Making V Flats

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Can anyone recommend materials for making a couple of V Flats? A lot of references I have seen tend to use American terminology and I’m not sure what they mean or where I can get such things.

Additionally I’ve been trying to think of ways to make a collapsible V Flat, has anyone done this, or have any ideas on how this could be achieved?

Thanks
 
Blasted said:
Can anyone recommend materials for making a couple of V Flats? A lot of references I have seen tend to use American terminology and I’m not sure what they mean or where I can get such things.

Additionally I’ve been trying to think of ways to make a collapsible V Flat, has anyone done this, or have any ideas on how this could be achieved?

Thanks
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As big studio reflectors or flags, or as a background?

As reflectors, mine are polystyrene insulating boards (DIY store or builders supplies - v cheap) cut to size with a bread knife. Paint one side white, the other black, with matt emulsion paint - any other paint will eat into the surface, even when the tin says it won't. Some say edge them with gaffa tape but I couldn't get it to stick at all well - just paint generously to seal the surface and protect from damage.

Mine are free-standing - prop them on or against a chair etc, or use these handy cycle stands http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/rolling-bike-stand-n36jl The 50mm thickness ones fit perfectly :thumbs:
 
Blasted said:
Thanks for the pointers. One option is polystyrene, but I'm sure some people use a sort of thick card board.
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The polystyrene boards mentioned by Richard, are about the cheapest and most easily available option.
 
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HoppyUK said:
Yes :) Works a treat and soo cheap.

Not my idea though - someone else on here, forget who it was!
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Thinking about it I'm sure I've worked in a couple of studios that have had those. I think I'd knock the wheels off them personally as they can be a touch unstable. £4 though, bargain! They cost about that to rent per day...
 
Poly boards and the maplin stands get my vote too, does the job.
 
I was after V flats rather than large flags as I could change the size of the reflector surface by opening or closing the V, but I suppose you could just stand two boards in that sort of configuration.
 
That poly board stuff. Lightweight compared to most other stuff, so easy to shift (pretty genius idea with those bike stands as well). Only downside of course is they don't fold up too well if you're on the move.

Just have them as separate boards and stick them together as and when you need. I can't see any reason for permanently joining them as a V.
 
Jayst84 said:
That poly board stuff. Lightweight compared to most other stuff, so easy to shift (pretty genius idea with those bike stands as well). Only downside of course is they don't fold up too well if you're on the move.

Just have them as separate boards and stick them together as and when you need. I can't see any reason for permanently joining them as a V.
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The reason for hinging them together (with gaffer tape) to make a V is that they then stand up (without a bike stand) and can also act as a reflector or absorber to both the front and side
 
Garry Edwards said:
The reason for hinging them together (with gaffer tape) to make a V is that they then stand up (without a bike stand) and can also act as a reflector or absorber to both the front and side
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I know.

The OP seemed to be considering some kind of permanent set up as opposed to just gaffering as needed. Hence my reply.
 
Garry Edwards said:
The reason for hinging them together (with gaffer tape) to make a V is that they then stand up (without a bike stand) and can also act as a reflector or absorber to both the front and side
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Yes, but v-flats are also used as a basic kind of 'set' for fashion-type portraits, as a background. If you search 'studio v flats' in google images, that comes up quite a lot. And that's quite a different purpose, requiring a much higher standard of finish than plain poly-boards.

I think the OP might have been wanting something more along those lines. If so, I'd probably still use poly-boards (big, cheap, light, don't warp) and face them with wallpaper.
 
All good points, thanks.

I suppose i could get two of the poly boards, paper them with backing wall paper, paint white and black and use gaffer tape to join them. I did think that if I wanted to make them portable then I could cut them in half and stick a rod through the middle so i could pin them back together on site. Thoughts?
 
Blasted said:
All good points, thanks.

I suppose i could get two of the poly boards, paper them with backing wall paper, paint white and black and use gaffer tape to join them. I did think that if I wanted to make them portable then I could cut them in half and stick a rod through the middle so i could pin them back together on site. Thoughts?
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I wouldn't think they would pin back together very well. If you were really keen to make them portable you could use c stands and these. But that would be a bit of hassle.
 
I was thinking of a couple of cheap tent type poles, where one end is slightly tapered to slot into the other, only one side would have something projecting and then not by much.
 
Resurrecting an old thread here... I'm about to move into my new studio and want to make some new v flats and backgrounds.

I've just bought a trial sheet of insulation board to test, it's like this: CLICK

They're foiled on both sides, has anyone used anything like this before and do you know the best way to paint them or wallpaper them? Should I try and peel off one side of foil or is there a paint/wallpaper paste that will take to the foil? Any ideas??

Thankee folks! :)
 
Flashman said:
Resurrecting an old thread here... I'm about to move into my new studio and want to make some new v flats and backgrounds.

I've just bought a trial sheet of insulation board to test, it's like this: CLICK

They're foiled on both sides, has anyone used anything like this before and do you know the best way to paint them or wallpaper them? Should I try and peel off one side of foil or is there a paint/wallpaper paste that will take to the foil? Any ideas??

Thankee folks! :)
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If you cut through the foam but not through the foil on one side, then the foil acts as a hinge.
 
MidnightUK said:
Jay P Morgan of Slanted Lens. He messes about a lot humorously but he is actually excellent when you see him making or lighting stuff. Seems to work for a lot of big advertising companies too. He deals with the big silver backed panels in this video.

Make Your Own Reflector DIY Tutorial

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJO9IZPQnKM
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Thanks Jay... useful link there and some handy tips! The product I want to use is different though, it's polyisocyanurate instead of polystyrene and the foil is on both sides. I'm trying to decide whether to try and paint the foil or see if it will strip off satisfactorily. I'll probably have to experiment and write off a sheet or two... no big deal, it's not a fortune!
 
Flashman said:
Thanks Jay... useful link there and some handy tips! The product I want to use is different though, it's polyisocyanurate instead of polystyrene and the foil is on both sides. I'm trying to decide whether to try and paint the foil or see if it will strip off satisfactorily. I'll probably have to experiment and write off a sheet or two... no big deal, it's not a fortune!
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I have used that stuff before (For it's intended purpose) and I suspect that if it does peel of, it will take lumps of foam with it and not peel cleanly. Only one way to find out!
 
I'd cover or paint rather than trying to peel it off.
 
I went down the polyboard route oh so many years ago, but TBH I find the collapsible frame system far more preferable, flexible, portable, controllable, physically more manageable...only downside is of course the cost, though I feel the Calumet system is reasonable for what you get - a 42" x 78" black/white panel and frame would cost £84 (£42 each), though there are cheaper package deals, just not with the white/black option. Costly but I've had my Photoflex set-up for 30 odd years (back then it was the only one on the market) and it's still going strong - though the panels are getting a bit thin where they've been folded over the years and I've had to re-cord one of the frames. They also clip together have crossbars for better stand mounting and so on.

Paul
 
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