Matteo Ferreccio wrote:
I have to shoot a short film on location, mountain/lake. Camera is BMPCC4K. Location scouting and tests gave me very bright sunlight and reflections...
This is a self financed zero budget short...
All kinds of suggestions and help are welcome.
Since you've asked for suggestions, I'm going to say how I would do this, which is not necessarily how others would.
This sounds like a personal project. As such, the first thing that I would do is plan the trip to the location so that I don't spend my time fighting "very bright sunlight and reflections". As part of that, I would want to get a sun path chart for the day or days of filming, and if necessary I would arrange accommodation in the area to make my plan work.
One objective of the planning would be to reduce the need for neutral density filtration for exposure reasons as distinct from apparent depth of field reasons. It's a different issue, but another objective would be to make lighting people easier.
I would also read the link in post #8 to the thread called "What's Your Trigger to Use an IR Cut Filter?" The link is
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=122408Having read that, I would decide how much neutral density filtration there has to be (my trigger) before I start using an IR cut filter. Depending on my trigger, and my planning, it may be that I wouldn't need an IR cut at all. Another approach is to use IRND filters that deal with IR and ND in one piece of glass.
If the lake with sky would figure prominently, I would also want to bring a graduated neutral density filter. The latter is an option for me because I use the Lee system. It's probably irrelevant for you. In particular, I think that
threaded graduated neutral density filters are a waste of money.
If I didn't have much experience with a polariser, I wouldn't bring one unless I had time to practice with it and knew exactly what I was going to do with it. A polariser has its place, but as you no doubt know it is also easy to go overboard and make a real mess of one's footage, especially around mountains and lakes.
This thread has enough about solid vs variable ND that you should be in a position, perhaps after looking at a few videos about the pros and cons of variable ND, to decide which works best for your needs and pocketbook.
On filter brands, any of the ones that people have spoken well of in this thread will work. It's a matter of preference and price.
It's possible that I've missed the point. Perhaps you plan to film in "very bright sunlight and reflections" on purpose, and have the big scrims, etc. that one should have to do that. If so, ignore much of what I've suggested
Hope that helps.