16mm night time scene

Kyle Remmenga · June 3, 2010

So I'm an editor primarily and have no clue about film stocks. Working on budgeting out my next project and I'm going to try my hand at film instead of HD. Considering the cost difference, it'll be 16mm. So can anyone tell me some good quality film stock that are made in 16mm that work for night scenes and perhaps good stocks that compliment it for the day scenes?

Adrian Sierkowski · June 3, 2010

Pretty much all modern stocks will match in all terms except for granularity, and going from night to day or day to night you won't really be noticing the jump in grain too much. The kodak 7219 500T is a very nice stock, which you can shoot in a typical city at night @ a 1.4 and get an exposure (won't be great without some supplemental lighting, but I've done it). For the most part people will use 7201 50D for their daylight stuff, though I often use 7212 or 7217 (now 7213) for my daylight work 100T and 200T respectively with the proper filtration and some ND.

Film is a lot more forgiving than HD is, especially in terms of over-exposure latitude but i highly recommend you shoot some tests of whichever stock you'll be using to get a feel for how much it can do. Even a 100' will tell you a lot!

Oh, also, for Fuji the Eterna 500T is a very nice stock, though grainier generally than the Kodak. I haven't used the Vivid fuji stocks but if you shot them you could conceivably use their 500T Vivid for night and their 160T for day with an 85 and some ND.

Rob Vogt · June 3, 2010

Fuji's stocks aren't produced in as controlled environments as Kodak, but this just gives them a little more character which people often prefer, Fuji's Vivid series, I believe, is the only high contrast negative stock on the market. Kodak's vision 2 and 3 are pretty neutral, a little more expensive, but will give you a more consistent image which would be flatter, but more adjustable in post. It's basically Kodak's stock for DI. Like Adrian and Mr. Deakins, I prefer to shoot on Tungsten balanced stock as the colors of T-based stock are ofter richer than the daylight balanced counterpart even when forced to correct with filtration based on tests I've done.

Adrian Sierkowski · June 3, 2010

Kodak does have one kinda more "character" based and saturated stock out right now, 5260, which is a Vision 2 500T, though it's only available in 35mm. It seems to be the main stock I've been ordering in 35mm though, but doesn't have near the range of their V3 '19.

Chris Burke · June 14, 2010

Kodak does have one kinda more "character" based and saturated stock out right now, 5260, which is a Vision 2 500T, though it's only available in 35mm. It seems to be the main stock I've been ordering in 35mm though, but doesn't have near the range of their V3 '19.

though I read in an ASC May 2010 issue, in the short takes section of a student short that shot on 7260 for it's grain. They were quite specific about shooting super 16 and the stock being 7260 500T. I have never heard of it being available in super 16.

Adrian Sierkowski · June 14, 2010

Neither have I, though I wish they did!

Daniel Joseph Lee · June 15, 2010

Day scenes? When I shot 50D, I was using it with ND filters soon as the sun was coming up over here.

F-64D is also lovely stuff.

Other than that Reala 500D is well.. what I would choose for anything high speed, it has Fuji's 4th colour layer found in their C-41 still films, the only motion picture film to have it, it'll balance out mixed/artificial lighting.

There's also that 500 stuff from Kodak that is said to 'not have' a colour balance to it.