A lot of questions were asked about the round metallic panel that was carried in Steve Nelson's Cinematography Tutorial.




That is what is called a BOUNCE PAD. It is used to reflect light onto an actor when you are filming outside.

When you are filming outside, the sun is sending light from only one side. On sunny days you will get hard shadows on the opposite side of your actors body.



This is why its preferable to film on cloudy days, because you get more diffuse light, and softer shadows, while with sunny days, you can get blown out bright areas on one side of the face and dark, hard shadows on the other.

So, how do we fix this problem since we can't wait to film on ONLY cloudy days?

What you do is just get a piece of cardboard, and stretch some Aluminum foil over it. You just stand on the other side of your actor and you reflect some light against the opposite side, softening the shadows and making them look just a little bit better.



If you are able to find some Gold Leaf at your local craft store (or any very shiny gold paint) you can make a Gold Bounce Pad like the one from Steve's video. These are often used to give the subject being lit (in this case Steve) more color, and for it to better replicate the "Golden Hour" of the rising and setting sun when the light is really good and colors look a little richer and warmer from how the sun is set on the horizon.

Hope that helps, and if you have anymore questions about Bounce Pads, please ask them below.

-Wes