Wouldn't Polaroid Motion film be cool?

smirkbyfire · January 8, 2004

I think it would be cool (maybe not very practical) to apply the same techniques used in Polaroid cameras to a motion camera. The film would be exposed and then pass through a chamber holding the right chemicals and what not. When you're done shooting, you just take the film out and watch it on your projector. This probably would have been a better invention for the fifties or sixties when news and such were sot on film. Anyway, what do you all think?

Kevin Zanit · January 8, 2004

I think it would be cool, at least then Robert Rodriguez couldn?t bitch about not being able to see film results instantly.

I am sure there are a 100000 reasons why this couldn?t be done, many of which John could tell us.

Kevin Zanit

Floyd Diebel · January 9, 2004

I think it would be cool (maybe not very practical) to apply the same techniques used in Polaroid cameras to a motion camera. [...]

polaroid did make instant super 8 film. it was called "polavision"

"For those who aren't familiar with Polavision (the Edsel of home

movie formats), this was Polaroid's attempt at "instant home movies."

Basically, it uses a funky additive color process that produces extremely

dense, grainy images on polyester-base super 8mm film. The film came

in special cartridges, which you loaded into the special camera. After

shooting, you popped the cartridge into the "player" (which looks kind of

like a small TV set, complete with rear-projection screen) which took a

few minutes to rewind and wind the film through the "processing" cycle and

then displayed the finished "home movie" on the rear-projection screen."

GeorgeSelinsky · January 10, 2004

I think it would be cool (maybe not very practical) to apply the same techniques used in Polaroid cameras to a motion camera. [...]

I think that it would be 1) visciously expensive (consider what instant polaroid film costs over conventional film), 2) yield very contrasty images, and consider also 3) projecting your original is inviting scratches and dust, not to mention film damage.

I just did the math to give an idea of how much this would cost. It costs about $23.00 for 1 35mm 36 exp. role of Polaroid's Polachrome, which includes the processing chemistry. A 36 exp. roll is about 5 feet of 35mm film. That works out to a cost of $4.40 a foot. Compare that to $0.63/ft for Vision stock, plus $0.14/ft book rate processing, and $0.25/ft for a workprint. The economy works out in favor of the conventional method by and far, which is superior.

What I would like to see is a desktop telecine device that would permit one to do video dailies inhouse. Granted, I know it's not possible to reach Rank quality, but I think it would yield some helpful information for the DP during a production. This way all you need from the lab is a processed negative.

- G.

Marty Hamrick · January 15, 2004

I too remember Polavision,it's hard to say,though whether or not I would call Polavison the Edsel of home movie formats or Fairchild's Cinephonic 8 the Edsel.

Yet,usable images were pulled from Polavision films in the documentary "Imagine" about the life of the late John Lennon.That film was a challenge to say the least where they were working 8mm,super 8,16mm,35mm (all variations and emulsions)as well as many defunct video formats such as half inch reel to reel.Anyone seen this film?

Marty

Mitch Gross · January 15, 2004

Yet,usable images were pulled from Polavision films in the documentary "Imagine" about the life of the late John Lennon.That film was a challenge to say the least where they were working 8mm,super 8,16mm,35mm (all variations and emulsions)as well as many defunct video formats such as half inch reel to reel.Anyone seen this film?

I've seen the film and while it is great that they were able to extract the images to 35mm IP, the quality varied wildly.

Marty Hamrick · January 20, 2004

I've seen the film and while it is great that they were able to extract the images to 35mm IP, the quality varied wildly.

Yes,but in a doc like that the quality variation is acceptible.I get tape from people every now and then from people who happened to be at news events and while I can accept home video formats and put a super "Home video",I can't accept what some people want to charge for us using their stuff.

Marty