Poor Man's ND Window Gels?

A

ASchear

Well-known member
I need to shoot inside to outside for 1 window for a small shoot next weekend. I know my two options are to cut the window or bring up the interior light. I have access to a couple 1K work lights, but have not done the camera tests for it yet and personally would rather cut the window so I can still use small accent lights (such as 100W bulbs in a chinese lantern) inside and see them. I was in a situation using a very slow lens on a 35mm adapter once and had to light the scene with a lot of power, and my back and fill lights barely showed up from said lanterns, they were just overpowered.

I don't have the $100 to spend on a roll of ND gel, that would probably triple this film's budget. Does anyone know of a cheap (and possibly returnable) method of knocking down the window a few stops? I'm shooting on the HMC150, so I'll probably be able to make use of the DRS to help somewhat. I was thinking an actual window screen...thoughts?
 
If anyone's interested, I found a really nice solution to my problem, no thanks to any of you! ;)

I actually found 2 different density poor man ND's. The first is just a simple screen for a window. You can get frameless screens at Home Depot (a 3 foot by 7 foot roll, enough to cover the average window) for about $6. It's not a huge difference, but if you're blowing out and need some kind of definition outside, you can bring the lights up inside just a bit and use this. Your lighting won't be destroyed by lights powerful enough to match the sun outside, and you may be able to get exposure inside without a glowing white abyss of a window.

The second solution is a heavier density called window film. People get this stuff in order to block out the sun from their house and lower their cooling costs by reducing the amount of radiation that passes through the windows. It's kind of like a "sticky" and works partially on static electricity. The material is like vinyl, a lot like window clings. It cut the sunlight outside (in sunny Miami) so that I had exposure both inside and outside with the lights in my kitchen. I was filming on the HMC150. The window film is a 3.5 foot by 6 foot roll, and can be had at Home Depot for $13!!!

One last note that I found cool and wanted to share. I applied both rolls in their entirety to the outside of the windows (I didn't bother to cut it up). The result looked great, and I always have the option to return either of them after the film (though I plan to keep the window film!). Instead of tape, which I had trouble with immediately, I used a rare earth magnet (you can get a set of 20 I think on Amazon with Prime shipping for ~$10) on both sides of the glass. Just one pair of these little guys alone was enough to hold either poor man's ND gel up, but I used one on each corner to hold it down nice and flat.

This is a really inexpensive and intuitive solution (under $15, under $25 if you don't have the magnets, but everyone should) for cutting light coming through a window! I hope it helps someone out someday.
 
How big is your window?

Also, if you were using the daylight coming in from the window to light your subject, remember that when you knock down the window, you'll knock down the incoming intensity... meaning you will need to motivate light artificially, otherwise, you'll properly expose outside and the inside will be too dark, since it was mainly lit by the window.
 
also for cheap you can get these silver/gold mylar cover (usually sold for first emergency ) .
if it is really sunny outside, most of the light will be filtered like with a half mirror.
 
I can't visualize this. What do the magnets attach to? Window frames here in Texas are aluminum, which is not magnetic.
 
For the magnets, what you do is put one on the inside of the window, and the other on the outside. The magnetic field produced by the two of them is strong enough to hold them there and what you're hanging. Just be careful not to let the magnets slam into the glass or it could break! I found that sliding them worked really well. It takes 2 people to do this, one to hold it on the inside and the other on the outside.
 
Ryan Patrick O'Hara said:
How big is your window?

Also, if you were using the daylight coming in from the window to light your subject, remember that when you knock down the window, you'll knock down the incoming intensity... meaning you will need to motivate light artificially, otherwise, you'll properly expose outside and the inside will be too dark, since it was mainly lit by the window.
Click to expand...

My window is a little more than 3 feet wide and maybe 6 feet tall. It might be a little bit bigger than the standard. I am using daylight to light my subject in the scene, but probably not in the shot I'll be using the gel in. The shot with the gel is two people sitting across from each other at a table in front of a window, with a freshly dug grave in the backyard. It's important we see the grave. When we move into closes, the window isn't in the shot so I'll probably take the gel down to get the nice light from outside, maybe use the screen here so it's not as intense (depending on how sunny a day it is). Then I'll fill the opposite side of the face with a daylight balanced CFL bulb or my trusty LED quad lantern, just to eliminate some shadows in the eye area. I plan to have a tungsten source on in the room behind, that will be in the shot, so I can use a tungsten bulb in a chinese lantern (or out of it) for a nice rim on the subject opposite the side of the window.

How's it sounding?
 
Sounds great!! You had a problem, you found a solution and then you shared with us...doesn't get any better!
 
If the window is out of focus, I usually hang a double or two outside, taught. If it's not windy, you usually can't see it. But sounds like you have deep focus so that won't work. Try your idea. Doesn't sound bad.
 
Yes... thank you for sharing with your solution with us. Threads where the original poster says "nevermind, figured it out" and leaves are the worst. Might try this solution myself actually.
 
ASchear said:
If anyone's interested, I found a really nice solution to my problem, no thanks to any of you! ;)
Click to expand...

Snarkiness is undesirable. I always try to remember that the people here have lives, and don't exist merely to answer my questions in a timely manner. But that's just me.

The result looked great, and I always have the option to return either of them after the film (though I plan to keep the window film!).
Click to expand...

If you used it, you should not return it. Bad form.

Congrats on the creative solutions to your problem! And thanks for sharing them.
 
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