adam berk

Hi,16mm pros,does anyone knows about any place can do bolex super 16 conversion in Toronto,i'm trying to convert my ebm to S16.Thank you.

not sure about toronto, but I got my EBM super16 from JK at jkcamera.com

He's really a great guy to do business with and his work is superb. I'd recommend giving him a call. He's also been more than wiling to spend as much time as I need on the phone answering questions, etc.

I try to spend the first 5 minutes in telecine calibrating sharpness & noise reduction, starting with everything off! Sometimes it stays off, other times I add some depending on the look I want. One facility I use with a Spirit makes 7218 look as clean as HD by default!

what facility is this?

Please be patient with me on this one guys and girls...

I'm looking for a camera portable enough to easily carry with me at all times, yet is capable of 24f/s, lightmeter inbuilt, compatible with 64t and the vision2 stocks w/o trouble, etc....

I've been looking at the canon 814 xl, but i've never seen one in person so I'm not sure exactly how big it is.

I'd also like to find something with better than average (or as good as it can be) optics.

Any quick recommendations?

thanks so much,

adam

It also depends on how you're finishing. For example... If I'm finishing a spot for TV, but working with HD material, in smoke* I will bring the full res HD clip back onto the SD master and do my move or zoom on that.

Does anybody know a good servicehouse for a K3? I jsut got some footage back and there were a few scratches on it, also it seemed to be dipping in and out of focus ( film not being adequately withheld by the pressure plate?)

 

have any of you had these issues?

duallcamera.com

they do an overhaul, upgrades, super16 conversion too i think

i've had good experiences with them buying kit for my bolex

Just want to get an idea of what my cameras are worth if I were to want to move up to something better.

If anyone wants to make an offer on either please do.

Bolex EBM super16 kit:

1. EBM super16

2. Power Grip

3. 2x grip batteries (both brand new)

4. tobin sync

5. bolex bayonet to Nikon f-mount adapter (custom made) - you can use this without a c-mount adapter

CP-16R kit:

1. camera

2. 400' mag

pm me or email me @ adam at b-mp dot com

With this question, are you referring to a 1.85 hard matte in the gate? Yes, I agree that would be a little strange in super 16 (if that is even possible on an SR, I'm not sure, but it would make a clean gate even more critical)

 

If you are referring to having 1.85 guides in the groundglass and framing for 1.85, while filming the entire 1.66 frame and then cropping it to 1.85 in post, I don't see this as necessarly a bad way to go. I am not sure if 1.66 is still a common aspect ratio for release internationally, I am pretty sure it is pretty unusual in the United States, so making it 1.85 might be a good idea for release.

 

Another good reason to shoot 1.85 instead of full frame is that it might be more appropriate for the particular story being told.

I was referring to a hard matted 1.85

Maybe this pictured is stretched a bit horizontally

anyone ever find out if the bolex pro could be converted to s16?

why in the world would one want to shoot 1.85 instead of 1.66 on 16mm??

From an SRII..... is this a super or regular 16 gate?

That's just being cheap, period. When one considers how many times these shows will run, and rerun, and overun, easily they will all air OVER A HUNDRED TIMES over the course of a decade, the cost of the film is actually neglible.

 

There may be a logic in using HD for the current material to contrast the archive film footage which usually represents the only footage of an earlier era. Interviews may make sense on HD just because they can let the person being interviewed go on an on and not sweat it.

 

It would be interesting if they designated one night as their "film night" and only show film originated programming and then track that night to see if there is any difference in ratings. I'm not saying there would be, but if there is even a tiny uptick, spread over the hundred reruns, that becomes much more significant than the initial cost differential.

film night on discovery HD would be awesomness

Hi,

 

With a Spirit much of the grain is actually noise! This became very clear when I made some scans at Arri recently.

 

Stephen

I was unaware that the spirit was considered a noisy machine. Everything I've heard about the spirit w/s16 has been good, as in much less noise than tube based telecines like the c-reality.

Hi,

 

With a Spirit much of the grain is actually noise! This became very clear when I made some scans at Arri recently.

 

Stephen

Is the arriscan used much for TVC/music videos? I was sort of under the impression that the arriscan is mostly a feature film driven device.

