Student Filmmakers - June 2008 - (Page 7) I created a number of these years ago in response to the requests of those who were not using traditional Star filters because of their ‘man-made’ look. The ‘man-made’ look of the standard patterns is very effective, though, when the need for glitter is apparent. These are used extensively in sports arenas where the lights overhead add excitement when ‘starred.’ Religious programs, as with a speaker in front of an audience in an auditorium, often use them to extend the light into the room, adding an important psychological effect. The star lines created by these filters also take on the color of the source. When there are variously colored sources, these filters have even more impact. Theatrical events and many others can benefit as well – wherever there are strong points of light. Star effects don’t have to come directly from point sources. They are effective with bright points of reflection. This application includes anything sparkly that could use a touch of glamour: jewelry, cars, and other shiny things that reflect bright points of light that would be enhanced by such gleaming touches. It is clear that anywhere there are bright points of light against a relatively dark background, Star filters can have a wonderful effect. There are things to know about their use, though, before you start experimenting. As with any other ‘patterned’ filter, it is possible, with sufficient depth-of-field, to partially focus on the line pattern. This will appear as a waffle-like grid, the pattern on the filter, appearing fuzzily in the image. To avoid this, it is best to use larger iris openings and longer focal lengths, both of which will reduce the ability of the camera to focus on something mounted right on the lens, as will focusing on a subject that is further away from the camera. In our image examples, there are two scenes. The unfiltered ‘Sparkles’ image shows the sun’s many reflective points from the water’s rippled surface as we would see it. The addition of a 4pt 2mm Star filter creates a galaxy of stars from the same scene; ever so much more interesting. Note that most Star filters are mounted to allow you to rotate the filter to best align the star pattern with your scene. In the ‘Water’s Edge’ scenes, we see in the unfiltered image again what we would ourselves see. With the 4pt filter and a lens opening of 16 we can see the result of focusing on the filter’s grid pattern. The lines of light are broken up into disjointed segments, very distracting and not at all desirable. In the last image, using both the 4pt filter as before and a Vector Star filter, one of those asymmetrically patterned filters I mentioned earlier, a clean and commanding star is created by using a lens opening of 4. Star effects are another powerful way to add excitement and glamour to any scene containing bright points of light. Especially if you know how they do what they do. Have fun experimenting! Photos by Ira Tiffen. Water’s Edge No filter Water’s Edge with Star filter combo at f4 Water’s Edge with Star filter at f16 June 2008 studentfilmmakers
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