Pre-prepared window gel frames.

David G. Smith

David G. Smith

Steak Knife Member
Ok, I am kind of thinking out loud here, ya know, spit-balling.

I can't help but think that there has to be a better way to deal with windows, on a protracted shoot with a small crew, then actually applying ND and CTO to each window as you encounter it. What I was thinking about was trying to make up some gel frames, with ND and CTO gel attached prior to the shot that we would be able to rapidly set up outside windows to knock down the light and color correct it for tungsten. Something like this, it seems to me, could be rigged on set by one person in a matter of minutes. Then when you are done, just pull the frames and call it a day (And not have to deal with pulling the gel and transfer tape off of each window).

Now, most standard gel rolls are either 48" or 60" in width and 25' in length so in location scouting we would need to take window measurements and then make frames of the proper size to meet most of our needs for the shoot (and then figure out how to deal with bigger windows; with standard practices probably).

My first thought is to just make some DIY PVC frames that could be placed on the window exterior, with the gel stretched tight on the frame. Thinking about this I figured that dealing with any kind of breeze would be problematic (And noisy in some cases). I also thought that over a protracted shoot, frames made up with just gel stretched tight over them would be hard to handle and keep from ending up "Crinkly", making them unusable. I then started to think about Plexiglass type sheets that I could apply the gel to and use. I found this at the Home Depot website:

http://www.homedepot.com/Building-Materials-Acrylic-Sheets/h_d1/N-5yc1vZbrdg/R-202038067/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&storeId=10051#product_description

48 by 96 inches is a very good size. I just measured the windows in my house and most of the windows could be covered by a 48"X48" frame; except for our front room picture window which could be covered by a 48" X 60" frame. A few of those HD Lexan sheets could be used to make up frames of appropriate sizes to shoot in a lot of places. I know that great care and handling would be needed in the setting up the gels on the Lexan sheets and in their use and storage on a shoot. I just think that this could save a lot of time over a longer shoot, and take a bit of burden off of more experienced members of the crew (Who would normally be relegated to having to do the tedious work of gelling windows which now could be done by the least experienced crew with the frames).

I think that some sheets of the Lexan with just ND gel on it could be also be very useful when shooting daytime car interiors. You could hang the sheets from a mounting system on the roof of the car and shoot out the side windows with the windows rolled down.

My concerns are:

How would you suggest making frames or a mounting system for something like this? The 48" X 96" sheets weigh 23.7 pounds, so a 48" X 48" sheet should weigh just over 11 pounds. That is not that heavy, but it is a consideration.

And.... Am I overlooking any issues with this whole line of thinking?

So, any thoughts or suggestions?
 
Well, not that it should stop you from DYI efforts, but all of that has been done. Check out Roscoe Acrylic Gel for hard panels in 4x8 size. As for frames, we regularly work with CT gel mounted onto 4x4 frames but I rarely use them up against windows, as you really need a very secure fit to avoid reflections and wind ripples.
 
CharlesPapert said:
Well, not that it should stop you from DYI efforts, but all of that has been done. Check out Roscoe Acrylic Gel for hard panels in 4x8 size. As for frames, we regularly work with CT gel mounted onto 4x4 frames but I rarely use them up against windows, as you really need a very secure fit to avoid reflections and wind ripples.
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Yeah, I know that they make acrylic gel panels. The thing is that I used to have a price list for them and remember that they were relatively expensive and now can't find a price list for them at all. I went to the Roscolux website and checked out their products. They do have the acrylic panels ("Hard Gels"), but they do not have CTO and ND combos, that I can find. So I would have to deal with stacking two relatively expensive hard gels to get the effect that I need. I could put CTO gel over an ND hard gel, or ND gel over a CTO hard gel, but I just don't know if this would be less expensive or more effective than what I proposed.

Thanks for your suggestion.
 
Hmm...

I would prefer something more versatile and less cumbersome than frames or relative rigid sheets.
I had good succsess with double nets (actually just two layers of dirt cheap fly screen fabric), especially on cars, as long as you can keep them at least a tad out of focus..

I attached them with neodym magnets or magnet bands.
When you don't have magnetic surfaces, like wooden window frames, I use gaffa tape.

Actually not the perfect solution, but at least it collapses in a lttle pouch for transport and is relative easy to handle.
 
What about sandwiching your gels between two thin sheets of the lexan?
Use the PVC by slitting the pipe and slip over the edges to frame it, clamping it together. The gels are protected. And minimize the worry of wrinkles and wind billowing (to some degree).
 
It would seem that with the time invested in scouting measuring building adhering, you could have your gels on the window in less time. Like Frank, I have also used bobenette on windows which will be out of focus.
 
For my first frames I used small aluminum square tubing, some more aluminum metal and a 15mm rod and had someone weld them together into a frame
 
David W. Jones said:
It would seem that with the time invested in scouting measuring building adhering, you could have your gels on the window in less time. Like Frank, I have also used bobenette on windows which will be out of focus.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that is the mental math I am trying to work around. I am trying to speed up some of the processes. What I was thinking is that, for a long form project, like a feature, that after scouting and during pre-pro make up some of these panels to have around for the shoot. I think that for a smallish crew, pulling a few company moves to several different locations in a shooting day, something like this might save some time.

I am going to get some screen material for sure to have around, that just makes too much sense.
 
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