American Cinematographer - August 1999 - 110

AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER

filter had

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gradiated color or neutral
density to the left, and the right side had
the gradation to the right. The two sides
could be slid together or apart to
gradually color or dim the complete
image. They could also be used to vary
the clear space between the gradiated

16"X12l/4"X61/4"

sections, which is what Richardson did

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time, Men's new and
improved diffusion filters had just
become available. Ira expounds, "About
a decade ago, we introduced the Soft/FX
filter, the first of its kind to use tiny
lenslets in the glass. By diffracting light
throughout the internal portions of the
diffusing pattern, it created greater
diffusing efficiency than a net.
"As successful as the Soft/FX
filters were, I was asked to come up
with an improvement, so I focused to a

great degree on minor artifacts. Any
filter with lenslets tends to create a
refraction of

highlights that causes a
glow around lights in the scene -
this can be a telltale sign of filtration
that many cinematographers wanted the
option of avoiding.
"To help lose that optically
enhanced look, I computer-designed very
tiny optical shapes that minimize the
highlights' refractive characteristics.
These optical shapes are chemically
etched into the surface of the glass
instead of being embedded like lenslets.
The etching gives these new filters
better capability to diffuse fine details,
while providing a sharp image overall
and a minimum of highlight refraction.
"Additionally, I took the concept
mild

of

a net

mesh and re-created it

as a

very

fine dot pattern.

Flowever, this new
design doesn't have a net's intermeshing
lines, which tend to cause star artifacts."
Ira

proudly notes that these new
products are a direct result of feedback
from cinematographers. "The constant
for free
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exchange of ideas enables us to learn
what types of products they want, and
then make and market them. That focus
feedback is

good part of the reason
two Academy Awards
for technical achievement [in 1985 and
1993] and an Emmy for general technical
excellence just last year."
■
on

that we've

a

won
American Cinematographer - August 1999

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - August 1999
