Please Recommend a Silk/Butterfly system

moe_snodgrass

moe_snodgrass

Well-known member
Thanks in advance. I need help. I searched a few forums but found no recommendations of the mfgrs, just advocating the use.

I'm shooting outdoors in the southwest high desert (Utah) so need something robust. Already have good C-stands but would consider buying more stands as part of a package.

I'm thinking a need both 1- and 2-stop fabrics. Are black nets any help in the desert, like for the background maybe? Opinions?

I'm not too worried about budget; I'd rather just get it right the first time and not mess with it again.

P.S. I'm ususally competent at researching and making a purchase but this one just left me head-scratching and with an evil procrastination.
Best,
Moe
 
Depending on the look you want, you might not have to worry about a dbl net and just go with a good bounce.

Your c-stands should be able to hold a 6x6. If you put a griff on there, you should be cool.

I like to use the sun at full and bounce. I love to show blue sky and the harshness of sun. I use the ND filters to get as close to a 5.6 as possible. Some don't go for this and like to use the dbl net to bring the actors down.

What are you going fo image wise?
 
Matthew B. Moore said:
What are you going fo image wise?
Click to expand...
Thanks Matthew. I'm going for consistency. It's a doc interviewing the "man on the street" or rather, the man or woman in the 105 degree sun of the high desert.

My original intention was to avoid the mid-day sun preferring mornings and evenings but the interviewees are all encountered by serendipity so I have to tape them as I encounter them at any time of day and move on to find other subjects. As it is I'm keeping the sun at the subject's back and I'm seeking shade and then bouncing Roscoflex "s" and "ss" (wrinkled silver) to what I think is best advantage. I've got plenty of NDs and soft grad NDs but ND is not the answer.

I've also tried supplimenting silver bounce by filling with 50w DC camera mounted, corrected, but I still don't like it. I think I need to cut from above. I'm pretty sure I need/want a butterfly/silk package. I'm completely ignorant about the use/advantage of black nets so I'm mostly looking for for product reviews on butterflies/silks product packages plus advise about the use of black nets.

Thanks,
Moe
 
I've shot these desert interviews before

if you pick your time of day and shot angle correctly, all you need is a little bounce. Unless you're more interested in a filmic look and want a nice hot rim on the talent. For docs that's overkill.

I've even shot that type stuff on just a DVX without any equipment and it looked good. It's all about picking the right shots; provided you have the right backdrops
 
I use 6x6 frame from Avenger and 6x6 silk from Matthews when I need to filter out the harshness. For closeups I'll sometimes go to a 3x3 with Light Grid Cloth. As mentioned here already sometimes just bounce will work to cut down the harshness of mid-day sun or a combination of silking and bouncing. I use a 6x6 Grifflector (silver bounce + white griffolyn on the back) for large bounce.
 
I've read over this a couple of times and tried to picture myself there in a couple of different situations.
For the "person-on-the-street" deal, would it be out of budget to have a couple of grips follow you around with a 6x6 silk? You could skin up the silk on the 6x6 frame (maybe have a 1/2 silk tied to someone's belt on stand by) and have the grips be your walking c-stands. The bouce would be smaller and easier to pop in, but the silk look may be more consistant over all. With that Arizona sun, going easy on the eyes of the people being interviewed and a softer glow may serve the interview look better.
I was thinking too "movie" look before.
 
Yeah, a 6x6 might be just too big for a documentary setup. With a 3x3 you might me able to get away with only one guy "hollywooding" the silk. If you plan on mounting your silk on tripods, than by far a 6x6 is much more useful, as an investment. Don't forget to get several extra sandbags, if you're running short on them, because once you set your sail up, it won't want to stay put.
 
goodluck trying mounting that 6x6 with those "tripods"....right.

oh and thank god you told me about sandbags because I wouldnt have thunk it.
 
If what Cory is saying is that you usually needs Junior spud tripods to mount a 6x6, he's right. But there are silks for baby pins, and a lot of adapters. I'd say you better look for Junior tripods, 3-stage prefferebly, so you can position your sail higher in the air. Again, Consider a MINIMUM of 3 sandbags per tripod, and a careful grip standing by. Using rope and pins on the ground to hold it is also a pretty good idea, or if you can't open holes in the ground, you can use ropes to tie the butterfly extremes to extra sandbags.
 
To support a silk frame outdoors, you might want to look into the sturdier matthews stands (highboys?) They're the ones with fat metal-bar legs, and are built like a standard light stand (as opposed to the staggered-leg C-stand).

This may be what earlier posters meant by "tripods"... I've always thought of tripods as camera gear, and those big-ass light stands as "highboys" (that's what my rental shop calls 'em, too).
 
They're also known as Sky-Hi's or Hi Hi's. It's essentially a really sturdy combo stand that booms higher than a standard combo stand will. They're equipped with a Junior receptacle and 4.5" grip head. They come in wheeled and non wheeled configurations often with a Rocky-Mountain leg for leveling on uneven surfaces.

Second the advice on sandbags - carry plenty! If flying a 12x12 it's advised to stake the frame to the ground with rope.
 
Thanks guys. It's only me and one other crew, sometimes just me. Although I'm not happy with the look just searaching out shade and using silver bounce, I'm gonna stick too it cause you all have instructed me that the overhead is going to be too complex. I've gotta keep it simple and after all its just a doc. I'm tucking away all your advice for future reference though.

Thanks again,
Moe
 
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