Lens Filters

Here is how this works in practice. Filter inventory in Peru runs through Audiovisual Project Perú and El Niño Rentals in Lima, with Filmtek Perú, Cinesphere Rentals, and Tondero Rentals filling in when a Sacred Valley feature block overlaps with a the capital commercial shoot or a Madre de Dios documentary push.

Our team books full 4x5.65 and 6.6x6.6 trays through these houses — Tiffen IRND sets from 0.3 through 2.1 with the infrared cut that the ARRI Alexa Mini LF and Sony Venice sensors need above 3,000m where Andean UV and IR pollution skew the range, Schneider True-Polarizer and warm Black Pro-Mist 1/8 through 1, Tiffen Glimmerglass and Black Frost, and the Tiffen Mist Magic and Schneider Hollywood Black Magic sets that the colourists at Cine Lab Lima and La Mecha test against the show LUT before prep day.

Here is the short of it. Variable NDs and grad NDs from Tiffen and Schneider sit alongside circular and linear polarizers for the Sechura desert and Pacific coast Lima reflections. The Andean UV cuts get pulled for any exterior block in Cusco, Puno, or the Colca Canyon where the sun load at 3,400m+ blows out highlights faster than the Tiffen IRND alone can cope with.

Here is the breakdown. Each tray ships with a signed prep sheet from Audiovisual Project Perú or El Niño Rentals — every filter cleaned with Pec-Pad and ROR, inspected under raking LED for scratches, edge-marked for the matte box slot order, and bagged with silica gel for the Madre de Dios humidity run when productions push from Lima out to the Tambopata or Manú lodges.

Here is what that looks like on the ground. Bright Tangerine Misfit Atom and ARRI LMB 4x5 matte boxes travel with the filter set and the lens kit so the AC stages the trays in shot order on the cart. Our team pre-routes the SUNAT ATA carnet through Jorge Chávez customs with the broker we keep on retainer for global filter packages flying in from LA or London.

Here is how the picture comes together. SERNANP heritage paperwork covers any filter swap on Manú, Tambopata, and Paracas reserve days, INC and Ministerio de Cultura permits cover Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley archaeological zones, and a 24-hour replacement run out of Lima — driven up to Cusco by Latam Cargo or down to Trujillo and Arequipa by overnight courier — keeps the tray complete if a polariser cracks on a the valley dolly day or the Black Pro-Mist 1/2 picks up a the capital humidity bloom that won't clean off.