The question I get asked the most is 'How do you make V-Flats'. V-Flats are giant foam core boards taped together in a very specific fashion to enable photographers to control light and section of areas of their studios.
Thank you Felix. I taped mine together and with heat and time it all peeled off. Going to revisit and re Gaffa this weekend.Yes please keep the tutorials like this coming. It helps so much
Manufacturers make foam core products with white on one side and black on the other. You'll want at least 1/2", 3/4" or 1" thick sheets, not 1/4". I couldn't find the size from retailers for a reasonable amount... look for wholesalers to the framing or sign industry. You should be able to find a local source--shipping something that size is ridiculously expensive for a few sheets. To do it on the cheap, go to Home Depot or Lowes and buy 4x8 sheets of rigid insulation and paint them yourself with flat white and a flat black.
Thanks for the video! Very helpful. I am in the process of making my own v-flats now and couldn't figure out the folding back and forth to the black and white sides. Also taping the ends such a good idea to make them last longer.
For people who can't get black/white combination boards what we do in Australia is glue a 5mm paper faced white panel to a 5mm black panel to get a very stable unform finish. These we hinge together with velcro strips and in the last few months we've also started to add an aluminium U shaped extrusion around the edges which adds to the durability and increases stability.
@@moealyasini2784 he probably painted it. Or did he say that he purchased it black on one side and whit on the other? Just buy cheap black Matt paint and paint one side. Works a treat and looks great.
Thanks for this tutorial. I just have a couple of questions. Since the tape is already sticky, why does it need to be sprayed with photo mount glue? Since the tape will be permanent, can normal duck tape (eg. Gorrilla Tape") which is 1/4 the price of Gaffers Tape ...be used instead?
jjaylad The spray is just for extra durability. Maybe it’s not needed. I just put it on to be extra safe. Don’t use duct tape. Apart from it being reflective, it dries out and will start peeling sooner than gaff.
Yipee - I've been fooling around with trying to get this right and FINALLY, I found Felix! Follow his instructions and you won't be sorry. V-flats ready to go :)
@LisaSegal - Where did you find the foam core? Did you have to do any painting? I just watched Felix's video, going searching online for the foam core now. Thank you!! (I think these questions might help many of us.)
wait but....you left out all the information about the actual boards... which is the most difficult/important part? Like what are they called/where did you get them/how much did they cost/did you paint them?
Thank you so much Felix!! As always, excellent! Thank you for the explanation of the great reason for the use of the Photomount Spray Adhesive, it's a great "extra" to add in. Approximately how long would you say that your self-made v-flats last? Assuming you don't transport them much given their size and that they aren't the smaller more portable style and that you said your apartment/studio.
Very thoughtful and professional make.I am not sure if we didn't meet in Brighton in 2019 by i360. There was a guy looking like you taking some shots lol and I had a chat with him. Anyway, just the memory jog. Thanks for this video Felix.
@@felixkunze I have a question, can you give me advise how to shoot cool home made video in terms of light control. More like strong , cross fit darker look but with extra neon colour lights behind . I am preparing for new set of dvd set oh HIIT workout but with the weights . Maybe you could kindly point me in the right direction how you would do it? I am so much appreciating your comment to this.
JanLaBo the adhesive in the tape starts to degrade after a season and the temperature changes between day and night don't help either. It's not duct tape. Gaffer tape is made to be less sticky than regular tape, so we add photo mount and it gets more sticky and lasts longer.
It's to make the tape stickier and last longer. Without it, the cycles of temperature change and moisture will weaken the chemical bond of the sticky layer on the tape
Where do you get the idea that the fotomount will make the tape stickier...chemically these are NOT compatible....can you document the stickier part of your statement
You can buy it at any decent art supply store, and also companies like one we have in Canada called U-Line (check it out and you'll see what kind of company it is - basically just about any kind of remotely industrial supply need you can possibly imagine - you'll certainly have companies like it where you are!). Easy to find. But not cheap and unfortunately only sold in bulk, (here it's 25 sheets per carton) so split a carton with a few photographers. Or find it at an art supply store, although much more $$ per sheet. OR- just paint one side of a normal white panel!! :)
Find them at art supply stores or wholesellers. Someone should really make a 'where to get foamcore boards' list for each country. There's a place in NYC called setshop that has them.
By just how much can you overcomplicate the process of putting two pieces of foam core together? 2 panels of foam core, 1 strip of tape, 6 minutes (if you have a beer part way through), done.
the v flat just needs to be functional...you don't need to put anything on the edges...why spend more money and time making this...the edge will NOT help it do it's job...
It'll work fine without tapping the edges, but its a quality of life thing. Tapping the edges keeps them a little more protected from moisture and dings. It also makes the flats more comfortable to handle. With insulation V-Flats, its necessary to keep the edges from crumbling, especially if you hade to cut the boards to size. If you want to keep the boards for a good while, its worth the $12 in Gaffers Tape.
Def works way better with taped edges i've tried it and if you can't afford a couple of dollars in tape you probably can't afford to be a photographer ;)
Any good channel that discusses a products or gives instructions on how to build something will have links in the description to the items in the video.
