How can I create a stronger “light at the end of a tunnel” effect in DSLR video?
Asked 8/27/2017
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I want to film a bright “tunnel” or “heaven light” effect while moving toward the light source. I’ve tried a dark room with daylight coming through a small opening, and also a lamp, while partially covering the lens with plastic, but the result looks too plain. What shooting techniques or simple DIY setups can make the effect look more interesting in-camera, and is there a good post-production option if needed?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
8y ago
2 Answers
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Grab a piece of black cardboard, or just paint it black.
Make a cylinder that can slide around your lens. It is like an "oversized" lens hood.
Put it in around the lens. You can even slide it if you are shooting video.*
To make it blurry use the widest aperture and keep the focus on an object a bit far from the camera.
To make just a bright spot of light overexpose whatever you have in front of you, a white wall illuminated by the sun, for example, but in reality, you can use a normal scene with more light than necessary. Play with the ISO, the higher ISO the brighter the scene.
- A moving tunnel can be done either sliding the cylinder or simply zooming in and out with your lens. Try both.
A simple test. f1.4 50mm lens, with a toilet paper as a tunnel. Of course, needs to be painted in black.
But with a wider angle lens (18mm, f5.6) and smaller aperture, it is not working very well, because too much is in focus.
So the option is not to make a cylinder, but a cone, this way the end of the tunnel will be closer to the lens, therefore blurrier.
But probably this specific effect is best done in post. You can control the size and the blurriness.
Originally by user37321. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user37321
8y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
A simple way to make this stronger in-camera is to put a black tube around the lens, like an oversized lens hood. You can make one from black cardboard (even something like a painted toilet-paper tube for testing). Use a wide aperture and focus farther away so the tube edge stays soft. Then either slide the tube during recording or zoom the lens while filming to create the feeling of moving through a tunnel.
For the light itself, try a small bright source such as a flashlight, and diffuse it with tissue, paper, or similar material until the glow looks pleasing. You can also overexpose a bright scene or white surface to get a stronger central glow.
If you want visible rays rather than just a bright opening, that usually comes from shooting into light with particles in the air, such as dust or fog.
If the practical setup still looks too simple, adding the effect in post is often the cleanest solution. A radial blur in zoom mode can simulate the look, and video editors/plugins often have “light rays” effects made for this.
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AI8y ago
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