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Question about film stock and asa


Troy Smith

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Hi there,

 

I'm about to rent a 35mm film camera and shoot 10 minutes of film for the first time of my life,

I'm a complete newb to film, so pls go easy on me.

 

My question is, I mainly want to shoot outdoors in full sun, what film stock and asa would you

recommend for this.

 

One other question, I luv the look of forest gump, does anyone know the scenes where tom hanks

is sitting at the bench for alot of the movie, what film stock and speed that would have been?

 

Any input or help very much appreciated.

 

Thankyou

Troy Smith

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Hi there,

 

I'm about to rent a 35mm film camera and shoot 10 minutes of film for the first time of my life,

I'm a complete newb to film, so pls go easy on me.

 

My question is, I mainly want to shoot outdoors in full sun, what film stock and asa would you

recommend for this.

 

One other question, I luv the look of forest gump, does anyone know the scenes where tom hanks

is sitting at the bench for alot of the movie, what film stock and speed that would have been?

 

Any input or help very much appreciated.

 

Thankyou

Troy Smith

 

 

 

 

Hey Troy, I've recently seen some stuff shot on 5207/250D, and it looked wonderful, but if your trying to shoot in direct sunlight, I'd go with something a bit slower. Maybe something with a 50ASA. Go on KODAK.com, and check out the specifications on their Daylight film stocks. Sometimes they have videos from other people who used that particular stock.

 

Good luck Troy

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Kodak 50D or Fuji 64D would be the obvious choice. 250D if you anticipate shaded shots.

 

Remember that shooting outside takes skilled lighting; just because you have that big ball of fire in the sky it doesn't mean you don't need some serious lighting to take care of unwanted shadows and properly light faces.

 

If you are new to film I would do some tests before you commit to a setup... 35mm cameras are getting very inexpensive to rent now, especially if you negotiate with the rental house.

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You need ND filters even on the slowest Kodak stock. The old "Sunny 16" rule gets you f/16 in direct sunlight on 50 ASA film at 1/50th of a second. So unless you want to shoot at f/16 on Kodak 50D, I'd get at least an ND.30 and ND.60. If you are going to shoot 250D, then get at least an ND.30, ND.60, and ND.90.

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There's also a general consensus to overexpose negative film just a little bit - say half a stop or two thirds of a stop. This is a useful 'safety net' to avoid accidental underexposure. Negative can handle a reasonable amount of overexposure (and can even benefit from it) but underexposure generally gives yucky colours, weak blacks and increased grain.

 

If you're shooting in full sun, you might have issues with contrast, causing deep shadows on some of your subject matter. One example is the brim of a hat casting a shadow on the person's face. In such a scenario, have an assistant holding a white card just out of shot to bounce some light back into the shadow areas. The harsh midday sun is not the most flattering light - hopefully your location might have some large reflective areas that can be taken advantage of for long shots - for example, a white cement floor, or walls of a white building. Late afternoon light is more attractive but if you're shooting in urban areas, you may find that your locations are in the shadows cast by buildings.

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There's also a general consensus to overexpose negative film just a little bit - say half a stop or two thirds of a stop. This is a useful 'safety net' to avoid accidental underexposure. Negative can handle a reasonable amount of overexposure (and can even benefit from it) but underexposure generally gives yucky colours, weak blacks and increased grain.

 

If you're shooting in full sun, you might have issues with contrast, causing deep shadows on some of your subject matter. One example is the brim of a hat casting a shadow on the person's face. In such a scenario, have an assistant holding a white card just out of shot to bounce some light back into the shadow areas. The harsh midday sun is not the most flattering light - hopefully your location might have some large reflective areas that can be taken advantage of for long shots - for example, a white cement floor, or walls of a white building. Late afternoon light is more attractive but if you're shooting in urban areas, you may find that your locations are in the shadows cast by buildings.

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A good rule about shooting outside is:

"...Expose for Shadows and print for Highlights..."

I agree be ready with lots of ND's check if the camera has behind the lens filter slot... that way your view finder wont be dark

 

Good luck and have fun

 

Henryk

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