Shooting my first bit of 35mm next Sunday!!

Phil Thompson · January 30, 2011

I'm so excited!! I've finally got it all together. Over the past year I've amassed about 12,000ft of 35mm stock and I've made friends with an old boy with a MITCHELL S35R. Now I'm in London, England and im travelling to the sea side on Sunday. I'm taking some 64D and 250D with me. It's winter in england and fairly bleak, although we've had patchy sunshine. Do you think i should go with the 64 and rate it at 30. The one shot in particular is on a train that go's up the pier. It has windows either side and is very light. What do you reckon??

Phil

K Borowski · January 30, 2011

That soudns great, but for the fact you didn't do a reg. test and camera test on B&W film to make sure the camera is running fine.

I can't imagine the sick feeling I'd have in my stomach if I shot two hours of film on a camera that didn't run properly!

Make sure to shoot a test and post it here ;-)

And, if you are going to gripe about how expensive it is to shoot and process B&W, buy a hundred feet and buy some Dektol at a camera store, get a bucket, and you're all set. You can project it, the negative, at a theatre to evaluate it for steadiness.

Phil Thompson · January 30, 2011

That soudns great, but for the fact you didn't do a reg. test and camera test on B&W film to make sure the camera is running fine.

I can't imagine the sick feeling I'd have in my stomach if I shot two hours of film on a camera that didn't run properly!

Make sure to shoot a test and post it here ;-)

And, if you are going to gripe about how expensive it is to shoot and process B&W, buy a hundred feet and buy some Dektol at a camera store, get a bucket, and you're all set. You can project it, the negative, at a theatre to evaluate it for steadiness.

It's alright the camera has just been tested and it's totally fine. I'm stupid, but not that stupid :-) So, anyway, have you ever shot the Fuji 64D? Lot of people say you should push it a stop. Thoughts? I've always wanted to do a long 4 minute shot with no cuts. i've written the dialog and got the actors ready. Camera is so noisy but I'm going to record it anyway, then get them to do it again in a nice location. Over-dubs are fine!

K Borowski · January 31, 2011

Do you want to push it a stop or underrate it a stop?

As a rule, I always rate film about a half stop slower. Rating 64D at 40 or 50 would probably suffice. You don't need to underrate a whole stop. Since it's winter, you probably don't have to worry about bright sunlight, but if you underrate a whole stop you can get into trouble with your highlights blocking up if you do have clear sky, bright sun.

Even though it's slow film, let it do its job. It is slow, but it still has the latitude of negative.

Personally, I've only really worked with Kodak films, but Fuji film is capable of very fine results as well. Slightly different color palette, more muted colors than Kodak.

Don't mess around with a push. No need. That would just add contrast that will give you trouble if you're doing any telecine or printing work. Color films are compatible with pushes and pulls, but they are at their best with standard processing.

I don't want to patronize you, but it sounds as if you are a cinematography enthusiast, so I'll say it anyway: Make sure all your mags are tested, and retest the camera unless you just did your test a week ago or less. And keep an eye out for hairs in the gate.

The stupid, little, almost trivial things of camera operating are the ones that will cause you the most grief and trouble.

Happy shooting.

Phil Thompson · January 31, 2011

Do you want to push it a stop or underrate it a stop?

As a rule, I always rate film about a half stop slower. Rating 64D at 40 or 50 would probably suffice. You don't need to underrate a whole stop. Since it's winter, you probably don't have to worry about bright sunlight, but if you underrate a whole stop you can get into trouble with your highlights blocking up if you do have clear sky, bright sun.

Even though it's slow film, let it do its job. It is slow, but it still has the latitude of negative.

Personally, I've only really worked with Kodak films, but Fuji film is capable of very fine results as well. Slightly different color palette, more muted colors than Kodak.

Don't mess around with a push. No need. That would just add contrast that will give you trouble if you're doing any telecine or printing work. Color films are compatible with pushes and pulls, but they are at their best with standard processing.

I don't want to patronize you, but it sounds as if you are a cinematography enthusiast, so I'll say it anyway: Make sure all your mags are tested, and retest the camera unless you just did your test a week ago or less. And keep an eye out for hairs in the gate.

The stupid, little, almost trivial things of camera operating are the ones that will cause you the most grief and trouble.

Happy shooting.

Thanks for that. Do you have any advice on shooting in the rain and general bleak conditions. I want to make things look as pretty as possible.. Thoughts??