Do you know of any USA facilities, other than EFILM that use Arriscan?

I wouldn’t necessarily agree with that, depending on the subject. 54fps produces amazing, graceful slow motion that seems like poetry in motion. This is particularly suitable for most human sports and horse show jumping. 64fps would produce an even greater degree of slow motion. However, if you were filming subjects that were moving at an exceptionally high speed (the flapping of wings of many birds for example) then neither 54 or 64fps would be adequate.

You're absolutely right. It completely depends on what you're filming. My point was mainly that I found it important, for myself, to shoot some tests at all the different camera speeds in order to get a feel for what each speed looked like for the type of stuff I normally film.

yeah, I would think most cine meters will give you readouts based on camera speed, so just make sure you adjust your meter to the proper speed

Just remember to compensate open up a stop or so when you change the film speed to faster, and slower speeds close down.

Well I think the best way to be sure in that case is to just call up Bernie and ask him.

definitely wiill dooo

Twixtor is definitely one of the best optical flow based slowmo kits. I actually think that the optical flow slowmo that's inbuilt with Flame and Inferno is based on that code. You've definitely got one of the best tools there is for artificial slowmo.

About losing image quality.... Optical flow slowmo doesn't really ruin "quality" but rather changes it. The way it works is the software looks at and tracks each pixel of the image over time, then creates new frames based on where it "thinks" each pixel "would" be if the shot were taken at a higher framerate. You can absolutely get fantastic results using a tool such as Twixtor or Kronos, but it really depends on the source material you are feeding it. Keep in mind that you are depending on the artificial intelligence of the software to figure out what is what in the picture, and how everything is moving. With all this said, due to the more grainy nature of 16, versus a formats like HD or 35, the software may have a more difficult time figuring out exactly how to calculate the new frames. Sometimes you can get weird morphing, etc.. that is very visible. But it can be cool sometimes too.

Optical flow has been a great tool for me, as a flame/smoke artist working mainly on television commercials and music videos (if i'm lucky). Scripts are CONSTANTLY changed, all the way up to 5min before tapes are supposed to be going out the door. Ha, half the time producers will show up with no script at all. It's all great fun. Those jobs are usually pretty cool because things open up for me to get extra creative. So, the ability to create good looking slowmo in post is extremely valuable in these types of situations.

Blah, blah, blah....I writing way too much here, but I guess the moral of the story is to shoot highspeed if you can, if not, don't depend on perfect looking slowmo created in post...it IS doable sometimes, but don't depend on it. And no matter what, it will never look quite as awesome as it would have if it were incamera.

Hey Adam,

 

Thanks for the tips, really appreciate it mate! I have allready shot all my footage now the film is being processed to a digital format for me to edit in post next week. I have Twixtor: http://www.revisionfx.com/rstwixtor.htm and I have tried on many digital footage that I shot (obviously on a digital format) and it looked great to be honest - I generally don't use too much slow mo but I should of thought of testing before shooting :(

 

So do you think since I shot on 24fps on my 16mm and I'll try to slow it down by 20-30% in post it would kill the quality? I personally don't think so, but of course I haven't done it yet hahah so your experiences with it is more valid then mine as I need to find out next week but I guess that question can be objective as it depends on what each person is trying to achieve no?

 

my best,

Joey Dee

are you sure? I'm almost positive that Bernie mentioned losing more light to the film and that it would have to be compensated for on the lightmeter.

You're not going to lose more light, you're going to gain extra brightness in the finder using the same amount of light coming in through the prism.

One of the greatest things about film versus the very fine bunch of video flavors available now is the ability to shoot at higher framerates for slowmo easily. I realize there are quite a few superb slomo softwares available now, like shake's inbuilt optical flow retiming, kronos from The Foundry, etc..but nothing beats true high-speed cinematography. The only time I EVER resort to using a software slowmo solution is if it's an afterthought. I never actually shoot with plans for a software slowmo. No matter what, no matter how good your source material is for the purpose of slowing down in post, these softwares just won't quite reach the look of true in-camera slowmo without introducing strange artifacts, especially if you're not using a highend software and instead the inbuilt slowmo in avid or FCP, etc. Avid does have optical flow slowmo inbuilt now with the latest versions, but it is extremely slow and never looks good (in my experience). You should absolutely shoot at higher framerates on your camera, unless you're short on film or you don't have enough light. And in either of those two situations, I would first look at solving the problem so you CAN do a high framerate shot before considering doing a software slowmo.

