hi

lets say im goin for a film-look

which level or step of black pro mist should i get?

NOT the fraction scale. like

and should i go for black pro mist or warm black pro mist? levels 1 2 or 3? (film look, not a washed out foggy wedding dreamy look. solid training day look kinda... ) i know it wont push the look right away, but which is a beneficial step upwards -- which filter?

-arthur

Hi, Arthur

I've used Black Pro-Mist ½ and 1 with an XL1s (4 x 4 in a matt box).

I found the #1 to be quite powerful, so the higher values might be a bit too "pretty-pretty" for everyday use. The #1 is probably popular with the ladies as it gives a quite pleasing diffusion without affecting the feeling of sharpness. As you can guess from that last sentence, the results are highly subjective. :)

You're probably going to have to do some tests on the various grades, and the Blacks vs Warm Blacks, before you shoot anything for real. Maybe you can hire a set for a day?

They do give an impression of filling some of the inky blackness in the shadows, thus hinting at the increased dynamic range of film over video. So they do impart a "film look" in that sense, as opposed to artificially-introduced "flicker".

A warning: with one of these on the front, if you're shooting in bright sunlight, and using the wide end of the zoom range, the depth of field may become so deep that the pattern of the filter comes into focus and gives you unpleasant and unwanted mottling in bright (sky) areas. Typically you won't see this in the viewfinder at the time of shooting, so you need to use a monitor.

Hope this helps

Al

Might search for a plug-in for your editor that will do the same thing. Then you retain your choices which are pitched out when you use the filter. Unless you white balance with the filter off, a warm filter will do you no good because the camera will compensate for the warming value.

http://www.lafcpug.org/curseofdigital_feature.html

- don

Another great article on "film look" is:

http://noisybrain.com/onloc1_01.html

By Don himself, in parts.. Speaking of which, what happened to the film? The stills look beautiful but I can't seem to find the full thing anywhere?

kieran