Embossed Foil

Nothing here is printed, so light the surface until the words appear.

Press it for real, or at the very least foil it for real, then light it. Everything in the frame is a reflection, so control what surrounds the object more than what sits on it. Keep the words short and the type heavy enough to hold an edge, because a die loses a hairline. Crumple the foil before it is struck if you want facets. No printed gold, no gradient pretending to be metal, no fingerprints.

Director's note

Leave with every frame on this list.

Shot list

1. 01A crumpled silver sheet with two words pressed into it, filling the frame
2. 02A gold panel with script embossed as one continuous stroke, lit from a single side
3. 03A macro across one letter where the emboss catches a bright edge and drops to black
4. 04A blind emboss on uncoated paper with no foil at all, only shadow
5. 05A stack of foiled covers at an angle so each edge catches the light differently

One hard source, raking. Foil has no colour of its own and shows only what it reflects, so the room is what the picture is made of. Bring black card in to give the metal something dark to hold, and move the light rather than the camera until the type reads.

Light

Scout these before anything else.

Locations

1. 01A copy stand with controlled light
2. 02A print finisher's bench with dies and foil rolls
3. 03A plain tabletop with black and white cards shaping the reflections
4. 04A studio with one hard source and a lot of negative fill

If hands are in frame, keep them bare and dry. Fingerprints on foil photograph like damage.

Wardrobe