I would shoot some tests if I were you so see what each of the different framerates looks like. If you're on a spring bolex, I think the highest you can go is 64....which believe it or not, isn't really all that slow. Don't under or overestimate the camera speeds, go out and shoot some tests....it's worth more than the price of 100' of film.

Hey folks,

 

Here's a quick question and let me know if I screw up. When you shoot slow motion on the Bolex 16mm is it better to have it run @ 60fps or 32fps and slow it down in post? Cause what I did was I left it @ 24fps and I will slow it down in post - Im not trying to achieve a SUPER crazy SLOW MO SHOT but I still want a nice "normal" slow mo shot, so Let me know if I'm good or It was better to shoot higher. But I think im fine however I'd still appreciate your opinions.

 

My best,

Joey Dee

I recently completed the supervision of the post for a music video shot Super16 on a bolex. The material was processed at Fotokem, then transfered to D5 HD on a Spirit. After offline editing, the D5 material was then conformed and graded on a smoke*. After the grading was completed, we immediately created H.264 (a flavor of mpeg4) web friendly HD quicktime files for client approval at a datarate well below half that of what is used for broadcast HD. We didn't use any fancy/expensive compression tools, just the normal $25 Quicktime Pro encoder. The compression had absolutely no trouble with the grain, even on Fuji 500 daylight that was under-exposed.

Both we, and the client are extremely happy with the final product, and the choice made to shoot on super16. We couldn't be happier. The images are sharp, the colour fantastic, resolution superb.

Long live super16.

I lit it for around f1.4 using 7212, and the image held together. Still, it didn't want to make me shoot everything with a single 250w photoflood.

I did this in one of my tests: one test was a long shot, the other a MCU, both times with shots at f4, f2.8 and wide open. As I mentioned, it held up well against my 25mm switar and Switar zoom in image quality but I regret not being able to to test it against a 10mm switar. Surprisingly , the lens that had the best image (at f4 and f2.8) was the Angenieux-- not devastaingly slow, but noticeably.

just went ahead and bought one of these computar's for $14 on ebay. This should be interesting. I'm just hoping I got the right one... ha :P

Yes, it is highly worth the price. Alittle money spend for a vast improvement in your ability to produce better work with a lot less hassle.

 

F.R.

is it worth the extra light lost from getting to the film?

I also noticed, immediately, that the EBM is much quieter than my previous rex5. I'm just missing that damn adjustable shutter.

The EL is quieter yes but only with 100' loads (the 400' motors are coffee grinders) - it is still loud and will still need a blimp though

so the 25mm switar 1.8 doesn't look so hot wide open? I just snagged myself a great deal on one. Should have it next week. I am trying to stick with nikon's in addition to the 16mm switar I have. I figured a 25mm switar would be a good stepping stone between the 16mm switar, and my 50mm equivalent nikon.

Wide open, the computar didn't look so hot but okay-- about as well at wide open as the 25mm switar I was testing it against; still, it's not like I'll be shooting by candle light any time soon. At f4, the image quality was comparable for both lenses. Surprisingly the lenses that totally crapped out wide open in my tests were a 15mm angenieux and 50mm takumar SLR lens.

looking forward to seeing your tests

Im in the process of making/finding the appropriate mounts for attatching both an anamorphic lens and a very compact, lightweight 8mm video camera (w/ lcd screen) to my viewfinder as a videotap/assist.

 

Both of these wacky guerilla Do-It-Yourself additions to my Arri S are actually working. Its just mounting these things to the camera that are a pain in the ass right now. But when I will shoot anamorphic, I can correct the anamorphic image with hi 8mm camera by stetching it out in the "video adjust menu", thereby knowing exactly what it is I'm shooting with the anamorphic lens.

 

Of course critical focus is out the window, except if I tape focus every mark and tech rehearse the hell out of every shot.

 

After I finally get the mounts and everything set up, I will shoot a test and provide the results here.

Does anyone know of, or could anyone quickly type out a list of the switar rx lenses that are OK for super16?