Joseph Winchester

I have a 16mm print of Citizen Kane that I would like to get professionally cleaned up. I would love to get a duplicate print made as well. Does anyone have any recommendations for good labs that specialize in this type of preservation? I've found some places through the usual searches, but I would love some first-hand experiences you have had. This is a treasure to me and need someone to care for it. Thanks in advance!

"There is no hope for the admin at your school, they are too stupid to be alive. These guys call themselves a "film" department? Ha! Transfer to a real film school." Do you know these professors personally? Because it sure seems like you do. I am a filmmaker at UT as well, except I'm a grad student over in visual arts. I know many of the professors over in RTF, in fact I work with one of them on my graduate comittee. She shoots film and nothing else. This isn't necessarily representative of the deptartment or the school. An intro class utilizting digital equipment is actually a great idea, as it gives the students immediate results and a faster learning environment. They can then, ideally, graduate to exposing film and using those digital skills in a different environment. That's a positive workflow as far as i'm concerned. It's kind of like using polaroids when you're learning large-format photography. Once you are comfortable with your bellows-factors, exposures and tilts, you need the polaroids less and less, until it's second nature. This is the hope. There are some really smart and dedicated people at UT, and they don't deserve to be ridiculed by Richard, who doesn't know what's going on here. The RTF program here is one of the finest in the U.S. Shoot what you want to shoot in the class. It's your choice, you're paying for it, you decide. They will be pleased with your motivation.

The idea of a patent is to get your invention out in the public, for the common good and for possible improvement, without the risk of the idea being stolen from you completely... that is until the patent runs out. The hope is you invention continues on in other, improved forms. The copyright law gives you legal protection over your actual material that you produced, not the idea, style, technique or concept of the piece. We could all make our own bullet-time rigs and create films using it, but we cannot take the actual scene from the matrix and use it in our projects. So no, I cannot patent or copyright a technique using a low-angle, 14mm lens, and the camera turned sideways with a 20degree shutter... I can however copyright the shot itself from anyone using it, but they are free to use my techniques in their own way, which is fantastic if you think about it. If we could copyright/patent HOW we create, none of us would be able to produce anything. Alessandro, your camera would have it's patents and copyrights, etc... but anyone can produce what they want with your camera, anytime they want. You have no legal right to their material, even though you made the camera, just as they have no legal right to your camera because they shot something using it. They own their actual footage, you own your camera patents.

Absolutely David, I'm sure the first production won't be union. I'm thinking down the road. If he's starting a company to make films, as he said he is, he definitely needs to think about unions issues, among other things.

You need to also check out the different rules that apply to Union members. Chances are you will hire an actor from SAG or a grip from their union, etc. They will have their own rules that you follow when you hire them. Also think about how you deal with things like insurance for you if someone gets hurt on production and insurances for them, ie: health insurance. I know the Unions have very strict laws that apply to insurances. So be sure to check all of that out. And yes, hiring a lawyer is invaluable... so do it!

I'm so surprised at how much bickering there is on this forum. It's soooooo distracting. Argue about nonsense through private messages or something. this has nothing to do with the topic. Back to the thread: So, my step-bro at Panavision is getting the info on this movie. He said it was the New York office that dealt with it (he's in Woodland hills), but he's gonna find out.

I sent an email to my step-brother who is one of the head guys in the rental dept at Woodland hills. He will clear it up for us once and for all... I will post his response

Sure, it has a guillontine shutter for higher speeds. But it doesn't really matter, as jason has an 814...

The 814xls has two shutter angles: 150 and 220 (the sun is 150, the window is 220) Exposure = FPS x 360 degrees / shutter angle So, E = 24 x 360 / 220 = 39.3 E = 1/40th sec E = 24 x 360 / 150 = 57.6 E = 1/60th sec So a shutter angle of 150 will give you a sharper motion at 1/60th , whereas the 220 gives more motion blur at 1/40th.

There's also a program called DVDxDV that converts the .vob files to various formats. I used it once when I was hired to make a tribute to Richard Dreyfuss for a film festival. We took footage from several dvds this way and it worked well. Quality does suffer converting from dvd to dv, since dvd is already compressed quite a bit. But it's workable for certain projects.

VERY well done.

Thanks everyone. Yes Karl, I understand this process gives 'shoddy' results. That is the reason I got the tank to begin with. I've had a few successes with it so far, very scratchy and stained. Nice for certain things. Especially shooting with an old keystone wind-up 16mm. It would be great to have one of the Lomo spiral tanks, yes. But since I can only find them from Russia or the Ukraine, which is a bit of a hassle with shipping and customs and currency exchange, I don't bother. If I found one in the U.S., sure. And yes, James, if you have the instructions I would LOVE to see them. I don't have any with mine. markb, i haven't developed bw reversal yet. I have the kodak kit to do it. I've only done bw negative and 2 rolls of color developed in C41, rubbing off the remjet post-development.... those films came out DIRTY! Thanks again.

You would need to project it to see it's real characteristics. Telecine has it's own effects on the look of the film, and each telecine will be a bit different. So if you want a true test of the films 'look', projected is the only way to go.

I've processed a few rolls of 16mm with mixed results in a Morse G3 tank. I have noticed some rolls come out better than others as far as the 'printing on itself' effect. I imagine this has something to do with whether the emulsion is in towards the spool or outwards from the spool. To you guys and gals that process 16mm in this tank, do you keep the emulsion in or out? Thanks.

