Nathan D. Lee

In the current issue of American Cinematographer Thomas Del Ruth talks about Studio 60. On page 51 the article mentions that for budgetary reasons the show started shooting super16 after 10 episodes of shooting 3peft super35. ?The only objection I have to 16mm from a lighting perspective is that it?s difficult to judge lighting contrast through the camera. I can light by eye, but it?s a slightly different way of working ? a bit outside my comfort zone, but necessary.? Does anyone know what this statement means? Is this simply a comment on the cameras they are using? Ground glass? Size? I have only ever personally shot on 16mm but have AC?d on many 35mm films and looked through many cameras of both formats and both have nice bright optical eye pieces. Thoughts?

It is all color negative. I've got some 7248, 96, 98, 45, and some 93.

I recently received a ton of old 16mm stock. A large portion of it still factory sealed! The oldest roll is from around 1993 and there are various rolls between then and 2000. All of it has been in a freezer for that amount of time. I know there are going to be some crazy characteristic changes in all of it (which I am actually exited about) but I was wondering if there were some tips for shooting older-than-dirt film like this to help it along. My guess would be to give it a healthy over exposure, up to a full stop perhaps, and then play with it in post. Would that be a sound call? Really I am just going to having a field day while making some experimental films. It is no financial loss if it doesn't turn out at all but I just want to minimize my margin of error. Also I did open one roll that was a re-can. I snipped of a foot ot so and brought it into the light. Though re-canned, the film felt happy, was dry, and ice free. Thanks for the tips. Nathan

Thank you everyone for looking. All of my films has now been sold. I will keep you posted in the future with additional film. Nathan

That should read for sale. It wont let me edit my title. I am currently selling 1200' of Kodak 16mm Vision2 500T (7218) in 400' rolls. Two rolls are factory sealed from October and one I re canned on the same shoot. I am selling them for $90 a roll. Emulsion numbers upon request. I also have some 35mm SE's of the same stock (5218). It is about 10 months old. I have 6 280' rolls. I am selling them for $30 a roll. All of the above mentioned film has been kept in my dedicated film freezer with moisture control. Buyer pays actual shipping. Thank You. Nathan D. Lee leebob61@hotmail.com 360-990-2149

Well I just found out we will be using an Eclair NPR as opposed to an ACL. The NPR has a variable shutter in five degree increments. It is adjustable in 5 degrees from 5 to 180. So should I try for 145? Thanks! Nathan

Come Monday I will be shooting a scene for a fake documentary on 16mm with a fixed 180 degree shutter. The scene requires us to see a TV screen. We are looking for the same kind of crappy TV look as the "Rex Kwon Do" commercial in Napoleon Dynamite. I consulted the ASC manual and it offered some solutions that are not viable for us, but said nothing of what the results would be if I simply shot the TV at 24fps. I am guessing thats what Napoleon did because of the low flicker (which I like) but am worried that the flicker will be extreme. I know the color temp issues, so I simply need to know if the frame rates will work close enough or if I should try a composite later (which I don't want to do because it is wrong for the feel of this). Let me know if yo have some tips or answers. Nathan

SOLD Thank you everyone for the interest. I found a buyer as a result. Thanks.

I have 1200 feet of Kodak Vision2 7218 that I purchased from a commercial I loaded about 3 weeks ago. Two 400' factory sealed cans, and one 400' re-can. I am looking to sell them for $80/can of factory sealed, and $70 for the re-can, OBO. $230 for all three + actual shipping cost. If there is an interest I will post them on eBay for the purchase to make the transaction official. Post or email me with any questions. leebob61@hotmail.com Nathan

I am working on an Arri 16SR that has automatic servo iris control built in. I am using a 10-100 Zeiss that does not support this so I am wondering if there is a way to disable the internal light meter that triggers it or to disable the servo control. It is annoying whenever the camera is in standby and the light in front of the lens changes I hear the servo click on and it keeps moving around hoping (in vain) to correct the exposure.

"The ASC is not a labor union or a guild, but an educational, cultural and professional organization. Membership is by invitation to those actively engaged as directors of photography and have demonstrated outstanding ability. ASC membership has become one of the highest honors that can be bestowed upon a professional cinematographer - a mark of prestige and excellence." That is in the first few pages of every issue of AC. Also in the back of each issue, in the "ASC Close-up" section, you will find that a part of membership is being recommended by current members.

The mag # should be the number on the mag you are using. This is so if there is any question about a roll of film i.e. a scratch/light leak etc. you know what mag it came from. The full number of the emulsion/batch etc should also be written on each report and can label but in the correct spot. Both of these methods exist to trace the source of any problems that arise, either from the manufacture or from the mag.

From what i understand there is no color timing done to kodachrome. Its reversal therefore the first time the image will be visible is after it has been finished. Really the only thing you can tell them is to push / pull etc... the grey card will only help the telecine which would be your "color timing" phase so to speak.

I dont know what model of mags Ive used but i have done 12-13 perfs and it works out just fine.

