Reflective surfaces<\/strong> can be one of the biggest burdens to a DP, not only because of the possibility of reflections from the crew, but because a highly reflective surface or object<\/strong> can cause hot spots.<\/strong> A hot spot<\/strong> is a region of clipped whites which cannot, by most means, be recovered.<\/p>\n If a surface or object is spherical or curved, you have a higher chance of clipping the highlights<\/strong> within this object when it has been lit. Usually, objects with a chrome finish are the biggest offenders: Door handles, drawer knobs, chair\/stool legs, metallic light switches, glasses, and so forth. I\u2019m sure I don\u2019t need to list every metallic object you\u2019ll likely find within a scene.<\/p>\n Before we start spraying objects or coating them with something to kill the glare<\/strong>, let\u2019s have a look at a few methods for stopping that reflective surface from bouncing so much light in the first place.<\/p>\n In a recent post<\/a>, I discussed how you could stop light hitting parts of the set using a variety of different flags<\/a>. If your composition has one particular hot spot<\/strong> which cannot be removed \u2014 perhaps a vertical stack of drawers has chrome knobs, and the 2k you have outside is kicking the highlights into overdrive \u2014 set up a small vertical finger flag<\/strong>\u00a0between the light and the chrome object to\u00a0kill\u00a0that reflective light.<\/p>\n If established properly, the flag might just look like a window fixture. However, this isn\u2019t going to help when you have several reflective surfaces such as stools or chairs.<\/p>\n In the circumstance of having several reflective non-removable objects, it is appropriate to look at possibly changing your lighting source<\/strong>. If you\u2019re lighting your scene with a set of hard fresnels<\/strong> that aren’t being diffused or bounced, then your reflective surfaces will all have a glaring hotspot.<\/p>\n However, if you switch your lights to a soft source \u2014\u00a0<\/strong>or at least diffuse the hard light<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 the light reflected will be a shapeless highlight, which is a lot less intrusive than a glaring hotspot.<\/p>\n There is, however, creative leeway for chrome objects. Alexis Van Hurkman<\/a>, the author of the Color Correcting Handbook<\/a><\/em>, says:<\/p>\n A sun glint shining off a vintage car\u2019s chrome bumper is going to be off the charts by any scale of measurement. That\u2019s not a highlight worth preserving because chances are the camera that shot the scene recorded next to no discernible image data within that highlight. This is a highlight that you should have no problem sacrificing to the broadcast-safe clipper of your color correction application to lighten more important parts of the image.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n But what about when (along with distinct reflective highlights) the crew and camera also appear<\/strong> within the reflections of shiny objects? This is where dulling spray will come into play, as you’ll see in the following clip from Ryan Connolly<\/a> and the Film Riot<\/a> team.<\/p>\n![\"chrome-clip\"](\"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Chrome-Clip.jpg\")
\n<\/a>In the still above, there’s a clipped hotspot on the chrome handle of the kettle<\/strong>. In this particular instance, it’s not all that detrimental to the shot, although it would be better without it. Yet, if this shot had an actor in the foreground talking to someone, and the hot spot was glimmering in the background<\/strong>, it would become an eyesore and distraction to the viewer.<\/p>\n1. Cut the Light<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"Cut](\"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/using-flags-on-set.jpg\")
Image via Lights Film School<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n2. Soften the Light<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"Lighting](\"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Diffused-Light.jpg\")
Image via Shutterstock<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n