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14.2
Nonelectronic Effects
and How to Use Them
Will you now need expensive, hi gh end switchers and
computers ",jlh unique software programs 10 the
dazzlingdigit alvideoeffectsdiscussedinsection14.1 ?NO!
at all .You will besurprised to find that even a moderate
tksktop sy.o; tel11 can creat e many knock-\hcir- socks-off
effects. And you call save a great dealoftime and effort
by staring with some ofthe tried-and-1m\: optical and
efttsperfected infil mmakinganddur ingthe
predigi lal sta!!:es oftelevisi on production.
Opticaleffectsincl udetheuseofscenicdevicesplaced
in frOnlofthecam('raorattachment slO Ihelensthaima-
nipuhlle the image. Theillusion ofsnow, rain, orsmoke
canoftenbeproduced more readilybymlXhanic,,1 rat her
thanbydigit almea ns. Before usingsuch effects, hO'''evcr,
ask whethertheyare reall y necessa ry. Ifth..answerisyes,
try t hl' lll out before t he production to ensure that they
are reliable.Therearetwootherfactors toconsiderbefore
seui nglip opticalormochanicaleffects.
The firs t isthe relative mobilit yof tel evision equip-
ment. Rather than bri nging a fog m<l chine
into Ihe studio to simulat e fog, simply take the camera
outside on d foggy day or use a lens filter that simulates
fog.When using I-f(i mernalfocus) lenseson ENG/ EFP
cameras, you ca n atlach allY type of filter 10 the fro nt 01
Ihe lensand keep it from rOlaling even when YOll foclls.
Thesecond faC lor the enormOllS communicative
power of television audi o. In maoy instances you call
curlail oreli minate a vari et yofvideoeffectsbycombin-
inggood sound effects wi th a si mple video presenultion.
Thesound of pouringrai n, for example, combi ned with
aclose-upofadripping.wNactor maywell precl ude the
useofarai n machine.Ontelevision,reactionisoftmmore
telling t han acti on. For exa mple, to suggest a car crash,
yOIl can simply show a d ose-up of a shocked onlooker
combini:d with the famili arcrashi ngsounds,making the
scene certainl y more economi cal and safer than having
stuntdriverswrecknew cars.
Thi ssection takes abrieflookal someofthe optical
and mechanical effects that are still in use because they
have proven to be effective,reliable,and easy\ 0 do.
.... OPTICAL EFFE(1S
relevij.j()n gobo$, reneClionJ, 5/ar filler. di ffuJIOfI flllef5, and defOCU5
.... MECHANICAL EFFECTS
Rain, JrIOW.fog. wirKt fr, e. ond lighlnill<}
OPTICAL EfFEm
There are five maj or opt icaleffects:(I ) television gobos,
(2) refl ections, (3) star fili er, (4) diffusion filters, and
( 5) defocus.
TELEVISION GOaDS
In tel evision and film producti on, the term go/Jo enjoys
grea t pOpUIMity. Unfortun:lIe1y, Ihis popularit ye."tends
to the number ofdefiniti ons. In film producti on gobo i$
oft en used fo mea n Jlng, which,us you recall, refe rs to a
smallsolidorsemitransparent shield usedtoblockt.he li ght
from hittingcert ai n areas. In li ghting terminology it can
stand forcuc% ri.or cookie, thesmall metalcutout thatis
inst!r ted int o an ell ipsoidalspotlight to produce shadow
pauerns. Invideoproductionagobo isd CUtoutoranobject
thatactsas<In actualforegroundframeforbackgroundac-
lioll.Tradit iona lgobosconsist ofsuchforegroundpieces
as picture ((..mes, prisonbars,oroversized keyholes. For
example, you maywant to introduce a fas hion model by
looldngatherfirstthroughapictureframe, thendoll ying
in \0il closershotwhilelosingthepictureframe. A simple
cardboardcut out cansimulatethepopularkeyholegoOO.
Thecamer"candoll )' in to itand thenlook through it to
observe the goings on in the magic toy kingdom. Afew
simplebarsatt ached to mitstandswill lockthe prisoner
firml yin hi sceU. SEE 14..)5
Theadvant ageofusingagoboinsteadofanelectronic
keyisthat you can dolly in to the gobo,or (lfC past it, to
gradual ly reveal Ihe total background eve nt. To create a
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338 Chapter 14
VISUAL EFFECTS
14.35 TElEVISION GOBO
Thi s televisi on goOO places
the ilctor behino bars.
