ABSTRACT
There tends to be a lot of mysticism about filters. Filters and nets are given credit for every kind of great photography. I remember one time in college, a grad student friend of mine rushed into the film department all hot and bothered. “I've got it!” he yelled. “I know how Sven Nykvist gets those beautiful, crisp pictures for Bergman. I just saw a picture of his camera, and his matte box must be a foot long. Think of all the filters he can fit in there!” We were all duly impressed, with both my friend's sagacity and Nykvist's filtering genius. It was a number of years before I found out that the picture is at its sharpest when no filters are used; filters can change color, and can make the picture fuzzier. That's almost all. Then when I worked as an assistant to Robby Müller, I was besieged by other DPs and assistants wanting to know the secrets of Robby's “filter pack.” Yes, I knew, and I give you the secret here: no filters. As Robby told me, “I prefer to light it.”
