Specific Filter Recommendations

[digitalinnovations]

I have a shoot coming up later in the week and I am interested in trying out some on lens filters for the shoot. Here is the setup: we will be shooting outdoors, after dark. It is possible that will be some slight ambient lighting from a parking lot. There will be some pretty extensive lighting on this one. I have approx. 6000 watts in my "arsenal". They are a mix of 500/750 Omni lights, some pars, fresnel, etc.

I have not used on lens filters before (besides the protective, clear one I have threaded onto my lens currently) so I am pretty unfamiliar with what is available and what they are capable of. I was looking for some that could potentially help with a. flare and b. something that would punch up the color and really make it "pop" some some colored and neon signs in background.

It is very possible I could be WAY off base with what I am looking to achieve, but I am always looking to learn new areas and filters would be one for me. I appreciate any help you might be able to give. Thanks in advance!

 

[VenezuelanD]

For what you seem to be looking for something to help with flare and something to help colors pop I would recommend the following:

First of all in any night time scene with video I recommend Low Contrast filters, a Low Con #3 or thereabouts. It does not sound like you will have alot of large lights, so your lighting is going to be fairly high contrast. (this is simply a guess, it all depends on the scope of the scene, the area, ect, ect ,ect, but I consider a kit with anything less than a 1200hmi for a night shoot to be bare bones)
The low con filter can help you capture a little bit of extra detail in the shadow and highlight area and allow you more wiggle room in post.

For helping keep flares and lens hits look less like video I would recommend a 1/8 black pro mist filter. Personally I love the look of the black pro mist, it really helps soften up the video look and can help hide CCD smear if lights are going to be visible in a scene.

As far as punching up the colors, you could try a coral filter or an 812 warming filter, but I don't really like using those at night time. I think you will find that the neon signs will pop enough on their own and that night time scenes tend to be contrasty enough as is. Before using a filter to pop out the color I would play with the chroma and color temperature settings in your scene file.

(edit) I would also light to add that one aspect of nighttime lighting people often overlook is creating depth. Throwing a light against a treelight 300ft away from the actor can create that depth and really sell your scene. One mistake I often made when shooting night scenes was not paying enough attention to lighting the background.

Remember that different gammas will dramatically change the look of the camera and that using a calibrated monitor is a must to know what kind of color, focus, and shadow detail you really are getting into the p2 card. Never trust the on board LCD.

Try going to a local camera house and bringing your camera, any rental house worth its salt will have someone talk to you about the different filters and if they are not busy (don't try this on a monday or a friday these are the busiest days for rental houses) they will most likely bring out all their filters so you can put them on and see the difference. If you call ahead of time you should be able to set up a color chip chart and a focus chart in a controlled environment and shoot with all the filters so you can then go home and look over the results.

And remember, filmmaking is a subjective medium, no matter what we all may recommend on these boards, ultimately it is your vision that will be screened to audiences and therefore do not be afraid to go with what looks right to you, even if it is contrary to what others may advise.

Good luck with your shoot