Warming Filters?

[Mark K.]

Hi Guys,

I'm looking to expand my filtration options so I have a little more to play with image-wise. As much as I like the cool, contrasty look I get from my Zeiss CP.2s I'd like to try and wrangle some different looks out of them so I was thinking of shooting with some Warm Black Promist filters (1/8 and 1/4).

Is anyone familiar with the Warm BPMs? I know and love my regular BPMs, so I'm familiar with the diffusion characteristics of them, but I'd love to get people's opinions on what the warming element does to them.

Other options are tobacco and antique suede, and I'd love to hear people's thoughts on them as well.

Cheers,

Mark

 

[Nick Morrison]

Hi Guys,

I'm looking to expand my filtration options so I have a little more to play with image-wise. As much as I like the cool, contrasty look I get from my Zeiss CP.2s I'd like to try and wrangle some different looks out of them so I was thinking of shooting with some Warm Black Promist filters (1/8 and 1/4).

Is anyone familiar with the Warm BPMs? I know and love my regular BPMs, so I'm familiar with the diffusion characteristics of them, but I'd love to get people's opinions on what the warming element does to them.

Other options are tobacco and antique suede, and I'd love to hear people's thoughts on them as well.

Cheers,

Mark

Note sure about Warm Black Pro Mist, but Warm Pro Mist (ie no black), Bronze Glimmerglass, and Warm Soft FX were all used on the movie 42. Take a look:

 

[Matthew Scott]

42 looks fricken amazing....one of my favorite films shot on RED, that and Flight.

 

[Nick Morrison]

42 looks fricken amazing....one of my favorite films shot on RED, that and Flight.

Yeah those filters look sick. Bought them all in 77mm. Can't wait to try them on the right project.

 

[Matthew Scott]

Awesome! Can't wait to see your results Nick

 

[David Mullen ASC]

Considering the warming element in a Warm ProMist and whatnot is an 812 filter, which is pretty pale, you can easily add that sort of warmth by adjusting the color temperature of the camera, so I don't see the need for pale warming filters in digital, especially not a separate one. I'd make two exceptions: one would be the warm versions of diffusion filters that use warm specks or dots, not overall warmth, like a Bronze GlimmerGlass or Gold Diffusion-FX, where the black specks are replaced by gold ones, that may have a subtle effect on the shadows versus the highlights, though probably again you could just get the same warmth more or less by changing the color temp in camera… the second exception would be a heavy warming effect like from a Chocolate or Sepia, where you really are trying to cancel a lot of other wavelengths.

But for your typical extra warmth like from an 812 or 1/8 Coral, etc. it is too easy to just set your camera at 3700K instead of 3200K in tungsten light, or 7000K instead of 5600K outdoors. Plus most digital cameras get a cleaner blue channel the more your raise the color temp setting rather than add warming filters and shoot at lower color temp settings (for example, the blue channel would be cleaner by switching from 3200K to 3700K to get warmth rather than leaving it as 3200K and putting a 1/4 Coral on the camera.) Certainly there is no reason to put an extra piece of glass in front of the lens just to add warmth.

 

[Nick Morrison]

the second exception would be a heavy warming effect like from a Chocolate or Sepia, where you really are trying to cancel a lot of other wavelengths.

David, I understood everything except this...so does this mean a heavier warming filter like Chocolate or Sepia is so dramatic it does start to "bake in" if you will, evenly digitally, and by canceling some wavelengths also pumps up other wavelengths to give you a stronger "warmer" look overall?

I'm just fascinated/intrigued by this idea of canceling some wavelengths...and pumping up others....strategically

 

[David Mullen ASC]

Obviously in color correction, you can desaturate or play with the levels of separate color channels to get a sepia effect so I wouldn't say that the heavy Chocolates and whatnot are necessary for that look, but it certainly is a shortcut and looks slightly different than simply raising the color temp in the camera, the image is not just warmer but slightly desaturated. Plus outdoors you may want a very heavy effect that may be beyond setting the camera to 10000K.

But in general, "brown" is mostly just orange minus saturation, so again, I'm more likely to just do the effect by raising the color temp and pulling down the chroma in camera, if possible, and then doing the same in post.

I try to reduce the number of filters in front of the camera, so if I need warmth outdoors beyond raising the color temp to 10000K, what I sometimes do is use 85ND combo filters, since I have to use an ND anyways outdoors. Then I can set the color temp of the camera in the 4000K range and end up with a heavier warmth because of the 85. But I've only done this once for a warm flashback sequence actually.

All color filters work by canceling some wavelengths, that's why they are called "filters", they can only subtract, they cannot add a color. Warming filters work by canceling the bluer wavelengths. It's just that a heavy brown filter is such a special mix of color dyes that if you want that chocolate effect, it may be simpler to just use the filter than figure out the combination of color and chroma levels to offset the camera by.

 

[Mark K.]

Appreciate the thoughts and suggestions guys, I'm trying to capture as much of my final look in-camera as I can these days (to help the original visual intent survive the post process). Personally I wasn't all that keen on the look of '42', I loved the film itself, but visually I found the 'period' look a bit too on-the-nose for my tastes, I felt the look drew a bit too much attention to itself so I'm trying to find filter combos that will play a bit more subtly than that.