If you're looking for a cool idea that'll make your next film or music video a little more stylish, you might want to think about designing your own backdrop. However, if you really want to kick it up a notch, you could turn said backdrop into a modifier to produce some creative lighting effects. In this DIY tutorial, Ukrainian photographer Anya Anti shows you how to design your own custom cookie backdrops that will allow you to create some beautiful bokeh effects. Check it out below: 

Even though Anti's DIY modifier is intended to be used for photography, it'd work just as well for filmmaking. The build is extremely simple—if you did any kind of art project in elementary school, you can do this—and best of all, it's super cheap. All you need is:

  • Backdrop material (paper probably works best, but you could use anything you can cut holes into)
  • A marker
  • Scissors/X-acto knife/pen/pencil/some other sharp utensil
  • Lighting units

The great thing about this is you can design whatever you want. Use different colored gels on your lights. Try different sizes of bokeh balls. Put a filter on your lens that changes the shape of your bokeh. Get creative!

Source: Anya Anti

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Cinematography & Cameras