Material to block light

[Pete Cofrancesco]

I need a light weight material to block light. Needs to light weight, foldable, inexpensive, and large enough to cover 5'x7' area.

I do interview work, filming the subject in front of a collapsible background. When a room has no shades or lets in light between the blinds that would get on the persons face, I position them so their back is facing the window. The only problem is the light shows through my collapsible muslin background because its so thin. I need cloth to attach to the background to prevent the sun from shinning through.

Would a fabric or hardware store sell something that would work or does B & H offer a product for this purpose? Note since it needs to be portable I can't use anything rigid like a sheet of foam core.

[Christopher Witz]

go to Dazian Fabrics

they have commando cloth and other opaque materials.

[Daniel Epstein]

You need some Duvateen (spelling may vary). A lot of backgrounds are too thin to block direct lights hitting them. The 5x7 size may not exist commercially but you can get a couple of smaller pieces or a larger one to cover your background. Is your collapsible background on a frame or something rigid so you can hang the cloth on the back? The extra weight of the cloth is not much but clamps or spring clamps may cause you a little issue

[Pete Cofrancesco]

That's what I was looking for thx

I hang the collapsible background on a light weight stand. I think it should be able to support the extra weight. I also noticed some ppl use Visqueen (brand of Polyethylene sheeting). Probably not as professional looking but might be lighter in weight.
http://www.plantitearth.com/grow-lig...lackwhite.aspx
http://www.filmtools.com/pa-6ml-black.html

[Charles Papert]

Nothing wrong with Visqueen, we use it on the biggest sets! You can pick up a variation of it at Home Depot etc., very inexpensive. Duvetyne can allow light to bleed through whereas Visqueen will block the light quite effectively.

I'm guessing in instances that you have this issue, you are shooting at 5600K or thereabouts? As that much ambient daylight will likely infect your set.

[Pete Cofrancesco]

Originally Posted by Charles Papert

Nothing wrong with Visqueen, we use it on the biggest sets! You can pick up a variation of it at Home Depot etc., very inexpensive. Duvetyne can allow light to bleed through whereas Visqueen will block the light quite effectively.

I'm guessing in instances that you have this issue, you are shooting at 5600K or thereabouts? As that much ambient daylight will likely infect your set.

I'll stop by Homedepot/Lowe's. I hope they sell it buy the yard because I don't want to be stuck with a 100' roll.

Legal depositions are not ideal shooting conditions. When on the north side or on overcast days I try to keep the shades open because otherwise the available light is often bad. Light from above, faces tend to be dark, and I have to use 3-12db gain. Can't use studio or camera lights on the witness because they won't feel comfortable. At this time of year the sun is very low in the horizon and will creep into the shot in middle of the depo on the witness's face.

I do my white balance but color temperature is not as important as it normally would. After doing day shoots I now fully apreciate how much the quality of light changes both in temperature and intensity.

[Charles Papert]

I had to pick some up for a low budget shoot recently, as I recall I got a 50 ft (or yard) roll for something like $7.

[Pete Cofrancesco]

Originally Posted by Charles Papert

I had to pick some up for a low budget shoot recently, as I recall I got a 50 ft (or yard) roll for something like $7.

I ended doing that today. It was a little more 10'x25' 4mil thick $15. I was tempted to get the 6 mil but that was $26.

[Charles Papert]

You'll be fine with the 4 mil, it will block all of the ambient. It might possibly glow a little with direct sunlight, but you can always double it up.

[Henry Posner]

I'm not sure this will suit the OP's purpose but to cover windows so no light gets into the shooting room at all I've had very good success using mulching film from a Home Depot or garden supply center. it comes in two thicknesses -- get the thicker. It will feel like plastic garbage bag materiel but it cuts easily, it's light weight, it can be stuck up with masking tape, it's cheap, and it works.

[Warren Kawamoto]

I use 45 gallon yard and leaf trash bags from Costco. Easy to tape up anywhere, and when you're done shooting, fill up the bags with trash and throw away. You can also cut them up and spread them out.

[Henry Posner]

Originally Posted by Warren Kawamoto

I use 45 gallon yard and leaf trash bags from Costco.

I tried those before I went with mulching film. They look and feel the same but the trash bags are not entirely opaque and many have an unfortunate green tinge.

[Dana Kupper]

When I used to work on features I believe the key grip used roofing paper for this very purpose.

[Dean Sensui]

I recently used some black weed block that I happened to have in the storage shed. Doubled it up so that it's a little more opaque.

It killed the hard sunlight that would have hit the subject directly. It's not dense enough to black out a room. But it's certainly more than enough to stop direct sunlight.

[Paul Hudson]

There are many options from a 8X8 solid to a T-bone to any inexpensive cloth from your local sewing store. It all depends on budget.

Paul
Lizardlandvideo.com
Phoenix Video Production