This was the next exercise in the Advanced Cinematography class on camera filters.
I found the ND filters to be very useful, especially the gradient ND filter. I was not sure why the polarizer was not working when we used it the day of the exercise but later was informed that the sunglasses we tried to polarize were already polarized, which is why the polarize did not work as well. I am not sure if that is the reason or if we did not get the right angle of rotation with the filter – whatever the reason the filter did not work effectively in our exercise.
Another one that did not seem to work well was the four point start filter, again I have no idea what we did wrong but we could actually see the filter over the lens.
The soft FX filter worked well and I would readily use it again if I were trying to shot a romantic scene or to cut down on the harsher features on an actors face due to the age of their skin. I also liked the Pro Mist filters as they could be used to create a haze over a shot to add atmosphere in camera on a horror or suspense film. I am not sure of the full application of the later but I am inclined to think that using such a filter in low light could aid in distorting shadows to play with the audience half seeing movement in darker areas of the composition.
Well, those are my thoughts for the week – please, feel free to leave me your thoughts.
Russell