Smoque® filters create the look of smoke without the hassle. Mechanical generators are often used to add atmospheric haze to a scene. This could be for enhanced realism in places where smoke is normally encountered like a nightclub, or the scene of a fire. Most often, the smoke is added to create a certain “look”. The difficulty and cost of using this equipment and the fact that it is less desirable to work in a
Contrast Control Filters
There are many situations, such as bright sunlit exteriors, where proper contrast is difficult to maintain. Exposing for either highlights or shadows will leave the other severely under or over exposed. Tiffen Low Contrast filters create a small amount of "localized" flare near highlight areas within the image. This reduces contrast by lightening nearby shadow areas, leaving highlights almost unchanged. Tiffen Soft Contrast filters include a light absorbing element in the filter which, without exposure compensation, will reduce contrast by also darkening highlights. Use this latter filter when lighter shadows are not desired. In both cases, the mild flare produced from bright highlights is sometimes used as a lighting effect.
Another, more recently developed type of filter reduces contrast without any localized flare. The Tiffen Ultra Contrast filter series uses the surrounding ambient light, not just light in the image area, to evenly lighten shadows throughout. Use it where contrast control is needed without any other effect on sharpness or highlight flare being apparent.
Star Effect Filters
Lighting can be enhanced in ways that go beyond what exists in nature. Star filters create points of light, like "stars," streaking outward from a central light source. This can make lighting within the scene take on a more glittering, glamorous appearance. This effect is produced by a series of thin lines etched into the flat optical surface of a clear filter. These lines act as cylindrical lenses, diffracting light points into long thin lines of light running perpendicular to the etched lines. Lines on the filter positioned horizontally produce vertically oriented star lines.
The size and brightness of the star lines produced are first a function of the size, shape, and brightness of the light source. You have additional control through the choice of a particular spacing between the lines on the filter. Generally these spacings are measured in millimeters. A 1mm spacing has twice as many lines per unit area as a 2mm spacing. It will produce a brighter star for any given source. Spacings offered generally range from 1mm to 4mm, as well as both narrower and wider for specialty effects.
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