Blow-up 16mm to 35mm

[Uwe Pfizenmaier]

Hey everybody!

I´m looking for detailed information on the procedure of the blow-up from 16mm to 35mm. Unfortunately I couldn´t find much on the web, the only solid guilde is published by DuArt NYC. The rest is pretty sketchy.

I´m looking for details of the technical background, procedures in the lab as well as precautions before and during shooting 16mm for 35mm.

Since I´m from Germany and I don´t have the ASC Manual (I should, I know!): does it deal with this topic? Any other professional resources available on the web or in the library?

Thanks a lot for any help in advance! Best regards from Berlin! - Uwe

[Dominic Case]

Since you are in Germany, you may be able to find a book called

 

Filmtechnik in der Postproduktion - Das Kompendium

by Dominic Case (yes, that' s me)

published by Zweitausendeins

ISBN 3-86150-611-4

 

There are several pages on various aspects of the blow-up process, including the neg matching issues.

 

Sorry to be so brazen in promoting my own book - but I guess not many people know it's out there in German too. (Also Spanish!)

[John Thomas]

precautions before and during shooting 16mm for 35mm.

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Uwe,

It's been quite a few years since I was involved in a blow-up but here is what I learned:

 

There may be digital blow up options now, but in my optical blow-up I was suprised how much of the frame was lost. The optical people felt the need to inlarge the 1.66 Super 16 neg beyond the 1.66 space in the 35mm positive. It really effected the framing of the film. I would try to do a test with a chart to see what you really get after a blowup and mark your groundglass. We are doing a new video transfer now from the original camera negative and when we are done we will finally have a properly framed version of this film. If it is a film for a U.S. market I would fight for a 1.85 masked frame for the release prints. The projectionists had fun with our 1.66 film here in the U.S. I've had people ask me about my curious choice of no head room. ( I walked into one screening and the top frame line was on people's eyebrows) :o .

 

Use the finest grain film that you can get away with and overexpose it. (as per DuArt book)

 

Long lenses look great, out of focus backgrounds make the foreground look sharper than it really is.

 

Contrast in lighting helps too. Flat scenes in our film look grainy and soft.

 

Good luck, there some great Kodak stocks around now which should help you.

JT

[Dominic Case]

The optical people felt the need to inlarge the 1.66 Super 16 neg beyond the 1.66 space in the 35mm positive

There are precise standards for this, laid down by SMPTE standard 201M.

 

It specifies the exact camera gate size, the exact enlargement ratio when blowing up, the exact resultant image area on the 35mm print, and the equivalent dimentions of the projected area on the 16mm neg.

 

You should shoot a frame and focus chart that matches your viewfinder markings, and if those are correct, then the lab blow up should give you no surprises. No need for them to "feel the need" if they follow the standards.

 

S-16 neg .486" x .292" (1.66:1)

enlargement ratio 1.778:1

35mm b/up neg .864" x .519" (1.66:1)

(cf 35mm camera ap .866" wide (SMPTE 59))

35mm projected image area .825" x .497" (1.66:1) or x .446" (1.85:1)

equivalent area on S-16 neg .464" x .280"(1.66:1) OR x .251" (1.85:1)