temp. ND a window
 

Temporary is the operative word. I've got to do this like 10-12 times over a 2-3 month period.

What I need to do is take a couple of windows down a couple of stops. But between film dates, the ND has to be off the windows.

Ordinarily the obvious thing to do is the soapy water / squeegee / Rosco #210 ND 0.6 film thing. Spend a few hours cutting the film just right and applying it, then leave it there until end of shoot.

But with a series of one day shoots, half the day would be spend in setup and tear down, not to mention the costs of that much ND film.

So... is there a better/faster/cheaper way to do this?

I do have access to both the inside and outside of the windows.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/595863-REG/Rosco_102302754825_E_Colour_275_Black_Scrim.html
Cut so that it's a little larger than the window. Gaffer tape to the outside of the window frame. Take down when finished with the shoot and reuse next time.

Works great and PA's can put this stuff up in a matter of minutes if you've got easy access to the exterior of the window.

-Garrett

I was thinking to try this with the #210. Never used a scrim like this before -- will I still be able to film the view out the window?

Or black window screen like they use on patios.
If you have access to the outside of the windows.

Bruce, yes, that is the great thing about it. When used on the outside of the window I find it acts just like ND gel. No more blown out daytime exterior shots out the window. On windy days you do have to make sure it's well taped and fairly tight. You're local expendables store should sell it by the yard too so you may not have to by a whole roll, although at under a $100 it's great stuff to just carry with you and have available on all shoots.

The reason I like using the scrim material better than the the 210 is that you don't have to be as precise when putting it up so it's a much quicker setup.

-Garrett

I work with both Rosco Scrim and ND and there are a few things you should know. Sometimes the exterior is too bright for .6 scrim. If this is the case then you shouldn't use two layers of scrim as the hole patterns of the two layers can moire giving you a big problem. ND can be layered so you want both ND and Scrim around. If you can pre-cut the ND well and have someone with experience then you shouldn't spend half the day setting it up the second third and fourth times. Frankly it is going to cost about the same to use either ND or scrim initially. Overtime the scrim might last longer . You do want to get the scrim farther out of focus as the hole pattern does have a different feel than a clear window

Just a question - if the window is too large to cover with a 48" wide scrim (the one I want to cover has a single panel 6' X 9') would you just carefully but the scrim or would this be a job for ND gel.

if its the same job everytime, why not go to Home Despot, buy a thin piece of clear acrylic, cut to fit window, cut ND gel to fit acrylic, secure gel to acrylic panel and simply put it in place when needed.

Only a thought but could you not get a cheap black venetian blind that you can rig up when needed, it would allow you to control the light coming in and add some texture to the window!

Re: temp. ND a window
 

you can get CTO ND.6 and CTO ND.9. CTO cuts by another 2/3's stop

as for a 6'x9' window, sounds like what you really need is a 12X12 with double net, although there may be one seam in there to hide.