first time shoot

[RAJENDRA BISWAS]

should i shoot in cheaper film stock ia m using my arri 2c for the firs time with 25fps motor what should i be knowing about the exposre and film speed? or outdoors and indoors?

[Charles MacDonald]

should i shoot in cheaper film stock ia m using my arri 2c for the firs time with 25fps motor what should i be knowing about the exposre and film speed? or outdoors and indoors?

the entire contents of a first year course at a film school.

[Mathew Rudenberg]

should i shoot in cheaper film stock ia m using my arri 2c for the firs time with 25fps motor what should i be knowing about the exposre and film speed? or outdoors and indoors?

 

In order of the questions:

yes,

everything,

probably both, but that really depends on you.

[Fred Neilsen]

As you are shooting 35mm, finding short ends probably wont be a problem, you can pick them up for 5-10 c/foot or $5-7/minute (in raw stock), note that short ends are often of questionable quality and should always be tested, (send them to the lab and have them perform a clip or dip test) As far as indoor or outdoor stocks, although it's nice to have T for tungsten (incandescent or indoor or warm light), and D for daylight (outdoors or with HMIs) many often ignore it and simply shoot either with filtration or correct it in post, I prefer the colour accuracy of tungsten film, and often only shoot that, irrespective of indoor/outdoor. Note that with stock choices, you should get what ever you can for the best price, (though a good 500asa film is useful) as there have been no "BAD" film stocks produced in the past 10 years (that is colour negatives, though the reversals are nice, with plus x black and white reversal outperforming the Red One in dynamic range and colour accuracy :) )

 

As far as metering is concerned, although you can get away with using an SLR to meter (I often did this with my bolex, setting the SLR to 1/60th of a second) It is best to get a nice light meter, there are several manufacturers out there, though seconic has long been the standard, A nice used incident meter can be picked up for around $100 though new digital meters sell from around $190.

 

Ps Make Sure you test your camera before shooting a serious/important piece with it, this is also a good opportunity to practice loading/threading before it becomes critical. The standard tests to perform are: The Scratch test (run a small amount of unscratched film through the camera and look for scratches under a loop *note do not process as this ads a variable, the registration test should also be performed, it entails shooting a registration chart, rewinding the film (complicated...) and re-exposing, ensuring that the frame line was matched up, if the crosses on the photographed chart shift at all, you have some issues... The final test to perform is the test roll, entailing testing your lenses, filters and overall seeing the way in which your chosen film stock reacts to different exposures and lighting conditions (ensure you shoot colour separations and gray scales), you can also try out special processing (note that you should be especially diligent in keeping a camera report and slating when shooting a test roll as you want to record each combination that you try out)

 

Good luck in shooting film :)

 

Fred

[RAJENDRA BISWAS]

As you are shooting 35mm, finding short ends probably wont be a problem, you can pick them up for 5-10 c/foot or $5-7/minute (in raw stock), note that short ends are often of questionable quality and should always be tested, (send them to the lab and have them perform a clip or dip test) As far as indoor or outdoor stocks, although it's nice to have T for tungsten (incandescent or indoor or warm light), and D for daylight (outdoors or with HMIs) many often ignore it and simply shoot either with filtration or correct it in post, I prefer the colour accuracy of tungsten film, and often only shoot that, irrespective of indoor/outdoor. Note that with stock choices, you should get what ever you can for the best price, (though a good 500asa film is useful) as there have been no "BAD" film stocks produced in the past 10 years (that is colour negatives, though the reversals are nice, with plus x black and white reversal outperforming the Red One in dynamic range and colour accuracy :) )

 

As far as metering is concerned, although you can get away with using an SLR to meter (I often did this with my bolex, setting the SLR to 1/60th of a second) It is best to get a nice light meter, there are several manufacturers out there, though seconic has long been the standard, A nice used incident meter can be picked up for around $100 though new digital meters sell from around $190.

 

Ps Make Sure you test your camera before shooting a serious/important piece with it, this is also a good opportunity to practice loading/threading before it becomes critical. The standard tests to perform are: The Scratch test (run a small amount of unscratched film through the camera and look for scratches under a loop *note do not process as this ads a variable, the registration test should also be performed, it entails shooting a registration chart, rewinding the film (complicated...) and re-exposing, ensuring that the frame line was matched up, if the crosses on the photographed chart shift at all, you have some issues... The final test to perform is the test roll, entailing testing your lenses, filters and overall seeing the way in which your chosen film stock reacts to different exposures and lighting conditions (ensure you shoot colour separations and gray scales), you can also try out special processing (note that you should be especially diligent in keeping a camera report and slating when shooting a test roll as you want to record each combination that you try out)

 

Good luck in shooting film :)

 

Fred

 

 

 

thanks fred! i currently have run a dummy test roll, to test the threading and motor running.my aperture gate is 4:3 so i want to test the aspect ration to...what speed dim would be best like 160 or 500?

[Fred Neilsen]

thanks fred! i currently have run a dummy test roll, to test the threading and motor running.my aperture gate is 4:3 so i want to test the aspect ration to...what speed dim would be best like 160 or 500?

 

The speed of film that you choose depends on many factors, what film stock you have available, the amount of grain you want, the light conditions and your desired aperture. Though it's nice to only use one speed of film, most people will opt for two, a high speed - interior/night exterior film and a medium or low speed exterior film. If your unsure of what film speed to choose, go to your locations with your light meter and fiddle around with some aperture and speed combinations until you get something your happy with (bare in mind that it's best to aim for an aperture of around 5.6 or more, as it's easier to remove light with NDs than to ad it)

 

In short, most people shoot most of their productions on 500asa stock, as it is the most flexible stock, you can push process it in say a night exterior, or over expose it slightly to get a clean image (rate at 320). If you have many interiors, night scenes and overcast/afternoon shots, you'll probably go for 500asa film, whereas, if you have a lot of sunny exteriors, you would probably go for a 50-200 asa film stock.

 

Don't make your job harder than it already is, you don't have to shoot a night exterior on 50asa or a day exterior on 500 asa - they are both almost the same price so calculate a shooting ratio for your different lighting environments and purchase accordingly.

 

oh yeh... to quote Dov S.S Simons DONT PAY RETAIL, buy discounted fuji film, or get kodak for the price of discounted fuji or - EVEN better, Buy short ends, Recans and Buy Backs (don't get them off Ebay!!)

 

Fred