nathan coombs

Very sharp, very clean... ...but I didn't like the look of these images. I'm sure some of it is the use of lighting, but it looks horribly plasticy, just like the Star Wars films. I can't see the use of this 'look' for more authentic filmmaking. This is not the one to convince me of the merits of HD yet. Although I will be looking out for Nuri Bilge Ceylan's 'Climates' which was shot on the F900. I'm one of those people who wants digital to be good but is continually disappointed...

Title say it all. I am planning a short which requires extensive use of dolly shots on fairly sturdy track (in the rain!). So I need to investigate the different options generally stocked by rental houses. Does anyone have any links or references that will help? What are the prices generally per meter of track and dolly rig?

I was hardly advocating conspiracy but yes economic forces undeniably work against film, even if the professional sphere of production is more or less isolated from this. Film is the straw man for propelling the dreams and narratives of the billions being made by flogging generation after generation of digital kit in the aim of digital democratisation. When there is so much money to be made from built in obscelesence in digital equipment, due to ever increasing quality, then it is is everyone's interest to knock film. "Cameras that last decades and need only be repaired - why we can't have that!!"

In fact I think with more and more digital films coming out (most are usually poorly produced and made) the demand for film originated cinema is increasing. Film is becoming more important to secure distribution as a differentiator of quality for the small, independent filmmaker. But the general public HATE FILM. They loathe it - want rid of it. They don't understand it. They can't see it in the shops. They don't understand how it is processed or why it looks so good. For the masses if something is not plugged straight into a computer then there must be something slightly suspicious about it - something undemocratic and elitist. Not in the information age - then it must be a format of a unionised, dinosaur film industry.

Lets not forget that the Beaulieus and Lecicinas look cool and make you feel proud. The Canons look like retro toys in comparison. ...or alternatively buy a Beaulieu R16 and you have a fantastic looking camera, with all the features of a top-end super-8 cam, but with 16mm quality.

This whole debate has become misdirected. Grain increases the appearance of sharpness Resolution is not a matter of perceptible grain but what the grain is resolving. You can have a very sharp, high resolution image that is grainy What people are really referring to by resolution is the reproduction of fine details. Now if you blow up a scan of a detail from 1080i HDCAM vs Super-16, under controlled circumstances, the HDCAM will likely reproduce more fine detail. This is why super-16 appears soft. It is nothing to do with the grain being there or not, it is about the limits of the grain to resolve details.

If we are talking purely in terms of resolution, the F900 is closer to 35mm than super-16mm, or at least somewhere in between. Super-16 scanned at HD resolution cannot match native HD. This is because although the grain is supposed to resolve to a certain number of lines the actual image looks much softer. According to Kodak charts V2-100T is supposed to resolve 720 lines in super-8mm, but I have never even seen an image fill the whole PAL resolution. Fine details resolution is almost certainly higher on the F900 than super-16mm.

Yes, it does look quite video like but that is because 1) They are night scenes lit in a diffused way with a low range of f-stops. 2) The lighting setup is quite dull with no use of strong directional lighting like you seen in many films. The lighting setup in these shots is not really taking advantage of the properties of film and is slightly video-like in its diffused spread, keeping every subject and spot within a narrow exposure range.

My impressions from everything I have seen are these: 1) at 720p Super-16 looks indistinguishable in terms of resolution to HD, at 1080i HD becomes sharper 2) Film has a wider latitude and looks prettier because of it 3) The motion characteristics of film are more pleasing. Im not sure why this is (perhaps the physical shutter?) Also the slight jitter you get with any film gauge is (at low levels) also quite pleasing and somehow gives the image more life than the absolute stillness of video. 4) Generally production values and standards are maintained to a higher standard with film productions. This is of course not an intrinsic property of film or HD but a consequence of the medium. 5) Some intangible magic that may be a combination of all the above.....

Yes as the inundation of HD films begins so the increase in the interest in 'real films.' It is almost as if it is starting to be used as a hoop to jump through by aspiring filmmakers to prove their worth to festivals. There is also an increasing desire to separate cinema from television. Cinema is supposed to be a rarified form of high quality production and television an anything-goes low production values medium. More than ever HD blurs the distinction and for artists to put celluloid films on a pedestal is to preserve the aura of authentic cinema. That said, there does seem to be a reactionary tone to this thread. HD is pretty good really, done right at least. I think what most people are reacting against is the lazy cockiness of most HD crews, which eschew all cinematographic principles and look down at film as if from a triumphant position.

Ok now I'm beginning to understand - the synch unit also supplies the power on the Bolexes. Is this an external tethered unit or does it plug in to the camera? Sorry I'm not sure where to get this basic info on the web. The REX5 looks interesting.

Im new to the world of Bolexes but my impression was the the EBM was a much more modern camera than the other Relex models. When it says 'electric motor' does that mean the other Bolex's are hand cranked only?!!

