, what kind of material to attach the screen to the frame?

3)Do you think you could slide a black pillowcase-like material over it, and have it double as a flag? Or even a white diffusion material? Obviously, these would have to be high-temp fabric of some sort.

Please let me know what you DIY guys think. I've been reading "Painting With Light" by John Alton, and he's gotten me thinking about lighting faces for the famous "Hollywood Close-up". It seems to me like open-ended scrims like these go a long way in controlling the light, they're just too damn expensive to buy a bunch.
-Ryan
 
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I'd go with steel screen just to be save. Pop rivets holding together the folded edges might be a good way to keep it held together. Not sure about flag material -- you might want to try inexpensive sheets of galvanized sheet steel.
 
I think that the Flag material is called Duvytene, it is like duck cloth but it is flame retardant.

The Diffusion material is called Halo Silk, again flame retardant.

The scrim material is a bit of a mystery to me as I don't own any of these. I think that avenger uses a Bobbinette fabric and you just displace to overlay to make a 'more dense' scrim (ie single, double, triple).

The frames would have to be bent and welded because you have to have that little L piece in there to prevent the scrim from picking up the vibrations of the c-stand.

I was pricing out a DIY soloution and the cheapest I could build these for was like 25$ in materials alone. My Labor would push the cost out to about 35-40 a peice for an 18 by 24 scrim/flag.

I found them here for much less than that...

www.Kayelights.com

Go to the 'Store' link and scroll way down unitl you see the Flag Bag and flags set.

I will try to find the link to the fabrics that I was going to buy and post later. Do a yahoo search for Duvytene and you should stumble across it.
 
Wow, are they really that cheap? $35 for a set? Thanks for the link Naanan, have you bought a set or individuals from them? Quality? Screw makin' em if they're really that cheap.
 
yeah, they are 156 a set, but that is like 40 a piece. I can't make them for that unless I have absolutely nothing better to do.

I haven't seen or used the Kayelights scrims so I don't know how good they are, I can guarantee that they are better than the ones I was going to make though.
 
what the hell was I looking at?:) ooops, well that's still pretty cheap. Ahhh, I clicked the itemized pricing link on the rental page. Thanks guys.
-Ryan
 
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