Ok, now I have seen everything. Professional lens flare crystals? The Flarestick was developed specifically so you can create unique lens flare effects for your photo and video productions.
We have seen tons of post-production plugins and ways of artificially adding flares to your footage but there really is no substitute for getting them organically when you are actually out shooting. With this in mind, the Flarestick was born.
What exactly is a Flarestick?
The Flaresticks are basically flea market substitutes that can be used instead of second-hand crystals, glass fragments, and cellophane gels. With the help of a 20 cm long transparent stick, they have been purposely designed so that the shaped glass body can easily be placed in front of the camera lens and into the desired position. That way you can quickly create the desired blurring and reflection effects while controlling the intensity when moving the Flarestick.
How did this concept arise?
Dirk Wojcik is the inventor of the Flarestick. He tells a story that back in the day, he was putting everything in front of 2/3″ lenses in order to reduce the “video look” you got when using cameras such as the Betacam SP. He tried everything: sellotape, vaseline, nylon stockings, full and empty water glasses, reflective metals and of course broken glass and crystals from a chandelier. At the time, many DoPs had their own set of tools to create partial blurring or reflections in the camera lenses and these guys cared for these tools like they were treasure!
At that time, the idea arose to bring this homemade collection of “tools” into a form that is easier to handle. The result, after some experiments, was the creation of these Flaresticks. They are easy to transport and easy to position in front of the lens. Dirk has given away many of the sticks to friendly DoPs who have used them on TVCs and other productions. According to Dirk, their feedback flowed into the development of the Flarestick.
Fairy’s Favourite, Pixiedust, Fat Lady, Magic Wand
There are four different Flarestick’s available. They all sound like they came out of a Hans Christian Andersen novel, except Fat Lady (maybe that one sings).
Fairy’s Favourite
Features a small shape that is claimed to produce a wonderful, pretty, detailed light irradiation. When used in combination with a flashlight, Fairy’s Favourite can be used in beauty film productions. This Flarestick model can also be used without additional light sources to create partial blurring or a subtle lack of definition.
Pixiedust
Pixiedust uses fine facets of glass and a very round form to produce glamorous and beautiful effects. When used with a flashlight it can produce a fine glitter effect.
Fat Lady
As the name suggests, the Fat Lady is the largest of the Flaresticks and will produce the biggest effects. The Fat Lady creates a less detailed glitter effect. In combination with a flashlight, it can create interesting flares and blurring effects.
Magic Wand
The Magic wand is very flat and features a relatively small shaped glass body. Due to this form factor, it influences a far larger area of your frame than any of the other Flaresticks. Again, with the use of a flashlight, you can create nice flare and blur effects.
How to use them
To get the best results you need to use an additional lighting source. By shining any type of light (although a more directional source works better) through the crystal and then moving it in front of the lens you can create some interesting flare and blurring results. While the examples I have seen do look fairly good, it does seem like a case of less is more. Effects like this can be overused and become very cliche and repetitive.
One thing to note there is no mounting holes or points anywhere on the handle so you really do need to hold it with your hand. I suppose you could try and clamp it to something instead if need be. Being made out of crystal it shouldn’t be overly fragile.
Price?
You can’t put a price on creativity (well actually, you can). At 44-55 Euros each, the Flaresticks are not exactly cheap, but if you can get decent results then maybe it’s not too much of a price to pay.
Would you use a Flarestick? Have you tried any other techniques that you think work well? Let us know in the comments section below.