Ok here goes I've worked out all the least important aspects of a short before even writing the script! 1) Rather than renting a fancy kit I am instead going to go for a s16 converted Bolex EBM and purchase 2000 ft of v2-200t in 100ft loads. I will rent/borrow lighting, tripods, costumes, carriage, horses etc..I might also rent some primes too. I want to be familiar with the camera and not have to relinquish too much control to my DOP. 2) Shoot. 3) Send my footage over to CineLab or Bonolabs for a 720p best-light scan straight to hard drive. I am not sure what the choices are in terms of data rate/quality but I need something I can work with directly on my G5 rather than using a proxy. 4) Finish to HD-Cam and get a post-house to make me 5-6 HDCAM tapes. Unresolved questions: 1) Sound? Best way to do this? Worth doing most of it again in post via dubbing? Bets digital capture equipment on set? 2) Dollies? How much these costs to rent is unknown to me and causing me some concern that it could be astronomical. 3) Scanning format? I am pretty much settled that 720p will capture most usable image data from the s16 format but what are the choices in terms of data rate. If DV is 3mbps and pretty fast on my G5 I presume I can go up to about 50mbs before I have major problems? I want to avoid that HDV format. Any help appreciated.

Thanks for the links. A few more questions if anyone can help: 1) What is a good price for a Bolex EBM on Ebay? 2) Am I right in presuming that the Beaulieu R16 cannot be converted easily or properly?

I don't have this problem (yet) with my Canon but everyone I know with a 5-10 year old 3CCD camera says their camera is on the way out. Plus the fact that people buying digital cameras believe their shooting is then free, when really if the camera is only being used 2 times a year for film projects there is a significant depreciation is resale value.

cheers mike, most people consider my films quite impenetrable but I think you have to give them time and patience. My super-8 film was the best received. Iceland is an amazing country. Stays with you your whole life.

Shameless plug this, but seeing as though I'm ploughing all my spare cash into the Super-8 Cities Project and a planned super-16 short I think its only fair. It would be great if anyone has the ability to show some support for my filmmaking. My Super-8 Documentary 'The Burning of Girolamo Savonarola' is available on DVD for only $7, 6 euros or £4 + P&P The same price goes for my other films 'Winter Water' (16 minutes) and 'The Interior' (35 minute travel doc across Iceland) And all three are available for $15, 3 individually boxed films. Top quality covers, DVD menus, and all that stuff... http://www.workhorse.tv/dvd.htm :?

I agree that some programmes such as Planet Earth have beautiful cinematography, but the regular Beta output is getting more and more pumped up in post to disguise how mediocre the format is.

Don't buy either of them. They will lose half their value in a year, better off to rent. With the depreciation value of £2.5K you could rent a super-16 camera and shoot something professional instead. That or a top-end HD camera that you can use with serious lenses.

I own the XL1 so am well aware of it benefits and limitations. It is certainly nowhere near professional enough kit to shoot a feature on. This seems like a case of running before you have learned to walk. DV particularly seems to provoke over-ambition, which is not in itself a bad thing, but can lead to some pretty mediocre results.

Just in case this project has not reached people on this board, this update should lead you into what is going on. The project closes to new collaborators on April 1st, so still time to join. ** Dear All, Just a quick update to keep everyone in the loop. We now have 12 collaborators up on the website. Added are Freddy, who will be filming Lille in France, Richard Tuohy filming Melbourne in Australia and Sana Bilgram, filming Edinburgh in Scotland. Some of your have expressed an interest and I am keen to have as many people on board as possible, but I cannot add you officially to the project until I receive a small photo of yourself and at least a one line idea of your concept. If you haven't heard from me it is because I am awaiting your photo. Any updates in regard to film concept will be appreciated and will let me know you are still actively on board the project. Thanks to everyone for their involvement and I look forward to hearing and seeing more of your projects. All the best, Nathan Coombs http://democratfilm.angeltowns.net/super8cities.html

Many thanks for all the positive response. I shot the film on a Beaulieu 6008 PRO Plus-X 100ASA and Plus-X 50ASA, Vision2-500T. The Plus-X was red filtered (x4), slo-mo was shot at 70fps. The fire scene was shot on auto exposure, which locked down at f1.4 - it was probably exposed up to 2 stops over like this. 11 rolls in total for the whole film. Transfer to MiniDV (Pal) by CinePost, who did a great job on the negative but transferred too dark on a lot of the reversal. If anyone can help me cleanup the voiceover I have posted it at: http://www.workhorse.tv/Savonarola%20Voiceover.mp3 cheers!

I think if 7201 makes it to super-8 then you have the final rebirth of the format. For my eye the Plus-X and V2-200T can support about 450 lines of sharp footage with a good transfer. 7201 exposed at 25ASA should give something like 600 lines, which makes it a very good alternative to DV even on a strictly technical basis. Aesthetically it would blow DV away and be an acceptable alternative to 720p HD, with a softer grainier look, but with more character. Artistically I like the format. With my super-8 Cities project I have had feature film directors super-keen to shoot a short doc on the format. Everyone loves super-8 it seems.

Thanks for all the feedback everyone. Believe it or not I think I did a much better job on the sound than on my last films, but this is still the most tricky area for me. I use FCP3 and the mic on a Canon Xl1 to record vocals. How do I clean up the pops? The balance seems ok on my tv (which I use as a monitor whilst editing) how do I calibrate for optimum balance over the net? Perhaps I need a good pair of headphones to plug into my comp whilst editing. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

A short documentary shot on film. It is only 8 minutes long but the file size is large so be patient. I am happy to say that it has been described by others as 'dreamlike' and shot 'masterfully'. I am going solely for online distribution of the film so excuse my shameless plug. I would rather prefer that more people saw the film than less. Any opinions are of course welcome. I hope you can find the time to check it out. The Burning of Girolamo Savonarola