Pushing Plus X Reversal

Chris Shirley · June 11, 2006

I shot a roll of 7265 Plus X Reversal with exterior footage (in overcast conditions) 1/2 stop underexposed and interior shots 2/3 stop underexposed. The exterior footage is by far the most critical and I would like to process the film to get the best possible exterior footage results. What instructions would you recommend I give the lab (e.g., push 1/2 stop, push 2/3 stop, push 1 stop) to get the best results? How can I expect my interior footage to turn out given your suggetions? I'm a student so please forgive the ignorance of this question. Thanks for any guidance!

Bryan Darling · June 11, 2006

In helping to figure out whether you should push the film or how it will turn out depends on the effect or look you are wanting. What was the reason for underexposing the film?

Chris Shirley · June 12, 2006

Thanks so much for your quick response. Unfortunately, the film was underexposed in error. Our team thought we were shooting Tri-X Reversal when, in fact, it was Plus-X. Fortunately, we overexposed the outdoor footage one-half stop and the indoor 2/3 stops. We are simply trying to salvage what we have to look like the other Tri-X rolls we shot.

We'd appreciate any guidance - we're off to the lab first thing tomorrow though.

Bryan Darling · June 12, 2006

I'm not sure how familiar you are with b&w reversal. I've shot a lot of Tri-X and some Plus-X. You'll definitely see an effect with any type of over or underexposure at or above a 1/3 stop. Now I've purposely underexposed color reversal 1/2 stop for effect. There is no real right or wrong here, it's really about the effect you're going for and being able to achieve it.

I'm not sure why overexposing the Tri-X would be a fortunate thing, but then I don't know what your lighting situation and final look your trying to achieve is. If you want the Plus-X to "look" like the Tri-X footage then I would recommend you push the film enough to match the exposure of the Tri-X. Otherwise if you want it to look close to "normal" then perhaps pushing 1/2 stop. That way your interior is only around 1/3 under. In the end I would just chalk this up to a learning experience, as it's meant to be :) Now you'll know for next time. The good thing is that this will give you guys a better understanding of the film emulsion and how it reacts to different exposures. That way when you want a certain effect you'll have a better idea how to obtain it.

The main issue is that you really won't be able to "fix" the problem. You can try to compensate for it or mask it, however reversal is very unforgivable. Which can actually can be a cool thing in predicting a result or figuring out how to achieve an effect or look. So to bring this to a point, there is a difference between a desired aesthetic and technical "right" or "wrong." Most people can give you an answer to a technical "right" or "wrong" but no one can give you an answer to the aesthetic aspect. They can only give an opinion, they don't know what's in your head and what effect you trying to go for just what they would do or think of in reference to how they see things in their head. The thing to remember is the aesthetic dictates the technical.

So roll the dice and see what comes out :) I hope that helps to some degree.

John Pytlak RIP · June 12, 2006

I shot a roll of 7265 Plus X Reversal with exterior footage (in overcast conditions) 1/2 stop underexposed and interior shots 2/3 stop underexposed. The exterior footage is by far the most critical and I would like to process the film to get the best possible exterior footage results. What instructions would you recommend I give the lab (e.g., push 1/2 stop, push 2/3 stop, push 1 stop) to get the best results? How can I expect my interior footage to turn out given your suggetions? I'm a student so please forgive the ignorance of this question. Thanks for any guidance!

Generally, reversal films tend to be a bit more forgiving of underexposure. A 1/2 stop underexposure should be correctable during printing or transfer, with just a bit of lost shadow detail. Being less than a stop off normal exposure, a normal process is likely best.