Robert Hughes

B&L Baltars, though older design, were the standard Hollywood lenses of the previous generation, and depending on their condition are inexpensive. Wider lenses such as the 25mm will probably exhibit vignetting, but the 75 and 100mm Baltars I have are things of beauty; think Greta Garbo / Bette Davis glamour shots. And no need for Pro Mist filters on these puppies - the effect is built in!

Now that's a decent amount of light out of a Lowell! Did it peel your wallpaper? :rolleyes:

You've read American Cinematographer magazine for a year. That's nice, but remember that any magazine is just a series of advertisements strung together with enough filler between ads to keep you buying the paper. With that same year of time you could have read two dozen books on cinematography and lighting and come to this forum with enough background to know all those technical terms that are bandied about here. So get cracking!

Note that toning and tinting are two different processes: Toning changes the color of the dark area of an image, and tinting adds color to the light areas. Toning is commonly done on paper prints for archival stability. You can try tinting an image on acetate print stock with standard food coloring. Supposedly you can tone and tint a print stock for a 2 color effect.

Start with the simplest photo development process first; b&w negative. Here is a simple "bucket process" that works: Buy a new roll of Plus-X or Tri-X film, a new package of D-76 developer, and a new bottle of Rapid Fixer. Take some pictures, then mix up a batch of D-76 developer (follow the directions on the packaging, i.e. dissolve in water at 122-130 degrees F, then let cool to room temperature). Mix up a batch of fixer, also. In TOTAL DARKNESS, place your film in a bucket of developer and slosh it around for 5 minutes, then drain off the developer and rinse with running water for another 5 minutes. By now development is complete and you can turn on the lights. Place your film in the fixer and slosh it around; the film should clear in about 5 minutes - keep it in the fixer another 5 minutes. Drain off fixer, then rinse in running water for another 5-10 minutes. Remove film from the rinse bath, squeegie off with your fingers, and hang the film over a clothesline or shower rod to dry (about 1/2 hour). When you're done you'll have a roll of developed negative. Practise this technique until you can get it consistently right before you move on to more complicated reversal or color processes.

The jury is still out on this issue. I have two relatives who know more than myself about global warming; a brother-in-law who's a PhD toxicologist for an oil company in Canada and a cousin who's a career statistician in the US Gov't; neither are convinced by Al Gore's position. Keep in mind that (A) politicians are in the business of getting themselves noticed, and (B) academicians and scientists who publish are, too. I haven't seen the movie, but saw Mr. Gore give a speech at an investor's meeting a couple weeks back. Of course he's tooting his own horn, but he did have a succinct phrase describing the current administration's ecological policy: "The paralysis of denial". His phrase seems apt.

"Please respond URGENT!" Lines like this from uninformed beginners never fail to crack me up. "Hello, I wandered into an airliner and accidently made it take off. Are Goodyear tires better than Firestones for landing a 747? Please respond, URGENT!" Even the simplest questions can have complex answers.

I like the S715XL with its nice big lens, but it's a big camera for S8. Usually I shoot with the smaller, more pedestrian Nikon R8, even though the lens isn't as nice, but the ease of use is in its favor.

This thread smells funny. A guy who's been to film school for a year doesn't know what Kodachrome is? But buys high contrast b&w film from Pro8? Is somebody playing the fool?

Take a look at just about any mainstream American theatrical production of the 50's and 60's; they were typically shot on Mitchells with Super Baltar lenses. Of course they were new back then.

Both media are commercially and artistically viable. They have different technological origins and specifics but from the production standpoint have a lot of overlap in terms of knowledge base, workflow and final delivery requirements. Depending on your career plans you can choose to specialize in one or the other, or learn both at the same time, like learning to play guitar and keyboard. IMHO you've got to learn video to have a salable job, and you should learn filmmaking to be a competent cinematographer.

I have shot very detailed images using Plus X in my Bauer S715XL with Angenieux 6-90mm lens. But always remember that the best shots require sufficient light.

The reason for that is that the Bolex takes a frame or 2 to get up to speed. I've seen that occur on my Bolex.

Hah! Reminds me of the cheap furniture stores selling pressboard/vinyl covered shelves with "real simulated wood grain", or the "brick" condos made of framed chipboard with a brick face. :P What is real if it's false?

