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16mm release prints


steve hyde

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Sam Wells, who is occasionally on this list, made a film with DTS track, however this is something he had to travel will as no venue has their DTS system hooked up to a 16mm projector. \

 

Well it's more a question of a venue that would have a DTS processor AND a 16mm projector.

 

I can think of one or two maybe. (Start by looking for venues that have 16 and 70 ! (Maybe they'd have a 4K Sony now as well :) )

 

You can hook up to a non-sync input on a dolby CP or 'imitation'

 

The easiest one I did was going into a Sony 1000, it even let you set up your own custom EQ if you wanted.

 

It's not "practical"

 

Some 16mm films should be silent B)

 

-Sam Wells

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Oddly enough, I've found in my own tests and the one Super-16 feature I shot (optically blown-up by Colorlab in Maryland) that the 35mm blow-up often looks better than the 16mm contact answer prints. This may be due to the fact that a 35mm print doesn't have to be as enlarged as much to fill a screen.

 

David, what's the name of the Super-16 feature you shot?

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It is quite unfeasible to convert every possible 16mm projector to read cyan tracks. Perhaps *any* 16mm projector.

 

Some older models use an exciter lamp that is wired in series with a 750 watt projection lamp (lightweight Victor.)

 

Most of the Victors acutualy use a 5 volt lamp running on a separate transformer, the filament is in series with the treading lamp, which is a 5 v lamp inteded for a signal light, but runs on a lower voltage as it has the exciter in series, the exciter switch shorts the thread light and the exciter is then directly accross the 5V.

 

You are right the RCA method is to run the lamp off a ultrasonic ocsillator, many of the kodaks have a DC supply, and The movie mite just steals some light from the projection lamp.

 

The lamp could be rated at 7 volts .2 amp, 4 volts .75 amp, 6 volts 1 amp, 8.5 volts 4 amp, or 5 volts 6.5 amp, and possibly more.

Putting an IR (infrared) blocking filter in the light path of a regular projector will cut down the volume to a tiny fraction of normal.

 

My guess is that the answer to getting a cyan track to work is at the other end of the projector. RCA did make special phototubes for "dye tracks" I did find one, and one project on my imposibly long to do list is try it in a movie mite in place of the 930.

 

Many of the kodaks use a photodiode and who knows what its spectral syensitivity would be.

 

My understanding is that silver tracks are the exception anywhay in 16mm prints, but It would be hard to do a survey. The lab guys may have a better idea. If you were trying to make a silverless track you could probaly

just make it black and white and work with many machines. the Cyan is specialy to work with LED sources, and to allow the various digital systems to be printed from the same process.

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...My guess is that the answer to getting a cyan track to work is at the other end of the projector. RCA did make special phototubes for "dye tracks" ...

Many of the kodaks use a photodiode and who knows what its spectral syensitivity would be. ...

My understanding is that silver tracks are the exception anywhay in 16mm prints, ...

 

I can't find my phototube data books but you would have to be careful that the replacement tube had peak sensitivity in the red, not green, or it would not be optimum. This would make the track density appear low and be noisy.

 

All modern projectors have silicon "solar cells" (planar photodiodes) for sound pickup, these have peak senstitivity around 800 nm in the near infrared. *IF* you could find a selenium "sun battery" to replace it, these have peak sensitivity in the green. This would be very hard to find now. Not optimum either.

 

The exception is that most Graflex projectors, and I think the JAN projectors, used a germanium photodiode which has peak sensitivity farther into the infrared, around 1300 nm I think, which would be totally unusable with any dye only track. Using a different sensor would require redesign of the circuit.

 

All 16mm color positive prints (except Technicolor IB) have a silver plus dye track. IB is silver only.

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I have been blown away with the look of 16mm prints from the V2 films (100T, 250D) quite stunning. The alternative for a lot of smaller venue and art house is digital projection of 16mm transfers... they usually look blue and horrid, not comparable to a nice print.

 

 

Tony,

 

You should consider blowing up some of your super 8 7285 or Velvia to 16mm with Bill Brand at BB optics. I bet that would look amazing.

 

check this link:

 

http://www.bboptics.com/bboptics.html

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I have been blown away with the look of 16mm prints from the V2 films (100T, 250D) quite stunning. The alternative for a lot of smaller venue and art house is digital projection of 16mm transfers... they usually look blue and horrid, not comparable to a nice print.

 

 

 

Tony,

 

Just wanted to say I really enjoyed your film/video of the Pdx Pop Fest. Very nicely shot and cut!

 

 

-Alain

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...regular 16mm => optical print => sound stripped for theatrical presentation?

 

hi steve!! check cinecolor.com.ar

is a lab in buenos aires argentina, here in mexico, where i live, send a lot of work to cinecolor, theyre really good in optics and really really cheap. tyhey have a lab here in mexico but not know if here they do optics.

best wishes!!

 

Treegan

Film Editor

Mexico DF

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