Shooting 200t for nice blacks

niasripley · March 2, 2006

I am going to be shooting a short piece that requires a studio setup with a black background and one female subject that will be getting a high key from a 2k Arri fresnel. I will be shooting 200t with my Beaulieu 4008zm2. The objective is to get nice rich blacks surrounding the lit subject, but I am worried about grain and milkiness with super8. Has anybody had experience getting nice blacks in a studio situation somewhat like this? Will a soft image or grain be all I can get in this instance? I am assuming I will only be able to get t5.6 from the 2k fresnel @24fps.

Any feedback would be a great help.

Thanks,

JC

steve hyde · March 3, 2006

...Well underexposing 7217 will milk-up your blacks so I would err on the side of overexposure by rating the film at EI 100. Then I would go for a scene to scene transfer on a Shadow or a Spirit and ask the colorist for contrast. I have gotten solid grainless looking blacks with 7217.

Infact, I might be able to rummage up some stills for your to reference since I'm at the editing computer....

Stand by,

Steve

niasripley · March 3, 2006

Steve,

That would be great if you had some reference stills. I look forward to them.

Thanks,

JC

steve hyde · March 3, 2006

...alright, here are some black blacks. This is 7217 shot outside at night. Transfer was made by Flying Spot Film Transfer in Seattle on a Shadow Telecine system.

a link to a 4mb .mov

hope this helps,

Steve

niasripley · March 3, 2006

Wow,

that's great, just what I'm looking for- excellent reference. Thanks so much. I guess you would suggest using Flying Spot for my transfer and processing? Looks to be excellent work.

-JC

John Pytlak RIP · March 3, 2006

I am going to be shooting a short piece that requires a studio setup with a black background and one female subject that will be getting a high key from a 2k Arri fresnel. I will be shooting 200t with my Beaulieu 4008zm2. The objective is to get nice rich blacks surrounding the lit subject, but I am worried about grain and milkiness with super8. Has anybody had experience getting nice blacks in a studio situation somewhat like this? Will a soft image or grain be all I can get in this instance? I am assuming I will only be able to get t5.6 from the 2k fresnel @24fps.

Any feedback would be a great help.

Thanks,

JC

Some overexposure will always give more shadow detail and "richer" blacks, along with less graininess.

Don't overdo it, since a very dense negative may be more difficult to transfer without getting into noise issues, but the 7217 film itself has lots of overexposure latitude.

Peter Duggan · March 3, 2006

Wow, that super 8 looks amazing. That inspired me to stop shooting film until I have enough money to get a decent cam and light meter. I didn't think that super 8 could look that good, and I was instead using it as a stepping stone to 16mm, but now I might have some use for it if I start getting some experience with it. I didn't think you could even shoot film with that little light.

steve hyde · March 3, 2006

...I just checked the link discovered I didn't size it quite right. Sorry about that. It's probably best to just download and resize it.

The transfer is definitely a big part of why this sample looks the way it does. A rank will yeild more grain and milkier looking blacks. Most of my super 8 work has been going to rank lately and doesn't look as clean as this stuff done on the Shadow. (it is also all LOMO processed black and white negative)

RE: labs etc.

I use www.fordelabs.com They are an all photochemical shop - no xfers - They do work in collaboration with www.fsft.com , which is a company that only specializes in transfering film.

Steve

Edited March 3, 2006 by steve hyde

niasripley · March 3, 2006

Thanks Steve, you've been quite a great help.

-JC

andres victorero · March 3, 2006

...alright, here are some black blacks. This is 7217 shot outside at night. Transfer was made by Flying Spot Film Transfer in Seattle on a Shadow Telecine system.

a link to a 4mb .mov

hope this helps,

Steve

Hi rich blacks amazing footage. I supose that you shot this film with iris full open ( f 1.4 ?, f. 1.6? )

what camera - lens you used?

congrats

Edited March 3, 2006 by andres victorero

steve hyde · March 3, 2006

...glad to be of help.

these are shot wide open F 1.8 on a 7-70 Nikon Zoom. Nikon R 10

Steve

Anthony Schilling · March 3, 2006

I've only used Flying Spot for my S8 negs, almost afraid to try another place. But the 200 & 500T in S8 are amazing for their speed and frame size... better than most would expect. I encourage people to try the 500T under tungston or existing light, the grain is not bad at all. rich blacks and shadow detail, super 8 has never seen films that perform like these.