As you all might imagine, camera department is my goal and aspiration. I have been working in the movie business for a solid year now. I got my first job, however was in production and thus for the past year I have worked on 3 low budget features and one big budget studio feature, a PBS documentary and 2 commercials, one local one national. The problem is that I am in production. On the big budget feature I also day played as a camera PA mostly doing video assist. Through all of this I have been working as hard as I can to learn the camera department. I feel comfortable and confident in my abilities to jump departments. So now my current question: I have become good friends with a producer here who is producing a 2-3mil feature in a month. He is trying to back me in any direction I want to go. The 1st AD likes me and offered me a position as a set PA for the run of the 40 day shoot, paid in full. I had a chat with the UPM yesterday and he said that our DP doesn?t want a loader who has never loaded a full feature before in 35. (I have only practiced with slugs in 35 and loaded 16 on shorts.) from what I understand there is not currently any budget set aside for a camera PA, other than interning which I cant afford to do. I don?t mind working for a lot less but I definitely can?t work for free, especially on a 40 day show. I don?t mind Set PA-ing, but I would like to jump departments as soon as I can so I can start building in that area. Any thoughts as to what might be a good course of action. Like I said money is not the main issue but it is, as it is for all of us, a factor since life costs money. (Note: This is not in LA or New York)

I have a dedicated film fridge. Mostly so its not around food that brings in moister and other problems. Its small and i have it kept at about -5(f) to be as close as i can to Kodaks pecs. Kodak has the storage specs on their website. "Cold temperatures are best for slowing the inevitable changes in sensitivity. If raw stock must be kept for periods of up to 3 months, temperatures of 13°C (55°F) or less are appropriate. If raw stock must be kept longer than 3 months, freezing at -18° to -23°C (0 to -10°F) is recommended. After any cold storage, be sure to allow the films to equilibrate slowly to the ambient temperature where it will be used. This is necessary to prevent moisture condensation and spotting. Conditioning time will vary with the thickness of the packages and the temperature and dew point of the outside air. A 100-foot roll of 16 mm can take as little as 1/2 hour to condition whereas a 1000-foot roll of 35 mm may take up to 3 hours. Do not open the packages if they feel colder than the ambient temperature. Always use films soon after purchasing." "Raw stock must be kept away from excessive heat and water which would make it tacky. The temperature in a closed automobile in the sun can easily register over 55°C (130°F). This somewhat fragile material film is especially sensitive until it's exposed and properly processed. An area of particular concern for protecting raw stock is radiation, whether it be an obvious source or ambient. Always process film soon after being exposed to lessen the chance of contamination." Both of these are from: http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/support/....12.8&lc=en Keep it cold, keep it dry, you?ll be fine for a while. Film is pretty tough stuff. Nathan

RGB used to do that very thing, make slide prints from ENC2 films for just those reasons. Unfortunately they went out of business. I don?t know where to get it done now. Which is why I have a ton of movie film in still film cans I will probably throw away. Nathan

Ah Ha! That makes perfect sense! That is why the curves are so similar. One is referring to the light hitting the film and the other is referring to the dye layer in the film! Thank you, that answered my question. Nathan

The answer to this may be right in front of my face but comparing the curves between Kodak v2 500T and Fuji Eterna 500T shows that Kodak has values for Red Green and Blue, but Fuji has values for Magenta, Cyan, and yellow. Could someone clarify why these are different? I know that RGB are the primary colors of light and CMY is that of pigment but I thought in negative film it would be the same. Kodak: http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/products....4.4.16.4&lc=en Fuji: http://www.fujifilm.com/products/motion_pi...NA500_curve.pdf Again the answer may be right in the open, but any knowledge on the subject would be great. Nathan

Makes sense, thank you both. I have a Minolta Autometer III light meter and my ASA rating go from 40, 50, 64, 80, 100, 120, 160, etc... They are all apart by 1/3 except for the 120... that is odd but not important. Thanks for the 85 help! Nathan

According to the box of Super 8 Vision2 200T I just bought, to convert for daylight it suggests an 85 filter saying it makes its effective ISO=125. According to the ASC manual (9th Edition) the 85 filter is supposed to convert 5500 to 3400 and that it is the 85B that converts it to 3200. It also states that the exposure compensation is 2/3 a stop which makes the rating 120. I know on the speed issue I am splitting hairs, and on the temp issue it can be corrected in the transfer without a bump. I was really wondering if either of these sources have it backwards or if its just too close to make a difference.

Yes indeed they are expensive... therefore, part two of my question. Are the colored sticks on the slate pretty decent? At least for some basic work.

In the next month or so I am going to be shooting several tests, mostly for super 8, and some 16. Where is a place I could pick up a color chart to shoot at the head of each roll/location? The ASC Store only had sharpness charts, which are good as well, but I am specifically looking for color. Or are the colors on the clapper sticks accurate enough for most labs/ transfer facilities? They don?t seem to be too comprehensive. Thanks Nathan

Well, just found the website: www.kolumbus.fi/puistot/ it has a pretty comprehensive list of cameras and shutter angles. It looks like more camera have 220 shutters than i thought. The difference in metering for 220 over 180 is +3/10th of a stop. So for all intents and purposes, +1/3rd a stop over 180 degrees att he same settings? Correct me if im wrong.

Up until now I have been relying on my cameras built in light meter for shooting super 8. I am not so much a fan of that for obvious reasons. So I bought an older Minolta III light meter. The meter can do shutter speeds but not angles and can be set to a 1/50 of a second for 24fps with a 180 shutter. The rest is ASA compensations and the like, which is fine. I know you can find info on the shutter angle of many super 8 cameras but not all. Is it safe to assume that most are around 180 degrees? (I know some XL's go to 220 and some are at 160) Am I pretty safe sticking it at 180 unless I know otherwise? Also a 180 degree shutter at 18 fps is around a 1/35, or 1/30 minus 1/3 a stop. Is this accurate? That seems like and awful slow shutter to me. but is that the world of super 8?