,

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GR;J

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,
Cal'lll'ra
similar dreer through DVE would require complic<lt ed
pre or post production work.
REFLECTIONS
You ca n achi eve startling effeclS by reflccting a 5C"o<-ne off
mirrors, si lver pol yester sheets, or wa ter. You <He no doubt
famit i", wit h the well -known (and well-worn) over-the- -
shoulder shot of a person looking into a mirror and then
seeing someone approachi ng from behind. (Be careful thilt
this "sonH'onc
Q
isn' t the C,1I1Wra!)
Bounc ing SOIlll: light s off" mirror mosaic can pro-
duce ini cresTing (' freel s, and shooting into it wi ll make
the reficcud scene look startlingly cubist. To make such J
mirror mosajc, glue 5everolllarge pieces of a broken mirror
onto plywood or Masonite. If you are superstiti ous, see
if your contains such an effect before breaking
a mirro r.
Sh;:{'ts of highly reOec ting pol yester, such as silver
Myla r, serve as a Oexi ble mirro r. For example, you can
have dancers move in fra n! or suspended pa nels (such as
IO-by-4-foot Mylar sheets) and t hen point the camera at
the reflections. By allowing the Myla r sheets to move (by
the air movement from the studio air-conditioniJlgsyst em
or a slow-moving fan), you will create a great va riel Y of
random eff,,ts.
You can achieve a slIuilar effect by pointing Ihe camera
at a tub filled with \ .... at er and then causing the water to
rippl e. For good rcflections the inside or lll\:' tub should be
,
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,
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pa inted black. If you need more wllIrol over the reflect ions,
of COll rse, need to use DVE.
Whenever you IVant to achieve good refl ections, l"lK'
li ght tHust be on the event Ihal is to be refl eCi ed and not
on the reflect or itself. For exampl e, if $omebody looks too
dark \"hen seen in a mirror or water tub ShOI, put
li ghl on the person, not on the mirror or water.
STAR FILTER
One of the most cOlllmon filter effect s is (r('ared with the
star filler, a lens attachment Ihal changes high-intensi ty
light sources or reflections into four or six starlike beams.
This eff('el is ofte-n.used toj Jlknsify the- strel' l lamps on a
rainy ni ghl >the beams of car headlights. or the colored
li ghts illumi na ting a singer or musical group. The studio
lights as caught by the wldeangle camera. and even the
glitter on the performer's clothes as seen by the
ca mera. are all transformed into prominent starlike. rays
on tel evision sc reen. You ca n also ust" ,\ slar filter to
hei ght en the emot iona l Impact of a candleli )!;ht proces-
sion, a church service, or an establishi ng shot of a night
scene. SlE 1 36
OIF'FUSION FILTERS
Diffusion filters give an entire scene a soft , sl igh tly Olll -
of-focus look. Some diffusion tilters soften only the edges
of a pictu re and lc:wc the cenler dear and
soften t he whole scenc. You ,,;an use diffusion fil ters \0 em-

Section 14 . 2

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Nonelectronic Effect s and How to Use Them 339

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,4.36 STAR filTER mEa
The filter ch<lnge$blightlightsoulcesimosI3rlike
Ilghl beami.
plwsizetheg!:!ntie orro ma nticnatureofasceneorevento
a performer'sface. SlE14.)7 Parado)j<ally, HDTV
has rekindled the useofdiffusion filters. In the- quest for
makingelectroniccinemalooklikefi lm, DPs(directorsof
photography) h.wt'been tryingout a varietyofdiffusion
tilters to softell theharsh,slLperdefinition ofHOTV.
Try experiment ingwithva rioustilt ermedia that you
canstretchoverthelens,suchasplastic\vrap,gauze, orny-
lonstockings.You mayfind Ihal fillerslookmuch
moreartificial thanyourslOcki llg-over- the-le!1s method.
Afog fi lter, a specific type ofdiffusion Iil ter. crea les
tne illusion offog. Ifyoudon'tnavesuch afil ter.youcan
achieve a simi lar effect by very li ghtly greasingtheedges
ofa pieceofglass withaInin layerofpetrol eumjellyand
tapingitoverthelens.Ifyougreaseonl ytheedges. leaving
dd earareain themiddle,yo ugetasofteningoft he edges,
",iththecenterremaininginsharpfocus. DQ1101grease /I/(,
lens directly! Thegrease,oritssubsequelH removal, could
permanently damage an expensive zoom lens. Whatever
filterdevi ceyouuse,keepitawayfromthelensglass----cven
asl11 <1l1 scratch will putalensoutofservice.