Dear Pro8, Thank you for providing the abovementioned stocks in Super 8 format. If ever I get around to needing some, I might give you a call. My request is for you to roll up some nitrate based films in Super 8 packaging. That could be fun, and would give Homeland Security something to think about. Nobody's requested these tools on the forum yet, so let me be the first. Pleez hede our call. :rolleyes:

One need look no further than the fate of "art music" in the 20th Century Western world. Just about anybody can relate to Beethoven's "Ode to Joy", but who among us can whistle or even remember anything from Webern, Cage or Stockhausen? How often will the classical music stations play one of these latter day composers? The musicians choked themselves on their own cleverness; now all that's left for Joe clarinettist is either endless repetition of the works of long-dead longhairs or elevator muzak. With mass recording and broadcast media, the pool of performing talent available overwhelms the public's need for it, so most musicians either starve or give up and take on another career.

Now we're starting to get somewhere. But again, the simplest and most cost effective solution is a modification on an existing standard 16mm design rather than a ground-up S8. How about supporting the half-16 widescreen format, with the bottom half of the gate masked horizontally, as could be done on the old Kodak Cine Specials? You'd get image resolution comparable to S8 with additional wide screen, in-camera pressure plate, twice the footage due to reversible dual perf film, and all the optical and mechanical innovations existing in modern 16mm cameras and film stocks, without spending another dime in R&D or manufacturing. Film stock and processing costs are also precisely 1/2 that of 16mm, thus cheaper than Super 8. This is, notably, an appropriate mod for cameras that cannot be converted to Super 16 anyway - it gives these machines a new lease on life.

I run my R8 with a standard 1.5V battery and adjust the exposure compensation to +1 stop. It works fine.

Think of it as a bottle of shampoo - a 25 foot cartridge, with an additional 25 feet FREE!

Yes, new S8 film and processing are both less expensive than with the larger formats. However if you are transferring to video the price differential is not as great as telecine prices are often determined by the minute rather than by the foot. And if you are intending for theatrical distribution the costs of S8 blowup or transfer to digital intermediate can eat up the price advantage of camera stock. And S8 will never look as sharp as properly shot HD or 16 / 35mm. So plan your production accordingly. S8 was originally an amateur format - mind its heritage and keep it cheap.

I'd recommend you get a few Lowell Tota-Lites with stands. I bought a couple of 'em 20 years ago, a couple more 10 years ago, and still use them regularly. They're small, tough, and give out plenty of light. With reflector umbrellas or Chimera boxes they serve as effective soft lights (I saw a Jimmy Carter video interview with this lighting setup a couple weeks back). You can clip 1/2 blue gels on the frames and get usable daylight balance, or run them without gels for tungsten. They have almost no beam control; you'll need to employ flags on C-stands to use them effectively. Also consider a couple of fresnels or PAR lamps for tighter lighting control. You can often find cheap ones at stage supply houses.

It's a shame that Trevor feels a need to hide behind a mask and strike out at his fellow filmmakers, but that's how some people are I guess. Kind of like a chimp who throws turds at <Iraqi civilians> innocent bystanders then runs for cover. :ph34r: Hey, big guy, come on back as yourself, leave the mask behind....

If you want to get paid on time you should get a vendor credit card processor, and insist upon COD credit card transactions. Don't give out 30 day net accounts to new clients or anyone who doesn't have an established history of good credit relations with you. Credit deadbeats are common at both ends of the economic ladder; student and big corporations. I remember sitting in a corporate department meeting where an executive was extolling the virtues of non-payment to vendors via the 30/60/90/120 payment plans. In his view, any money not paid to a vendor was money that was his to use for any other purpose. He intentionally held off payment to anyone not initiating immediate legal action against the corporation, and was rewarded by the company for his sound fiscal management. How is the independent cinematographer going to stand a chance against a phalanx of corporate lawyers? Don't put yourself in that position. Then, after they got caught, they used their contacts in high gov't circles to declare them "dead" and enter a Witness Protection Program for high-rolling contributors. :angry:

Wrong comparison. Vinyl records are made on big, precision industrial record lathes, not home transcription units. Vinyl record cutters are equivalent to 35mm studio cameras, not Super 8 toys. And nobody's making new record lathes anymore, either. Why worry about Super 8? Use one of the thousands of cameras still available and enjoy it. Don't make it another religion, we've got too many jihadists and evangelists out there already.

OK, if it's gonna be paid for anyway, get a standard Sony broadcast studio camera package with on-camera monitor, zoom & focus controls, CCU, triax cable, Sachtler tripod, 8" monitor, waveform/vectorscope and a recording deck (either BetaSP or DVCam). This is a standard setup for industrial and commercial video shoots, is relatively portable (the shipping cases come on casters), and gives top notch SD video performance. Learn how to assemble and balance the camera on the tripod, how to adjust tilt and pan drag, how to operate the CCU and align the camera with the waveform/vectorscope, how to obtain correct sync between CCU and record deck, and tear down the system without losing or breaking anything. If you learn these critically important camera engineering and operation tasks you'll be a step ahead of every kamkorder kid in your class.