Pulling 7219

[Nick Centera]

Hey, I am going to do some testing on the kodak 7219 stock and I am going to shoot outdoors during the day without an ND then pull it down a few stops. Has anyone had any success doing this? I know that in the interrogation sequence in the The Dark Knight that Wally Pfister did this. I am also looking to bleach bypass the film too. Any suggestions or advice? Thank you

[David Mullen ASC]

Since a bleach-bypass process when done to the negative adds a lot of density -- as if you overexposed by more than a stop -- most people compensate by underexposing (rating faster). A few compensate by pull-processing as a form of density reduction. This also "mellows" the big increase in contrast from the bleach-bypass. "Munich" did this for a few scenes.

 

But you sort of end up back where you started in terms of speed -- i.e. you end up rating the 500T stock at 500 ASA and asking for a one-stop pull with the skip-bleach. This way you are subtracting one-stop of density in processing, which partially counteracts the more-than-1-stop increase in density from leaving all that silver in the image.

 

This all gets rather expensive. Plus not all labs offer a pull-process for 16mm, just push-processing.

[Nick Centera]

Since a bleach-bypass process when done to the negative adds a lot of density -- as if you overexposed by more than a stop -- most people compensate by underexposing (rating faster). A few compensate by pull-processing as a form of density reduction. This also "mellows" the big increase in contrast from the bleach-bypass. "Munich" did this for a few scenes.

 

But you sort of end up back where you started in terms of speed -- i.e. you end up rating the 500T stock at 500 ASA and asking for a one-stop pull with the skip-bleach. This way you are subtracting one-stop of density in processing, which partially counteracts the more-than-1-stop increase in density from leaving all that silver in the image.

 

 

My main concern is that when I have taken some basic ratings outside for the 500T I get a F22 or 32, should I get an ND filter just to bring it down? That is why I was asking about pulling the stock.

[David Mullen ASC]

Yes, ND filters are almost as basic as batteries in terms of necessary equipment. The Sunny 16 rule says that in direct midday sunlight on a clear day, your exposure is f/16 if the ASA is the same number as the value under "1/ " for the shutter speed, i.e. 50 ASA at 1/50th, 100 ASA at 1/100th, etc. Since 1/50th is close to the shutter speed for 24 fps filming with a 180 degree shutter angle, you'd be at f/16 on 50 ASA at 24 fps in frontal sunlight on a clear day.

 

So ND filters are pretty much a given unless you are using 50 ASA filmstock, or live in a country with a lot of overcast weather.