Steven Budden

Have you paid them anything yet? I think camera repair folks are just often slow and don't do things unless they're forced. Make up some tight deadline and say you need it by then or you'll find someone else. Maybe that will call their bluff. They won't get much business stealing people's cameras and I've been worried about the same thing in the past but the worries turned out to be unwarranted. Steven

Huh? What is PCE? Steven

Hi Michael, You don't need a tobin sync motor do you? Steven

Any advice for getting a look like that of Dreyer's Joan of Arc? Both in terms of thecontrast, high level of detail (in facial features specifically), full tonal range. I also like the way the lens is crystal clear in the center and vignettes in certain corners and edges... what is that caused by and how might I reproduce that effect generall (I'm using a bolex reflex right now)? I'm shooting Fomapan reversal but I'm also open to trying Kodak neg or tri x. Also, I'm not using computers so I'd like to duplicate the effect during shooting. Any insight appreciated. Thanks! Steven

Check out the San Francisco School of Digital Filmmaking. Steven

Depends on what you will be using it for. For instance, I'm going backpacking this weekend for three days in Big Sur, CA and bringing my bolex RX4 along. I couldn't bring an arri. Steven

I think UPS is definitely a better option. I ship film through them and they put a large PHOTOGRAPHIC FILM< DO NOT XRAY stamp on there. They definitely are never hand searched, and I doubt they're x rayed. This is for maybe a 1.5 x 1.5 ' box. Steven

http://cgi.ebay.com/PL-mount-Super-16mm-Bo...1QQcmdZViewItem Super 16mm with magazines. Steven

Double perf will work fine if you can get double perf film. Make sure you get a little air blower and just blow all the junk out of the inside and particularly out of the gate. Does the camera run smooth? It could need a pro lube job but it might be ok. What do you plan to do with the final project? Most shoot negative these days but you need to get a workprint made to see it (because it will come back from the lab as a negative, like the neg that comes with still film). Generally people shoot negative, get a workprint made and edit that, and then conform the original negative to match the workprint and send that off to get prints. Or use a computer which can be costly too. The emulsion (the dull side of the film) faces out. I'd start with black and white reversal. Here price is approx 15 cents a foot to process negative/ color, and 27 cents a foot for workprint. Maybe 17 cents a foot for reversal. Hope this helps. If you look before you leap you may never leap anywhere! Steven

It isn't generally that crucial because the front element isn't in focus. Whatever is there is very soft and blurred and light pours in around it. When I began filmmaking I would not accept a lens that was less than spotless... I sold a lens which had fungus inside. Then the person who bought it showed me footage he had taken and the fungus, which looked fairly annoying on the lens, didn't show up at all! Rear element flaws I guess are more of a problem because they're nearer to the film plane and therefore less forgiving. Depends on what you're shooting too. If you're shooting a clear sky then specs may show up, whereas if you're shooting an architectural scene or a forest they may not. Steven

If you're looking for scratches, simply run the negative through the projector. Voila! Steven

If you've never shot film before I'd say go with a bolex and get to know film. Many people get into buying a nice camera package and they never even shoot with it. You'll see most nice ebay auctions say something like... "I bought this camera a few years ago and never used it." In case this happens with you, might as well not throw all your money in one direction. You can get a sync SBM with a good zoom for under $2000, and use the money for film processing and the seemingly infinite other expenses that seem to arise as soon as you plan to start shooting. You can easily convert it to super if you'll be editing on a computer. Also, for documentaries, the bolex is small and you can wind it for those non sync shots which fill most of every documentary. Also, if you can get a PTL or an MC zoom, you'll have many possibilities. Macro, decent speed, etc. I've got the MC and it can even take a 6.5 wide angle aspheron. If you find that you need a more "sophisticated" camera (you probably won't), you can easily sell it off and upgrade without losing much money in the process. Just start shooting as soon as you can. It's easy to get obsessed with gear and that wastes valuable time you could be using gaining film experience. Steven

I thought it rather brilliantly emphasized the claustrophobia of hong kong. Wide angle shots are the standard nowadays and I tend to appreciate artists doing away with the standard. The framing in 2046 had other interesting psychological effects as well... It somehow complimented the obsessive nature of most of the characters. Steven

You could try and find a reputable agent. Steven

No problem, did you win? Steven

I second the recommendation for painting with light. Many legendary directors used this as a textbook back in the day. Steven

Les Bosher can do it. Or ... Warren... the last name is warren (forgot the first). Steven

That's right. For many applications it isn't worth more money, except the 26mm and 75mm are preset macros (in 16mm) therefore can do extreme close ups. It is handy. You can look at the light meter, set the lens at the correct F stop, and then open wide up to focus and get the subject in view. When you're ready, you just turn the lens while still looking through the viewfinder back to the f stop already set... it stops there automatically (it won't go further). The knobs make the lense a little more bulky though, and the 26mm is a bit bigger than the 25mm non preset. Slighter faster too, as noted. Steven

An HR on ebay with magazine just went up for sale. Steven

Sell film on ebay and use the money for pure evil? Steven

Also, of course try and see beyond the colors to the values. Objects that really stand out in color (a red on a green, for instance) can get lost in each other if the film reads them as approximately the same value. Steven

And warmer wouldn't automatically mean more saturated. A full spectrum of colors will often read as more saturated. I'd just try the film as is first and adjust from there. Steven

I have similar ambitions. To start I'm hand processing my negative and the editing workprint. Then I'm going to cut my own negative. That is bound to put a few specks here and there. I love the look of aged film because it calls attention to the film medium instead of polishing it all away. After the current short I'm going to shoot reversal and project and edit the original. I'm not sure I'll urinate on the film for the age ole look. Perhaps I'll leave that to the critics! Steven

Thanks, I've figured it out since I asked that. The grain can't be removed. It is in fact how the image is projected on the glass... otherwise it would just shine through. Steven

You can get a tobin sync motor for the camera. The newer ones are bulkier but quieter. He might also make sync pulse generators for that other motor? Check the site. You could lube the camera. I've had an SBM and an SB and they were both rather quiet (lubed recently). Now I have a blimp I got on ebay which is leather with padding inside. Fits around the camera nicely and buckles. Keeps the thing running pretty quiet. I'd say from 8 feet away I can barely hear it running. The magazine makes the camera way way louder, so I guess you can avoid that for sync shots. Steven