Let’s talk filters.
These unassuming accessories have the power to lift your visuals to new heights, adding depth, emotion, and nuance to your storytelling and work.
In this article, we'll delve into the benefits of including a diverse range of filters in your kit bag and unveil how they can be your secret weapons for crafting visually stunning images.
*The links in this post are affiliate links, meaning that Glass Puppet gets a small commission whenever you purchase something from them. These products linked to are from brands that we love and use in our own work. So if you are thinking of purchasing, doing so via one of the affiliate links is a great way to support us at no additional cost to you!
UV Filters
Think of UV filters as the guardians of your vision. By blocking ultraviolet light, these filters not only protect your lens but also ensure that unwanted haziness and color shifts are kept at bay.
Beyond UV protection, these filters act as a frontline defense against the rigors of production – shielding your lens from dust, moisture, and accidental scratches. A protected lens is essential for maintaining optical clarity.
Pro Mist Filters
Pro Mist filters introduce a subtle softness, a dreamlike quality that lends itself well to more cinematic work. Perfect for capturing emotive close-ups and character-driven scenes, they create an ethereal ambiance that elevates the emotional impact of your narrative.
Crafting cinematic shots often requires nuanced contrast control. Pro Mist filters excel in delicately diffusing light, helping to balance highlights and shadows for visually compelling and emotionally resonant work.
Pro Mist filters come in a variety of strengths, so experiment to see which works best for your shot.
Polarising Filters
Polarising filters are indispensable for outdoor cinematography. They eliminate glare and reflections, ensuring that water surfaces and glass remain pristine and distraction-free, allowing your viewer to immerse themselves fully in the shot.
By cutting through atmospheric haze, polarising filters enhance colour saturation, injecting vibrancy into your frames. This ensures that your colours really pop off the screen.
Neutral Density (ND) Filters
ND filters are cinematography's secret weapon for achieving controlled exposures, especially in bright environments. Whether capturing the subtle flow of a character's movement or the grandeur of an epic landscape, ND filters allow you to maintain control over your canvas.
These are a must have for any outdoor shoot; they’ve been a major life-saver on shoots where the client wishes to film towards a window. You are able to expose for the outside without sacrificing your depth-of-field by changing the aperture.
Graduated Neutral Density (GND) Filters
GND filters are cinematography's answer to harmonising exposures in landscapes. With the ability to darken the sky portion of your shot, these filters ensure that both the sky and the foreground are impeccably exposed, creating an equilibrium in your shot.
Close-Up Filters
Close-up filters open up a world of intimacy, allowing you to capture the intricate details of characters and objects. Perfect for conveying emotion in close-quarters scenes, they're a cinematographer's shortcut to macro magic, and whilst they shouldn’t be used as a substitute for a decent macro lens, they can be a useful alternative if you are strapped for cash in the budget.
Infrared (IR) Filters
Otherworldly Landscapes: IR filters unravel the mysteries of the unseen spectrum, transforming landscapes into something otherworldly. Experiment with infrared cinematography to create surreal, dreamlike sequences that captivate your audience.
These are great for things like music videos or experimental films; so they are fairly niche in their use cases, but certainly can add some excitement to otherwise fairly plain shots.
As a cinematographer, the inclusion of a variety of filters in your gear can really help get you out of some tough situations, as well as open up new creative opportunities.
Gear up with an arsenal of filters, experiment fearlessly, and witness the transformative magic they can bring to your work.
For more essential gear items for your kit bag, check out this post!
*Make sure when purchasing a filter, you are checking the right filter thread size for your chosen lens!
