On Location Diffusion Material..?
 

As I prepare for a shoot, myself, I recall that once when I was interviewed, a video crew had put up a very large sheet of mesh diffusion material in the background to cut down on ambient light. It looked almost like garden shade cloth, but finer, and it essentially disappears with even a little depth-of-field/bokeh. Does anyone know what this material might be called, so I can source some myself?

Perhaps it was duvetyne?

I could have been scrim material. I know Rosco makes some as well as other I'm sure. It's usually sold either by the foot or in a role. You can get it in black both sides or black on one and silver on the other. Generally I think black on both sides is more useful.

Locally in the SF Bay Area you can check it out at JCX Expendables in SF. You can look them up on the web.

It's great to use on windows when doing an interior shot where there's a window in the background. It cuts enough so that you can even see details out the window without underexposing the talent inside.

Hope that's what you're looking for.
-Garrett

Garrett, I think you nailed it: Roscoscrim! (aka Cinegel 3809) Thanks so much for helping to unblock my sad, little brain. Thanks, also, for turning me on to JCX (http://www.jcxex.com)...so great to finally find such a place locally. You rock! :-)

Because it isn't an expendable, we usually use a large double net for this purpose. It will add a bit of a haze, which has the dual purpose of diffusing as well as knocking down exposure in the background.

Perrone, I'm quite sure that you wouldn't want to use duvetyne for this sort of thing, in that it is a solid piece of material...!

Yea Charles, I realized that after I posted it... but Garrett came in with the right info so I just let it go.

Gotcha. I am often reminded that for every post we make, there are dozens (hundreds)? of silent readers absorbing this stuff, so I figured I would pre-empt the "where can I get this duvetyne?" post that might potentially follow.

RoseBrand.com: Theatrical fabrics, stage curtains, backdrops, hardware and accessories may have the same material as well. Gauze is another name for scrim material as well. Just have to figure out the mesh size that works best for you.

Charlas,

When would you use a white double net vs. a black one?

Bill

Never seen a white net, Bill--are you thinking of something else?

Sorry Charles, yes I was, I was thinking of Bobbinette.
Sometimes I use it to drape over a softbox, however I was thinking that the white hung outside a window might be quicker that NDing it.

Thanks for clarification, Bill, although I still can't recall ever seeing white bobinette.

In black form, whether in loose or framed, it's still slightly hazy; a white version would be substantially more so, thus it would have limited application. It's usually much easier to handle a large amount net when it's built into "rag" form like a 12x12 etc. than loose as a hunk of bobinette--that I usually save for small-scale application (like wrapping a bare Kino tube out of the fixture, for instance).

Charles,

Thank you, Rose Brand sells it in both black and white, I'm thinking the white is for stage more than film. I wanted to find out if I was missing out on something. :-)

Bill

Interesting Bill, thanks for that clarification. I've never seen the white on set yet but there's always a first time!