DEFOCUS
The defocus effeCIis one ofthe simplt'si yet mOst highly
effectiveopticaleffects.Thecameriloperatorsimpl)'zooms
in,racksOlll offocus, and,oncue,ba;;k inlO fm' usagain.
This effect is used asa transitional devi ce orto indi cate
strong psychol ogical disturbances or physiological im
bal:lIlce.A popu];u rack focus applicarion is to start out
offocus on a S(-rics oflights.such as burningcandlesor
reflecting wa tudrops,and then rack int o foc us to re\'eal
theactuallightsourceinthesee-ne.
Foratransitionyoucould rackoutoffocusonad ose
upofayounggi rl seated at,I table, cha nge actorsqui ckl y,
,l nd then rackbackintofocusonanold woma nsilt ingin
the5.1me chair. BecausecompleteddoCtisingconcealsthe
imagealmostascompletel yasgoingtoblack,itispossi ble
tochange the field ofview or the objects in front of the
C;lIller1t whileonthe air.
MECHANICAL EFFECTS
Mechanicaleffec tsafe neededmnstlyinthepresent at ionof
televi si onplays. Al t ho ughsmallcommercialstationsmay
havelillIeopporlunitytododrama,coll egesanduniversi-
aremorefrequentl ), i.nvolvedin theproductionof plays.
Youmayalsufind thatnonbfoadcasttelevisionproductions
(allforsucheffects.Forexample,d-.estud;,)produ(; t ionof
a s.ceneOil trafftcsafety maycall for rain.,lRd one 011 fire
safety ma), caUforsmoke.
Although the techniques for producing common
mechanical effects are n01 universa ll ydgreed upon, such
effeclsoffe ranexcellentopportunit yforexperi mentation.
, 4.37 DIFFUSION EffECT
AThe orIgInalclose-upWIthout filtration.
BThe image takes0fIa d, eamhkequaUlywhenshotwith a
filteL
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340 Chapter 14
Before you engage in applying any mechanical effeel, ask
yourself three questions: Is the effeCT doable? Is 1/ reliable?
is it safd If your answN to all three is yes, go ahead. If ol1e
of them is a no, resor t to yo ur DVD software.
Remember thai nl1l ny effeelS are best achieved by
shooli ng under the desired conditions. For example, 10
\' ideotape somebody waiting at a bus stop in the rain, take
the c3n1corder to a bus SlOp on a rainy day. As mellt io ned,
you can al so suggt'st many si tual ions by showing an effect
onl y partially NtJ ile rel ring 011 Ihe audio track to suppl y
the rest of the information. Also, through chroma
yo u can use mall Y effects from a prerecorded source, such
as a stiU photo. a videotape, or (he ESS system.
Tha i said, some special eITeclS are relatively easy to
achieV(' mechanically, especially if thc effect itself
periphe ral and 3uthen ticity is nOt a pri mary concern. Keep
in mind that effect s need not look realistic to the people in
the st udio: allth3t counts is how they appear to t he televi-
sion viewer.
RAIN
Soak th(' actors' cl othes with water and superimpose t he
rain from a videotape recording. If you want to show rain
through a window, mi st the windowp,ll1e with a spray
bottle, back the window with a .:hromakey drop, and
chroma-key rain into \."indow area. Avoi d wa tcl' in the
sludi(}----<!vcn a small amount can be hazardous to perform-
ers and equipment. The best option is to simpl y wait for a
rainy day and shoot outside.
SNOW
Spray commercial from aerosol cans on a piece of
glass in fr ont of the lens or sprin kl e plastic sno\'>' from
above. Cover the actors with plastic SIl OW. As with rain,
lakt' your scene outside when it is snO\", ing.
FOG
The widdy uscd met hod of putti ng dry ice into hal wa ter
unfort unately works onl y in silent scenes beca use the
bubbling noise ir makes may be so loud that it drowns our
the dialogue. Dry-ice fog is illso heavier than air and tends
to settle just above Ihe studio floor. If you must shoot fog
indoors, rent a fog machine. If the fog does nOI have to
move, simply use a fog fi lter on the lens.
