What are the effects of gels on black and white 16mm film?
- Thread starter leaftors
- Start date
Depends on the gel. But you'll be creating differing shades of grey.
You can do things like, say, shining blue light on red lipstick to make it look very black, but that can certainly be achieved in other ways, too.
You can do things like, say, shining blue light on red lipstick to make it look very black, but that can certainly be achieved in other ways, too.
j
Veteran
For the most part, it'll be like ND gels, but if you are using a very colorful gel on a colorful subject, it'll make that subject disappear or pop out.
For instance, if you use a red gel and your talent is standing in front of a blue wall, your talent will appear brighter but the wall will appear darker.
http://www.schneiderkreuznach.com/tipps/sw_fotografie_e.htm
For instance, if you use a red gel and your talent is standing in front of a blue wall, your talent will appear brighter but the wall will appear darker.
http://www.schneiderkreuznach.com/tipps/sw_fotografie_e.htm
j1clark@ucsd.edu
Veteran
Panchromatic films have varying 'color' response. Hence 'warming' or 'cooling' the color of the light will have different effects on the B&W material, and you will have to 'interpret' the results.
Since I've not used 'gel on light's but used various B&W filters on the lens, I give the example of using a yellow or red filter, to decrease the 'blue' in an image, which renders outdoor shadows
a deeper grey tone, and increases the image contrast.
In a studio, a 'blue' set element would have a deeper grey, with a yellow gel, at least that's what I'd predict... but I'd actually question the use of a gel on a light for B&W... The usual method in
B&W photography is to verify the scene contrast by using a Wratten 90 'amber' filter, and the 'monochrome' values that are seen through the filter have a high correlation to the B&W film's response
to the 'colors' and values in the scene. If two colors look almost the same using the Wratten 90 filter, then you'd be better to find a value/color which do have B&W contrast. Rather than some filtering of the light.
In the movie "Hollywoodland"(2006) there's a joke about the Superman costume the George Reeves character is wearing, it is not 'blue and red' but shades of grey, selected to render better since
most TV productions were shot in B&W.
Joe Calabrese
Well-known member
When shooting B&W film, using the a color gel or filter on the lens will make that color stand out. Use a red filter on the lens, and reds will appear brighter and other colors will appear darker.
I too am shooting 16mm Double X this weekend, and plan on using a 1/4 CTO on my characters and putting a 1/4 CTO in front of the lens (watching out for flaring because I'm too cheap to by a real lens filter). Also, my shots are mixing color temperatures, having windows to the outside, so I am also using this technique to bring down the windows a little without using ND gels on the windows or cranking up the lights.
I too am shooting 16mm Double X this weekend, and plan on using a 1/4 CTO on my characters and putting a 1/4 CTO in front of the lens (watching out for flaring because I'm too cheap to by a real lens filter). Also, my shots are mixing color temperatures, having windows to the outside, so I am also using this technique to bring down the windows a little without using ND gels on the windows or cranking up the lights.
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