day exterior with 7201 and full BB on Neg

[Scottie Mei]

Hi, I am shooting a day exterior scene at a desert route, and planning to use Kodak 7201(50D) with a full bleach bypass on neg. I am rating the stock at 100ASA to compensate the BB, and my key will be roughly 1.5 stop under and back light around 4-5 stops over. I am a bit worried about the increased contrast with BB, and wonder if anyone has similar experience with this kind of lighting ratio can share with me.

 

I though about pull 1 stop at lab. does tht mean my neg will be 1 stop under and need to bring back up at telecine? would that increase more grain to the film? does the pulling to reduce contrast concept only works when print on film or also works for digital color correction?

 

any information would be greatly appreciated.

[David Mullen ASC]

You gain about a stop, even a stop and a half, of extra density when doing a skip bleach to the negative.

 

You can compensate (counteract) somewhat by either underexposing one stop OR exposing normally but pulling one stop. You wouldn't do both unless you want a 2-stop compensation, which may end up with a slightly thin negative despite the skip bleach.

 

The main difference between underexposing one stop versus exposing normally and pulling one stop is that the one-stop pull will reduce graininess and contrast, even for a telecine transfer. So a skip bleach plus a one-stop pull will look a little more subtle in terms of contrast compared to not pulling.

[Scottie Mei]

David, thanks very much for these great info. I think i am gonna expose normal and pull 1 stop. form your opinion is my lighting ratio gonna be too much after the BB? Normally, I would worry too much when process normal at -1.5 on key and +4 backlight, but since I am doing a full BB on neg, I am a bit worry it might get too contrasty. I also want to avoid the sky blown out by the BB so plan to use an ND6 grad on top. am I hitting the right direction? I will be doing a test soon, hopefully, I will have some results to share. thanks.

[David Mullen ASC]

David, thanks very much for these great info. I think i am gonna expose normal and pull 1 stop. form your opinion is my lighting ratio gonna be too much after the BB? Normally, I would worry too much when process normal at -1.5 on key and +4 backlight, but since I am doing a full BB on neg, I am a bit worry it might get too contrasty. I also want to avoid the sky blown out by the BB so plan to use an ND6 grad on top. am I hitting the right direction? I will be doing a test soon, hopefully, I will have some results to share. thanks.

 

Yes, you are in the right direction. Think of shooting HD and what tricks you'd do to control or hold highlight detail. Polas, ND grads, etc. for the sky. In wider shots with more sky, expose a little more for the sky instead of the ground.