Chris Burke

Does your budget allow for a camera rental? If so, try renting a 4008 from Pro8mm. That camera has an enlarged gate and 16:9 ground glass. So framing for 2.35 shouldn't be that hard with those guides. Plus with the extra image area via the enlarged gate, your image will be a bit sharper. You can also find some 7240 out there in super 8, I know it was discontinued, but there is still a good deal out there, you just have to look. If this is a video finish, your telecine session can give you any look you want. In any case, please post some stills from and test and or final shots, it sounds really cool. chris

what is your price range? What will be the bulk of your shooting? MOS, features, shorts, weddings?? In the lower end, yes you will find many more R16 cameras, however, super 16 is the industry standard now and if you can afford one, buy it. You can also have a R16 camera converted to Super 16. I am not that qualified to recommend which type of camera you SHOULD buy. If you need a really cheap starter type camera, look to a Bolex or Krasnagrosk K-3. If you need a more substantial package, that is where my expertise falls off. I know many DPs who sware by Aatons and other who love Arris. I know that an Eclair ACL 2 can be converted to S16, as to it's reliability and performance, I am not that informed. I also know that the Aaton A minima is a niftey little camera, although it is kind of difficult to load and only has 200' mags. It is not the most quiet camera either, but nothing a barney couldn't fix. Good luck. Chris :)

Why not make a kick ass 5 minute film shot on 7217? www.cinelab.com will develope for $15.00 US per cart. They will also do a telecine via a Rank straight to a hard drive as an uncompressed file. Not sure if the said file would be 8 bit or 10, but I think they charge 18¢ per foot for a scene to scene. Give them a call, they are very willing to work with you on a package. If your computer can't deal with the uncompressed data, it is huge, just make offline clips and edit with those. When you are ready for the festival circuit and have been accepted into some really big ones. Then you spend the money, I bet some one would do it for $500, and get an online. If you have a reallyl tight edit and sound mix, you could most likely find some post haus that might squeeze you in somewhere for cheap. They could do a really good "best light" when laying it to DigiBeta. Then you will have an extremely sexy little film with a look like no other. If you can at all, shoot on film.

I have shot several weddings on Super 8, Pro 8 actually with great results. I also have used the Super 8 version of Eterna 500, and it was equally fantastic. Could you post some of your best film stuff on a website for all of us to see? I can't wait until the Eterna 400 and 250T arrive on these shores. :)

Is there such an adapter? C-Mount to PL. thanks chris

For indoor use use 7218. If you want to minimize grain, rate it at 400. For outdoor there are many choices. The new ektachrome comes to mind. or you can shoot 7217. You can still lay your hands on some kodachrome, do that. It will have the finest grain and the most color saturation. An external meter is always best, although some of the built in meters work very well. What kind of camera are you going to shoot with? chris :)

That may have been said about still cameras, however, the motion picture versus digital video is another thing all together. I own a canon 10D, its great, but I still long to shoot on a Pentax 67. motion picture film will be around for a very long time. Simply because there isn't a more affordable, rugged, durable format such as film. By affordable, I mean the storage mediums that are currently in use for say a Viper or Kinetta or Dalsa camera are by no means affordable, all that mobile, or durrable. Motion picture film is all of these things. It has a proven 100 plus year shelf life. No digital medium has this. Film has the aesthetic that everyone wants. It is not the most pratical, it is more labor intesive and costly than digital, but it will be around for a very long time. We humans don't always choose the most practical option, we do however, like the pretty stuff. chris

I know that both emultions were made up until '04 I think, and the seller said that they were new, never opened, which they are. I just wonder if the magnetic stripe will get in the way of shooting Super 16 for 1.85. Have I lost that space to the stripe?

Hi, I just purchased about 3600' of 7240 which came in 360' rolls. I got one roll of 7250 which also came in a 360' roll. I have never heard of 360' lengths for 16mm. It also says magnetic striped. What does this mean? I would like to use this in short I am about to direct. I like the look of ektachrome for this movie. Can I use this film or will the odd length and magnetic stripe cause me some trouble? It is single perf, we plan to shoot Super 16 composed for 1.85:1. The final project will live on D5 HD tape. Thanks in advance for any info. Chris

what is the operating temperature for that camera? Lots of electronic equipment will not function that well in extreme cold. Have fun. I am very envious. chris

I have delt with Bono on three occasions now and have nothing but praise and a tinglely feeling inside. Serious though, I have used the SD transfer to hard drive and for lower budgeted stuff that look great as well. the telecine to hard drive is the way of the future I believe. I will be using them for a short I have coming up. we will be using the HD to hard drive option. I recommend them to anyone, but as it has been stated before, you need to check out everything with your system before proceeding.

