Matte Box Magic

We all know the challenge, the producer with a low budget wants a 35mm film look. It's all part of what makes our work interesting, right? As our clients become more sophisticated, so too must camera people adapt to the many different styles and looks requested of them. Just look at what we carry around with us on a regular basis. Some of the standard equipment in today's news and EFP arenas were seldom seen away from a film set only ten years ago.

Also widely used are lens shades, routinely supplied by lens manufacturers to the professional. The shades are easily attached, mobile, and block out most natural (high) light sources.

The matte box is more effective than a simple shade because it combines a shade with adjustable french flags on top as well as adjustable flags on the sides.
Besides blocking unwanted light from the surface of a lens, the matte box allows the placement of filters in front of the lens to achieve the look a producer desires.
Perhaps then, the matte box and a collection of filters are the most important devices for image control today.

Without Mattebox	With Mattebox
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Matte boxes get their name from the mattes used as inserts at the outside end of a boxed lens shade. The matte inserts are used in combination with french flags to keep direct light out of the lens, eliminating or drastically reducing flare.
Slots are added in the body of the matte box allowing the insertion of filters. Modern matte boxes have rotatable filter holders which allow the filters to be positioned in the unit.
Mounting a traditional matte box on a lens is accomplished with the use of a base plate and rails. A marked improvement to hand held shooting has been the invention of the clip-on matte box.
Without the disadvantage of a weighty base plate and rails, a clipon matte box can be mounted in seconds and quickly fitted with one or two rotatable filters. A locking adapter ring (rings are available for different size lenses) attaches the matte box to the front of an internal focus lens.
Because of the clip-on mattebox, I've practically given up lens shades; it has become an indispensable part of my equipment package. On most television documentary, sports, and news shoots there is little time to tinker with internal camera adjustments. But the versatility of filters remains the best and easiest way to control images. Filters, combined with a clipon matte box such as the Vocas MB-3 series, offer the great flexibility needed on ENG/EFP shoots.

If you have a matte box and a color-correct monitor, you can greatly enhance and control images with your filter selection. For example, one regular shooter for a network magazine uses a mild Schneider frost or Tiffen Pro-Mist filter all of the time on those shoots to soften the harsh video look.

I personally divide my filter collection into three categories: "quick fixes", "combinations", and the more complex "single filters".

"Quick fix" filters have characteristics that are immediately apparent upon insertion into my matte box. Some of these filters are the Polarizer, the Neutral Density, and the Diffusion filters.
By using a polarizer and rotating it as necessary, reflections are absorbed and outdoor color saturation is enhanced. Washed-out blue skies can be darkened, unwanted reflections from glass and water can be eliminated.

No Polarizer	Polarizer filter
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A Neutral Density filter can be used to soften backgrounds and reduce the depth of field by opening the aperture one, two, or three stops.
Another group of "quick fix" filters are the diffusion or soft filters. The filters Classic Soft, Frost, Black frost, White frost, Pro-Mist, Black Pro-Mist, Soft Net, Soft/FX, Low-con are available in a range of effect densities.
but be careful! There is no mathematical relationship between the filter numbers and strength of the filters themselves. The Frost and Pro-Mist series creates dreamlike, soft focus effects which alter the image by removing harsh edges, introducing a small amount of flare, and mildly reducing contrast.
The Classic Soft or Soft Net series affects the degree of halation (blurring of highlights), increases a "misty" look, adds soft diffusion and enhancement. These filters are used in portrait shots to tone down wrinkles and blemishes, yet they leave the sharper details of the subject's face intact.

No filter	Classic Soft filter	Blackfrost filter
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Two or three filter slots on most matte boxes make it possible to create the many other effects I refer to as "combinations". Since you are mixing different filters and densities, the effects can take a little more time to create. My favorite combinations are one of the diffusion filters or the Polarizer with the unique Enhancing filter. This enhancing filter increases the intensity of color saturation in some brown, orange, and reddish objects. With the Enhancer in combination with the Polarizer, virtually everything in the frame is intensified. Just imagine fresh strawberries dropping into a bowl jumping off of the screen and, well, you have the effect.

No filter	Enhancing filter
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My third category, "single filters", is made up of those individual filters that require a bit more time and adjustment to obtain the effects you want. Fog filters create or enhance the effect of a natural fog. They make street lights flare and cause mist to appear when none exists, so you need to be careful not to overdo it. Double Fog filters combine fog with a heavy low contrast effect. The difference between the Fog and Double Fog is that with the double, there's fog in every shot but, ironically, detail is clearer.

Sometimes, it is necessary to balance light intensity in one part of a scene with a different intensity in another part of the same scene. For example, exposing for the foreground may leave the sky in the background washed out and overexposed. Graduated filters, as the name implies, are single filters that are part clear, part color and work to balance out such exposure conflicts. Using a Neutral Density Grad in various strengths can selectively tone down brighter areas for a more evenly exposed scene. Grads come in hard and soft-edged versions. The use of soft-edge grads is more prevalent in video as they readily blend into a scene. Other color grads can intensify sunsets and produce bluer skies; there are also some exotic colors available like tangerine, cranberry, and tobacco. Don't forget that all of these "single filters" can be combined with each other or with different filters to make some of your own favorite "combinations". The possibilities are only as endless as your imagination!

No filter	Twilight Sunset filter
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As your photographic style is developed and your experience grows, so must your filter collection. Hollywood DPs have their own favorite filters and there is no reason that camera operators shouldn't too. The only rule of thumb is to remember that what works for another operator may not work for you. If you are just starting a collection, I would recommend the following: a Polarizer, a couple of Frost or Pro-Mists in different strengths, a number 2 Coral, a Blue Color Grad (or two!), a Soft/FX or Classic soft, a Sunset or Sky Fire Grad, and perhaps a number 1 Chocolate filter.

A matte box is a powerful tool for capturing the images you want. Whichever filters you choose to go along with your matte box, have fun and be ready to create "film style" video without raising your eyebrows. And remember: be careful out there and always keep your diffusers closest to the lens!

For more information about filters and matte boxes:
www.schneideroptics.com
www.tiffen.com
www.vocas.com

© Mark Allan, Essanay Film and Television.