top gear: that cool lighting effect?
 

Hey Everyone-

I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say how much I love Top Gear. I'm particularly fond of their editing style, and especially love their ubiquitous "vignetting" effect with which they shoot all their videos.

I'm referring to that lighting effect where the edges of the images are extremely darkened, while the middle of the image is bright and super-high contrast color.

I've managed to more or less (finally!) duplicate this effect in post-processing with Adobe Premiere Pro 2.0 using a combination of GAMMA CORRECTION and LIGHTING EFFECTS, but someone recently told me that Top Gear in fact uses an ACTUAL PHYSICAL FILTER on their cameras!!

Any ideas what kind of filter this is, or where I could find one to attach to my Sony DCR-TRV900?

Thank you,

--Marc :)

P.S. I'm little by little working on a 5 minute Top Gear-styled "review" of my Dad's new C4S, and I've been working with some elemental shots for testing this effect and editing style.

I remember them talkin about that on their show. I remember distictly Jermey held up a blue color filter and i cant remember much more than that or which episode it was.....

hm. they are DEFINITELY doing more than just using a blue color filter....... i bet the person who told me the vignetting filter was physical rather than software was simply wrong. i cannot see how ANY physical filter could create that effect.