shooting 16m"m in 1-1.85 format

[Guest ariel]

i did a film in 16m"m and i want to print it with black mask on the top and bottom like

1 to 1.85 format. my original negative is normal 16 3\4 and i shot it when i ignore the top and the bottom. how complicated is to do the final print with this black mask, and should it be much more expensive?

thanks,

REL

[Mitch Gross]

It will be much more expensive because the lab cannot do a simple contact print. Best way is to do an IP/IN and incorporate the mask there. Talk to your lab.

[John Pytlak RIP]

Mitch is correct. Likely best to do a 16 ---> 35 blow-up IP, then introduce the hard matte during optical printing of the 35mm DN (to get black framelines). Or consider the use of digital intermediate.

[Dominic Case]

Talk to your lab.

is the best advice.

 

Despite other replies, the lab should be able to do a hard-matted contact print for you if I've understood the question.

 

I presume this is regular 16mm not super 16 (you wouldn't be able to have a composite print (i.e. with sound) at all in super 16).

 

If your lab has a 16mm widescreen matte in stock (some do, as yours isn't an uncommon request), then they can burn in a black matte when they make the contact answer print or release print. There would be an extra charge as it's an extra run on the printer.

 

If they don't have one, there would be a cost in making one, probably more than the cost (per foot) of the print itself.

 

If you are going for a 35mm blow-up as John Pytlak suggests, then you have IP/IN costs anyway: but the mask wouldn't be a significant extra on top of the blow-up costs.

[David Mullen ASC]

You could create a high-con b&w "C roll" that has a clear area for the letterbox borders and is solid black in the center area - this should "burn in" as black borders on the 16mm print. In theory -- it's like burning in black lettered titles over picture. Like Dominic said, the lab may already have such a roll.

 

I'm assuming, of course, that you COMPOSED the whole movie for consistent 1.85 matting with no need for vertical repositioning.

[Brett Juskalian]

Fotokem in Burbank has a "C roll" mask that can give you a regular 16mm print with a 1:1.85 picture area aspect ratio. I did the same thing a few years ago.

www.fotokem.com