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S-16 Film Stock Advice


aaron wade

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To achieve a certain look, I'm looking for advice on choosing the right film stock. My DP will be using a S-16 Aaton LTR. For lighting, we will be using mostly natural (on top of loft apt.). The stock that I'm considering is color reversal Kodak 7285. Below I've provided links to certain "blown out" and "naturalistic" looks that I'm trying to achieve. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

Links:

 

Example one (When she is in the field)

 

Example two (Still Photo)

 

Example three (Still Photo)

 

Thanks,

Aaron Wade

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I've achieved that look many times... when I forget to move the aperture back to the correct setting after opening it wide for critical focusing. In other words, massively overexpose your film.

 

Now, the real question is less about film stock but more about your colorist in post I would think. You probably don't even want to overexpose in the camera too much (well, maybe 2 stops) but rely on your colorist to get what you want.

 

If you blow out the exposure too much there might not be enough info to work with, but I've been amazed at what a good telecine machine can get out of poorly exposed film.

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To achieve a certain look, I'm looking for advice on choosing the right film stock. My DP will be using a S-16 Aaton LTR. For lighting, we will be using mostly natural (on top of loft apt.). The stock that I'm considering is color reversal Kodak 7285. Below I've provided links to certain "blown out" and "naturalistic" looks that I'm trying to achieve. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

Based on your posted examples, my feeling is this has less to do with choice of stock/aperture setting/colorists and more about how and when to intentionally flare the lens relative to your subject's position.

 

AJB

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Based on your posted examples, my feeling is this has less to do with choice of stock/aperture setting/colorists and more about how and when to intentionally flare the lens relative to your subject's position.

 

AJB

 

Yeah, they're not exactly overexposing their subjects by too much. It's mostly just the lens flare that's lowering the contrast A LOT and achieving that "look" you're going for...in the stills of course.

 

Also, that video is heavily graded, so it could have been shot with any film stock.

 

But as far as going for a slightly more saturated look, reversal is a good choice. But you can achieve the same look if you shoot negative and have a good color timer.

 

That being said, Kodak 7217 with an 85 & Polarizer has always worked well for me in shooting exteriors.

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Yes I'm sure a lot of it has to do with overexposure, lens flare and the right time of day. I'm going to shoot this question to the colorist and figure out her capabilities. There's not a lot of colorist in Dallas, TX. :(

 

Nathan Milford: I'm posting on behalf of myself, so I can better explicate what I want to the DP prior to the shoot.

 

Jonathan Bowerbank: Would you happen to have any footage for me to view online that was shot on the Kodak 7217?

 

Thanks to all for replying.

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Jonathan Bowerbank: Would you happen to have any footage for me to view online that was shot on the Kodak 7217?

 

I don't have any examples for ya, but lots of today's films are using 5217, its 35mm partner in crime.

 

"The Departed" is one, "Charlie & the Chocolate Factory" (quite colorful)...you could probably do your own search for more films.

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Yes I'm sure a lot of it has to do with overexposure, lens flare and the right time of day. I'm going to shoot this question to the colorist and figure out her capabilities. There's not a lot of colorist in Dallas, TX. :(

 

Nathan Milford: I'm posting on behalf of myself, so I can better explicate what I want to the DP prior to the shoot.

 

Jonathan Bowerbank: Would you happen to have any footage for me to view online that was shot on the Kodak 7217?

 

Thanks to all for replying.

[/quote

 

Aaron, you have a great lab and transfer house in Dallas, Video Post and Transfer. They handle 80% of the 16mm shot for political campaigns. Call Terry Hall there, and get him to walk you through the lab and transfer suites. They have top notch equipment and colorists. Tell him I sent you. Best of luck, Matt Ely.

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Matt Ely - Yes, I've been to VPT once...Peggy was my colorist.; she was great by the way. I'm sure I'll be going back to her or try out Filmworkers Club (if I can get a good rate). I'll mention your name if I return to VPT. Thanks...

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hopefully I didn't catch you too late on your shoot.

 

But here is my take on that video:

 

Since you are shooting S16, you will need to go with a finer grain stock, anything below the Vision 320T ASA range.

 

Second, I agree that the flare and blowout is largely due to pointing the camera towards the direction of the sun. Be careful with this though, you might want to have a second hand close by to partially flag the lens from the top to insure that the complete image is not blown out.

 

Third, if you are shooting on the finer grain stocks, anything other than the Expression stock, I suggest you look into a Double Fog 1, Soft FX/3, or Pro-Mist 1/8 on the lens. This will lessen the contrast considerably but not to the point of desaturating your colors yielding you that overall dream like quality with rich colors.

 

Finally, I agree that your colorist with have to heavily grade this image. Specifically ask them to bring up the blacks as much as possible with causing pain. You can also have them paint back in any contrast as needed based on your eye.

 

Hope this helps,

Marquette

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