"I think both suck and that Michael Bay is a much better director than any of them." The Rock Armageddon Bad Boys Pearl Harbor The Island Better movies than... Lolita Dr Strangelove 2001 Barry Lyndon A Clockwork Orange Full Metal Jacket ?? I don't know about that... of course I'm biased, as Lolita is prob my favorite film. I think it's great to look up to and be inspired by such great directors. That's why most of us do what we do, we saw a film and were inspired to make films. The trick is using what inspired you to create your own voice and your own ideas. There's absolutely nothing wrong with trying to emulate your heroes in the beginning, it's one way to learn. Soon you develop your own interests and ideas and become your own person. This is a Utopian ideal, of course, but one to strive for. Also, I would love to have Kubrick's attention to detail, he doesn't miss anything. The man was neurotic as hell, but the movies were that much better. Fincher is a fine director as well. I really loved Fight Club on so many levels. I wouldn't place him anywhere near Kubrick though. Just my .02

Jay, I recognized Scott Stevens as the man with the bullhorn. I shot a commercial with him last month. Great guy. Funny as hell. I heard the explosions last week from the intel building. It's amazing to see it now, just a big pile of concrete. I'm amazed it isn't going to fall over onto the street... it's pretty crazy. That's great you were able to utilize it before the implosion. That thing was SUCH an eyesore!

Great job. Excellent tonal range. I might agree with the diffusion comment, but overall it didn't bother me. Are you in or around Austin? I recognize on of your actors.

I'm not gonna try to change your mind on this, as you seem pretty stuck on your first viewing. I've always loved this film for so many reasons. The betrayal that Holly feels from Lime is palpable, after he trusted and loved him so. That he would help to hunt down his best friend willingly is tragic. He believed what Lime did was wrong and should pay the price, even if he was like a brother. Tough decision to make... And that is just the base level. There is so much more, if you'd look further. If you follow along with the story of Holly as a trashy western novelist, it adds another dimension to the tale. Also, the zither player was considered another character in the story, that's why it's so prominent. It was billed as such when the movie was released. Watch it again. It's in there, you just need to find it.

"I just wanted to add a bit of a reality check here." My reality is already in check, my friend. Robert has offered to re-transfer my footage, and I will probably take him up on that offer. I don't hold grudges or anything like that. ALL of us make mistakes. I've also asked the mods to change the title of this thread. I think I made a mistake calling Cinelab out when it truly wasn't my intention. I was a little ticked and wanted a place to get a better transfer. Obviously Cinelab is a great company with a reputation to uphold. Like I said, I worded my thread title and post wrong... I didn't mean to call them out in a public forum, so for that I apologize. So anyways, perhaps this discussion is on hold for now? I think we're all in agreement?

Long story, but after being told by Cinelab that my 5 rolls of Super8 hadn't been transferred yet (days later) because the super8 sometimes gets pushed to the back while the 35 and 16mm customers get priority... and now receiving a terrible transfer to 8-bit, all out of focus, with the wrong specs.... I am in dire need of a good place to get Super8 processed and transferred. I understand unless I'm there it's hit or miss with exposure and color, etc. etc. and I accept that. I have no issue paying for that kind of attention when I need it. But I shouldn't have to be there for the telecine to be FOCUSED correctly. There's got to be someone around that cares about quality and realizes that my dollar is a good as the next guys. Any good recommendations? Basically I'm looking for processing and telecine to uncompressed SD on a hard drive. No high def necessary. Thanks in advance...

I've also used the 16x manual servo on the H1. Great images for sure. Very sharp and crisp. The camera does say "HD incomatible lens" when it first turns on, but it goes away. Never used the 3x on the H1. I have heard it's a little on the soft side. Not tht that's a bad thing, more of a personal preference.

I LOVE Cabin Boy, perhaps a 'bad' film is harsh. I think it's extremely creative. I guess i take that one back off the list. Most people would consider it a bad film. I have it on VHS and DVD, so I love it that much more. Anyways, I got a copy of Corman's F4 many years ago at Comic-con San Diego..... the dealer wasn't, well, shall we say... "reputable".... It is PRICELESS!

My all-time list of bad movies that aren't good: 1. Catman Lethal Track 2. Catman 2 3. Manos the Hands of Fate ( even MST3K couldn't do anything with this......) 4. Dungeons and Dragons 5. Trilogy of Terror 6. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back 7. Army of One with Dolph Lundgren 8. Tennage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3 9. Star Trek 5 .... WTF? 10. The original Punisher 11. The new Punisher My all-time list of bad movies that are GREAT! 1. The original Fantastic Four - Never released, Roger Corman produced. 2. Cabin Boy - Love it! 3. Space Mutiny - One of the MST3k best. 4. Hong Kong Face Off - VERY early John Woo 5. Hardboiled Killers - Another early Joh Woo with Chow Yun Fat 6. Captain America

5248 was the 35mm 100T EXR. If they repackaged it for super8, it would have the 16mm designation: 7248 As far as I know there isn't such a film by kodak for super8. Pro8mm makes a 100T in super8: http://www.tapesuperstore.com/prasa1050caw.html Also, 5248/7248 was processed ECN-2

I'm getting some 200T back mid-week trasferred to 10-bit uncompressed. It's just a camera test, but I will certainly share my results.