16mm Black & White Infrared Movie Film

[William Kubiak]

Hi All.

 

Is there such a thing as B&W 16mm Infrared movie film.

 

I'm looking to shoot an experimental film and I need B&W Infrared not color.

 

Any suggestions??

[Andres Pardo aka Gral Treegan]

As far as I know Kodak RAR 16mm film is a B&W infrared film supposed for aerial photography.

 

Bests!!

[Nicholas Kovats]

Trevor Tweeten shot Richard Mosse'e "The Enclave (2013)" in 16mm color infrared using Arriflex 416 on Steadicam. Stock used was discontinued Kodak Aerochrome sold by this supplier, i.e. http://www.tarquinius.de/. He appears to have extinguished his supply and if memory serves correct had been selling 400ft 16mm rolls at $400/$500 and up. The making of "The Enclave" with sample infrared footage, i.e. http://vimeo.com/67115692

How serious is your question? It is not a trivial undertaking in this day and age of the Digital Illumanti. You could potentially contact Edward Nowill in the UK to slit and reperforate bulk 100 ft rolls of b/w infrared 35mm into double perf 16mm stock, i.e.

Supplier: http://www.macodirect.de/films-blackwhite-films-35mm-bulk-films-rollei-rollei-infrared-400s-35mm-305m-p-402.html

Film specs: http://www.digitaltruth.com/products/rollei_infrared.php

Edward Nowill:

edwardnowill@gmail.com

Putney

32B Wadham Road,

London, Greater London, UK

SW15-2LR

+44 20 8874 0069

[Carl Looper]

The specs say that the 35mm stock is polyester base. I understand Nowill can't slit polyster film. Is that correct?

 

C

[Carl Looper]

As far as I know Kodak RAR 16mm film is a B&W infrared film supposed for aerial photography.

 

 

Just to let you know - RAR stock is not IR sensitive.

Edited January 13, 2015 by Carl Looper

[Mark Dunn]

It's a rapid process recording film for CRT photography and the like. CRT output is bluish, so the sensitivity is ortho, not IR.

If you used it for conventional photography you'd get blown-out blue skies and dark skin tones.

Edited January 13, 2015 by Mark Dunn

[Nicholas Kovats]

Thanks, Carl. I overlooked the polyester spec. That's right. Edward can only reperf acetate based stock. However, I just found out yesterday that Wittner in Germany can reperf unperforated 35mm stock into 2R or 1R 16mm film. Minimum order appears to be be 1000 ft. They maybe able to handle the polyester as they are new machines.

 

 

The specs say that the 35mm stock is polyester base. I understand Nowill can't slit polyster film. Is that correct?

 

C

[Carl Looper]

Thanks Nicholas. There's some interest here in IR 16mm and have passed on your advice.

 

cheers

C

[Dennis Couzin]

... I need B&W Infrared not color.

 

You can probably accomplish with color infrared film whatever you would accomplish with B&W infrared film.

 

Usually B&W infrared film is shot through a Red or an IR-only filter. Shoot IR Ektachrome as usual through the Wratten #12 filter. Then, to simulate IR-only B&W, bypass the images in the yellow and magenta dye layers by printing the color picture onto B&W panchro film through a red filter. To simulate Red + IR B&W, also allow some of the image in the magenta dye layer when printing the color picture onto B&W panchro. It might be simplest to do this by double exposing the B&W panchro: once through a red filter; once, more weakly, through a green filter.

 

The spectral sensitivity curves of B&W and color IR films are published in Kodak Publication N-17 (1971). They all quit at around 900 nm. There's a feast of other information about IR photography in Kodak Publication M-28 (1972).

Edited January 14, 2015 by Dennis Couzin