WIND
Use large electric fans 10 si mui;lIe wind. The proble m, of
course, is Ihe noise. You ca n ei ther drown out the f'lIl noise
wi th r""ordli'd wind noise during the vi deotaping or replace
or
VISUAL EFFECTS
I.'t
, 4.38 flREEFfECT
To proje<t nickering onto it move a banen with sil k or nylon
sl rips stapled to it in front of an or PAR spot.
the noise wilh th e sounds in postproduct ion. To
minimize the ran noise, t ry to "bli mp" the fans as much as
possible by shieldi ng them wi th sound-absorbing ma.le-
rial. Have th e pcrformers W(" IT lavalieres for voice pi ckup
or u.,e shotgun mics that are close to the performers but
t urned away from the fa ns. If you simulate the wind effect
caused by riding in a convert ible, note that lhe occupants'
hair often flies toward Ihe front, against the di recti on of
t ravel , and not to\\'ard the back of the CHr, opposite Ihe
direction of travel.
SMOKE
Do not mah ' smoke by pouring mineral oil on J hotplate;
all hough effective vi sually, this t ype of smoke smells bad
and irritales Ihe eyes and throats of crew and talent. And
if the oil gels 100 hot, it llIay Gllch fire. Commt'rcial smoke
machines produce less-irrit ati ng smoke, but they lend to
leave an oil y film on performers, lenses, equip ment, and
the studio floor. It may be casicst and least expensive to
simply super a Siock shot of smoke over a scene.
FIRE
Never liS' fire iI/side lite studio. The risk is simply tou greal
for t he effect. Use sound effects of burni ng, and have
ni ckeri ng light effects in t he background. For tbe fire ref1t"C-
ti OIl S, staple large strips of sil k or nylon cl oth or aluminum
foil on a small batten and projecl the shadows ont o the
sct with all ellipsoidal spot. 5ll 14.38 You can also refl ect
a strong spotlight off of aluminl1m foi l or a si lver Mylar
Sec r ion 14.2 Nonelec/ r onic Effects a nd How t o Use Them
By movi ngthesheet, t he lightrefl ectionsontheac-
torsand the set suggesttheflickeringoffire. You canalso
try to.$upe ravideotapeoffl amesoyerthescene.
Whenusingabarb"uegrilloutdoors,carefull yignite
rags soaked inkerosene and shoot tht: scenet hrough the
!lames. Again, he extremelycareful witheven small fires.
Always have a fire extinguisher at the ready and be sure
tha t tlH.' tireiscompletelyout beforeleavingthescene.
LIGHTNING
Place t wo large photo flash unit s about te n feet apar L
Trigger them one right after theother. Lightningshoul d
alw.lys come from behind ti lt'set or sce ne. Don't forget
the audio effect of thunder. Obviollsly, the quicker the
thundersucceedstheli ghtflash,thed ose r\..-epercdvethe
thunderstorm to be.
You maybetemptedtoimitatethespectacularexplo-
sions yo usee in so many (usuall yto make up for
story ddiciellcies) . Don't ("veil thillk of il. Even demol i-
tionexperts,theproductioncrew,:l ndespeciallytheslunt
peopleare on"pyro-days,"production
wh("n pyrotechnicdevic(.'sareused.As ....ithfire, stayaway
fr01l1 explosi\'e devices, even ifyou have "experts" guar-
ant ee ing t hat nothing bad will happen. You can suggest
explosions: Take adose- upofafri ght enedfaceandslowl y
sola ri ze it to thesoundsofvarioll sewlosions.Yournext
shotcanshowdustsettlingover thesceneordest ruction.
A bas of fl ourdumped into thescene from a ladder wi.ll
do thetri ck.
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Opticaleffectsindudetelevi siongobos.refle<:t ioni.star
di ffusionfilt ers,anddefocus.
Atelevision9000isacutoutorInreedimensiooalobject
throughwhichthecameralooks01 1thescene.
Mi rror scanbeusedfor unu sualcamera anglesandcubist
effects.Waterisalsoeffect iveforrefl ections.
Starfil tersturnlight!.Ourcesintofour orsixpoi nt$tarli ke
rays.Diffusionfil ters!.OftenallorpartofthecamerapklUre
andcansimulatefog. Defocuseffectsareusedastransi
tionsandfo rsuggesti ng anaCIOr'ssubjective experience.
Mechanicaleffectsincluderain, snow.fog.wind.
smoke,fi re.andlightning.Avoid water- andatall costs,
fire- Insidethestudio.Neversetoffadetonati ngdevice:
simplysuggestexplosionsthroughapptopriate light
andsoundeffe<;ts.
Foryourreference,orlOtrK kyourwork.eachVideo
Lobprogramcuein thi schapterislistedherewithit '\.
correspondingpagenumber.
mix/dissolve 322
mD- keys 322
rID specialeffects 126
mD wipeI tryit 327
341