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Michael Rossetti

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  • Occupation
    Cinematographer
  1. Sorry about those three consecutive posts with the same thing - my computer was acting up. Anyway...I went to DuArt today and watched the footage and surprisingly it doesn't look bad. The one developed as 5222 was a little granier than the one developed as 5231, but they both had solid blacks and the grain didn't seem any worse than actual 5222 or 5231. The fog level wasn't really an issue. The two biggest issues were that on the white side of the background, near the edge of the frame, there was some noticeable flickering, and there were some occasional static marks. All things considered, I would say the film is definitely usable. Steve Blakely from DuArt agreed, though we both agreed that its not really safe for an extremely important project that would be costly to re-shoot if there was a problem. I may try to scan some frames and post them here if anyone is interested. Mike
  2. Hi Everyone, First I want to thank you all for your helpful responses. Let me update you on what I've done with the stock.... The stock was dated 1991, so it wasn't SUPER old, but still pretty old for film. I took a can into a bag and cut off a strip in order to check if the perforations matched those of modern stocks. The perfs lined up perfectly with some Kodak film that I had lying around. And, from what I could see, the stock seemed to be in OK shape - it wasn't falling apart or cracking in my hands and the emulsion wasn't just flaking off - which I feared it might. I checked around in New York to find a good lab that would test it and work with me if it turned out to be usable. DuArt turned out to be the one, and I worked with Steve Blakely over there (who was incredibly nice and helpful). He had me drop off all the cans so he could do a clip test and check the density and fog levels. After the test he told me the fog levels weren't too bad, but a little high, and so he wouldn't really recommend using the stock. It was still functional, but not in the best shape. He said he also saw some static marks. I decided to shoot a test anyway to see if the director still liked the look, so Steve said that it would be easiest for them if I shot the stock as if it were the two current Kodak B/W negative stocks (5222 and 5231). So I shot a human subject holding a gray card, in front of a half black and half white background; once rating the film at ASA 200 (5222) and once rating it at ASA 64 (5231). I'm going in to DuArt to watch the test this week and I will post again to let you know how it came out. If we still like it, we'll shoot some more tests and I will keep you updated. Thanks again, Mike
  3. Hi Everyone, First I want to thank you all for your helpful responses. Let me update you on what I've done with the stock.... The stock was dated 1991, so it wasn't SUPER old, but still pretty old for film. I took a can into a bag and cut off a strip in order to check if the perforations matched those of modern stocks. The perfs lined up perfectly with some Kodak film that I had lying around. And, from what I could see, the stock seemed to be in OK shape - it wasn't falling apart or cracking in my hands and the emulsion wasn't just flaking off - which I feared it might. I checked around in New York to find a good lab that would test it and work with me if it turned out to be usable. DuArt turned out to be the one, and I worked with Steve Blakely over there (who was incredibly nice and helpful). He had me drop off all the cans so he could do a clip test and check the density and fog levels. After the test he told me the fog levels weren't too bad, but a little high, and so he wouldn't really recommend using the stock. It was still functional, but not in the best shape. He said he also saw some static marks. I decided to shoot a test anyway to see if the director still liked the look, so Steve said that it would be easiest for them if I shot the stock as if it were the two current Kodak B/W negative stocks (5222 and 5231). So I shot a human subject holding a gray card, in front of a half black and half white background; once rating the film at ASA 200 (5222) and once rating it at ASA 64 (5231). I'm going in to DuArt to watch the test this week and I will post again to let you know how it came out. If we still like it, we'll shoot some more tests and I will keep you updated. Thanks again, Mike
  4. Hi Everyone, First I want to thank you all for your helpful responses. Let me update you on what I've done with the stock.... The stock was dated 1991, so it wasn't SUPER old, but still pretty old for film. I took a can into a bag and cut off a strip in order to check if the perforations matched those of modern stocks. The perfs lined up perfectly with some Kodak film that I had lying around. And, from what I could see, the stock seemed to be in OK shape - it wasn't falling apart or cracking in my hands and the emulsion wasn't just flaking off - which I feared it might. I checked around in New York to find a good lab that would test it and work with me if it turned out to be usable. DuArt turned out to be the one, and I worked with Steve Blakely over there (who was incredibly nice and helpful). He had me drop off all the cans so he could do a clip test and check the density and fog levels. After the test he told me the fog levels weren't too bad, but a little high, and so he wouldn't really recommend using the stock. It was still functional, but not in the best shape. He said he also saw some static marks. I decided to shoot a test anyway to see if the director still liked the look, so Steve said that it would be easiest for them if I shot the stock as if it were the two current Kodak B/W negative stocks (5222 and 5231). So I shot a human subject holding a gray card, in front of a half black and half white background; once rating the film at ASA 200 (5222) and once rating it at ASA 64 (5231). I'm going in to DuArt to watch the test this week and I will post again to let you know how it came out. If we still like it, we'll shoot some more tests and I will keep you updated. Thanks again, Mike
  5. I was recently approached by a director who possess a large amount of Soviet-era B&W 35mm stock which she would like to shoot a film with. I'm trying to find out if it is possible to get it processed and how to go about it, also, if there is any information out there about this film. I plan to shoot a latitude test, but I need to know where to take it to get developed. Its called "A2" and was made by a company called "Svema" (or "Cbema" in Cyrillic). ANY information would be a huge help.
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