No they are not. Because, the size of the imaging area, be it a film gate or a cmos chip or ccd or what have you, has a direct effect upon the depth of field. The smaller the imaging area, the deeper the depth of field. Take for instance a 1/3" chip video camera. At is wided focal length, pratically everything is in focus. With say a 35mm camera, your depth of field is a lot shallower. What focal length lens you use also effects the DoF. So Super 16 is a little bit shallower than say a 2/3 " chip camera. 35mm is even more so. they are not the same. If you shoot at longer focal lengths, like 35mm on up on a 16mm camera, you are going to get shallow DoF. Super 16 can and often does look exactly like 35mm, but if you use a 25mm on a S16 camera it is more like a 50mm on a 35mm camera. I hope I didn't completely confuse you and actually answered your question. Good luck Chris :D

Thank you all for your great advice. I have a lot to thing and rethink about. If we have to composite, it seems colour is the way to go. We will be finishing on video. Thanks again. chris

A friend and I will be collaborating on a short BW project. Do to budget restraints, we cannot get a whole crew to our location. So, we are going to shoot some plates and then add the actors after the fact, only in some shots. Other times we can shoot with the actors on location. My question: Can I shoot "green" screen with black and white film? Just use a white or gray background and do everything the same as if it were a green screen? We really want to shoot black and white film, but if this proves to be a problem for keying, then we will shoot color. Has anyone done this? What was it like? did it work for you. We will be using a mixture of 7222 and 7231 in Super 16.

I have a Krasnagorsk K-3 that I wouldn't mind modifying to Ultra. As long as I could use the stock lens, it wouldn't such a bad thing to do. What are the specs for machining out the gate? chris

A 85 filter is used to correct tungsten balanced film for use in daylight. It will give you a very warm orange feel to everything you shoot. Generally, this is not recommended. Try a tiffen 812 or and enhancing filter. You can also use a partial correction, like a CTO 1/4 or 1/2 or whatever your needs are. Is the film for print or telecine only? If telecine only, you can get what ever "look" you want in post. Keep in mind that 7245, assuming this is the stock you are reffering to, is a very saturated stock to begin with. Also, the quality of the light you will be shooting with, ie.. dusk, dawn, noon, cloudy, full sun has a load to do with how the film will look. My advice: test, test and test again. Good luck. Chris :rolleyes:

Yes, bonofilm.com or bonolabs.com for HD. In either case you can buy packages that include film, processing and telecine to hard drive. If this is a student project, I would recommend that you get the Super 8 to hard drive in SD. You will get a file, rather large one, that is uncompress video of your footage. I am not sure, it may be even 4:4:4 color, but definitely 4:2:2. I have done this and think it is great. Your system may not be able to handle uncompress footage, you will need a RAID for this, so what you may want to do is this: When you get the drive back, make some sort of offline clips from the uncompress footage, be it DV or something smaller. When your picture is locked and sound is layed back in, you will be ready for an online. When this time comes, look around for a post house that will do your online for you. You could do your own, but that entails a very fast RAid Array, a video card that can output uncompressed video and a really good monitor. This is a bare minimum set up for doing SD stuff. Spend your money at a post house, they have all the best stuff and know how to use it. Telecine to hard drive is a great idea. Have funn and good luck Chris ;)

It should sync up no problem. If you have sticks at the head and tail of your shot, you will be worry free in post. chris

the 200T introduced in '92

What is a good example of what 7293 looked like? To be specific, it's granularity, it's warmth or lack there of, any sort of typical tell tale signes of 7293 in Super 16. Thanks chris

Where does the cineglyph fall into this?? I have heard great things about Bonolabs tking straight to hard drive as uncompressed 10-bit HD 4:4:4 color.

check out www.thompsongrassvalley.com, you will see that the Shadow can do Data output, if so set up. I guess the spirit is the big brother to this. I am about to do this on a super 16 short. chris

What flavor of video are you going to master to? Keep in mind that film stock, processing, prep and telecine cost the same in either regular or super 16. Where you will save money is with a regular 16 camera package. My recommendation is that if you have a small budget and the final product will live in SD 4:3 world, that you shoot with regular 16, compose for 1.85 and telcine to DVCPro 50. This will give you a very affordable production path. Check the prices, and see if a Super 16 package is in the picture or not. It will give you a better image. Chekc out Vera Drake by Mike Leigh, shot on Super 16, looks like 35. chris

Sorry I do not have any screen grabs at the moment. By what you say that you are looking for, it sounds like you should shoot 7217 and desaturate in post. That will give you fine grain and a great look. Good luck. chris

You can use m42 screw mount lenses on a K-3. I have a 50mm 1.4 that I use as a telephoto. I just shot about 1400' on a k-3 and am having it transfered. should be back later this week if not early next week. i will post the results here. chris