What Is A Butterfly?

In filmmaking, a butterfly (also called an overhead) is a frame on which materials can be mounted for the purpose of controlling natural and artificial lighting. Depending on the type of fabric or material used, butterflies can be used to completely block out light, soften hard light, reflect light or it can be used to create green screens. Its large size makes it ideal to use for outdoor shoots when the sunlight is too harsh.

Butterflies come in the following standard sizes:

• 6′ x 6′
• 8′ x 8′
• 12′ x 12′
• 20′ x 20′

Materials mounted to the butterfly are usually about 8″ smaller in each dimension to create a flat and stretched surface.

Check out the video below to see how a butterfly is set up:

“DIY Diffusion & Butterfly Frame” by Film Riot

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