Sin City: A Dame to Kill For

[Sandra Merkatz]

Hello!

 

I just saw "Sin City 2" on Blu-ray, and was interested how they shoot it, so I looked in Imdb and found this info:

 

 

Camera: Arri Alexa M, Fujinon Premier Cabrio Lenses

 

Printed Film Format: 35 mm (spherical) (Fuji), D-Cinema (also 3-D version)

 

 

I don´t know any of them, but I wonder if they shoot that movie with digital camers (without negatives, without celluloid) or not. Maybe someone can help me? :)

 

 

Greetings,

Sandra

[David Mullen ASC]

Yes, both "Sin City" movies were shot digitally. The first one from 2005 was shot on the Sony F950, a 3-CCD 2/3" sensor HD camera recording to a separate HDCAM-SR deck. The Alexa is a single 35mm-sized CMOS sensor camera, the M version of the Alexa separates the sensor section plus lens from the rest of the camera body, allowing a smaller unit for moving the camera around (or in this case, for rigging two of them into a 3D mirror set-up). Today people are using the Alexa Mini for similar reasons.

[Sandra Merkatz]

Thank you :)

 

I was puzzled by the mention of "35 mm" and thought that maybe they mean the celluloid. Why do they use these cameras? Do they show more details then "celluloid cameras"? Or is it because they want a certain look that can´t be produced with film stock?

[Sandra Merkatz]

Sorry for the double post, I couldn´t edit the previous one!

 

I have another technical question: let´s pretend you do the exact same shot (same angle, same lighting, same object, etc.) with an HD camera and with a celluloid camera (of course a good one!). Which one can show more details?

[Robin R Probyn]

Yikes.. you just pulled the pin on the pixel peekers grenade .. :) "fire in the hole " !

Edited July 5, 2017 by Robin R Probyn

[David Mullen ASC]

I don't want to open up a decade's long (and old) film vs. digital discussion, there is plenty to find online to read.

 

The IMDB specs say Printed film format: 35 mm (spherical) to mean that there was a 35mm release print made as well as the digital release.

 

Also keep in mind that "HD" refers to a camera that records 1920 x 1080 pixel images. Digital masters for theatrical releases tend to be either 2048 ("2K") or 4096 ("4K") pixels across, though 2048 is not much larger than 1920. And the pixel resolution of the camera's sensor or what the camera records isn't the same as the pixel resolution that is used for release.

[Michael Rodin]

Thank you :)

 

I was puzzled by the mention of "35 mm" and thought that maybe they mean the celluloid. Why do they use these cameras? Do they show more details then "celluloid cameras"? Or is it because they want a certain look that can´t be produced with film stock?

It's cheaper.