Deniz Zagra Posted July 25, 2023 Share Posted July 25, 2023 Is it still possible to achieve a high contrast interpositive and/or print with vivid colors through the photochemical process? I know that there used to be a stock called Kodak Vision Premier 2393 which had a higher silver content from the regular 2383 which assured contrast, crisper blacks and strong colors. Now that 2393 is gone, can one achieve the same look through the Vision 3 stocks and 2383? I read somewhere that one method, back in the day, was overexposing the negative then using a strong light source to print. What do you think? Btw, do you think we will see a new print stock from Kodak? One that has finer grain, higher res, a wider color and dynamic range? Maybe in 20-30 years ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member David Mullen ASC Posted July 25, 2023 Premium Member Share Posted July 25, 2023 Intermediate dupe stock is not designed to have its gamma manipulated. You could increase contrast by push-processing the film negative to some extent -- and you could try not underexposing to compensate for the push -- like pushing 200T by one-stop but rating it at 200 ASA (not 400 ASA) and letting it become one-stop denser than normal. It would then be printed down and cause a subtle increase in contrast; it might get you something closer to the look of Vision Premier print rather than a Vision print. 15 years ago, FotoKem had a demo of a very high-contrast look that they got, I think, by using print stock as a dupe element, I don't know if it was in the IP or IN step. The Vision contact prints for my film, "The Love Witch" (2016), were pretty contrasty and saturated because I overexposed 200T stock by over a stop and printed down, like in the low 40s (25 is normal). But that took a lot of light because I was basically working at 100 ASA and then opening up a bit more even after that. So I suggest trying the idea of pushing 200T by one-stop (or even test pushing by 2-stops) but not underexposing to compensate, just end up with a dense negative that has to use high printer light numbers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deniz Zagra Posted July 25, 2023 Author Share Posted July 25, 2023 16 minutes ago, David Mullen ASC said: The Vision contact prints for my film, "The Love Witch" (2016), were pretty contrasty and saturated because I overexposed 200T stock by over a stop and printed down, like in the low 40s (25 is normal). But that took a lot of light because I was basically working at 100 ASA and then opening up a bit more even after that Thanks David for the advice! I'll try to test both of those methods. I believe Eyes Wide Shut was pushed 2 stops and then printed down to achieve a contrasty print. I was lucky enough to see the film through an original print back in Christmas (Agfa Cp20 stock). Apart from the contrast, the colors were quite crisp as well. I saw "The Love Witch" a while back after you mentioned it somewhere else (loved it). It's interesting how different methods can yield contrasty films but with a completely different look. Of course, the stock is only one of the ingredients I presume. Btw, why did you choose to go with 200T? Surely overexposing 500T by a stop would have made the lighting a bit easier, wouldn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member David Mullen ASC Posted July 25, 2023 Premium Member Share Posted July 25, 2023 The director did not want any graininess and she liked the idea of working at high lights levels like in the 1950s/1960s. "Eyes Wide Shut" pushed 500T by two stops but rated at 1600 ASA instead of 2000 ASA, which is really just a 1/3-stop safety margin rather than consistently going for a denser negative. But I'm sure it helped. Dante Spinotti did something similar for "Red Dragon" (2002) -- I think he pushed 2-stops but rated 500T at 1000 ASA or 1250 ASA, so a bit more density. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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