Brian Rose

Thanks for the suggestion Mitch. I had researched Technicolor's camera system a lot, and believe it or not, their system was pretty similar to mine. They used a single, cubic beamsplitter to get two separate images. The difference was, they used a bipack, with two strips of neg sandwiched emulsion to emulsion. I attached a rough drawing of how their camera worked. Best, Brian R.

"It looks interesting, but how are you going to add that third camera someday for 3-color?" Very good question. This first camera system is basically a dry run for the more complex three strip system. It carries the same principles involved with the three strip camera I am planning, but it is simpler. I figure, better to encounter problems and setbacks on this more basic system, before I invest too much time and money in the bigger three strip model. But, to answer your question, yes I will have to redesign it somewhat to add the third camera. Basically, I will have to add an additional beamsplitter for the third camera, which means I will have to also to some recalculation, since such a change creates some new problems in the optics. Below is one design I am proposing. It is very similar to the current two strip system, except that the rear camera is set back further, and a second beamsplitter put in its place to make room for the third camera. However, by setting back the one camera, I will have to readjust all three, so they are equidistant, and therefore capture the same image area. And, I am sure there will be other complications, but hopefully I can work through as many as possible with this first set up. Best, Brian R

It can convey the range of visible light. Then, I use wratten filters mounted behind each camera lens to capture the range of the spectrum I require. Best, Brian Rose

All, Well, over winter break, after a lot of research, and some help from more than a few forum members, I built my first prototype camera system for the multistrip color effects that I have been experimenting with. This system is relatively simple, relying upon a beamsplitter, and two 16mm cameras mounted at precise 90 degree angles, and calibrated to run at the same frame rate. I can now record two geometrically identical images, thus elimintating the problems I had before with fringing and motion. And, since the whole system is contained in one space, on a single tripod, I can do pans, tilts, and almost any other camera movement (zooms are, unfortunately, not possible at this juncture). I will begin some camera tests and hope to have the footage back soon. For the meantime, I am only able to shoot two strip color (red and green), but I hope to eventually make a three strip system. Once I have the new footage in, I will post frames. Until then, here are some pics of what I've built so far. Again, just a prototype, but I'm looking forward to what it may yield. Thanks again for all your help in making this possible! Best, Brian Rose PS: Congrats to David Mullen on his latest achievement. I can only dream of someday making such beauty!

"Bob Elswit tested B&W stocks for Good Night and Good Luck, but found the speed and grain prohibitive. The fastest Kodak B&W stock (5222) is 200ASA, but Elswit found it too grainy." That is a good point..I did not consider grain. Which is too bad, because I really like grain, like a good BW 16mm. It gives it a bit of texture, like wood, y'know? "He liked the 5231 more, but it's only 64ASA, which is just too slow for interiors in this day and age." Boy, that makes you really admire those old productions, and what they managed to do on set with all that lighting. Sure makes me appreciate Gregg Toland and deep focus that much more! All in all, I can understand now why they use color, but it is still too bad. I think BW has some qualities that just cannot be reproduced. When done well, it has a certain sensuality that, I think, rival technicolor. IMO Best, Brian Rose

I've seen clips and trailers for The Good German, and the black and white seems "funny" to me. I can't quite put my finger on it, but something about it isn't right. I'm wondering, is it possible that they shot the film in color (like "Good Night, and Good Luck"), and then converted it to monochrome in post? If so, that would be a shame. When I learned Good Night, and Good Luck was color converted to black and white, it sucked a lot of my appreciation away. I wonder, are studios THAT afraid of shooting in monochrome? Best, Brian Rose

Two words, ones that still fill me with a mixture of sickness, rage and bile: "Pearl Harbor." Why is Robert Altman dead, and Michael Bay still making movies???

Thanks David for explaining that-you did it better than I could! Brian PS: Can't wait to see "The Astronaut Farmer!"

Why am I doing this? Why not? Sure, it'd be easier to use color neg, but screw easy. I do it because it is hard. It is worth the hassle to actually CREATE beautiful color. I would like to make this process practical, and use it on a film. I hope to use this in some way for my senior thesis project, and I want to do something really special. Creating my own color process does just that. And, hopefully I can make a name for myself as a color cinematographer, and perhaps that will help with finding a job. I figure, you've gotta have something to set yourself apart from everyone else in the field. There aren't too many people using three strip color processes...But more than that, I think that black and white tricolor seps are better color neg. They have much better archival properties, and yield far richer, and more accurate colors. Additionally, I have more control over my image, since I can manipulate any of the three color records any way I please. Also, I might mention that whether green is primary or secondary depends on if you are referring to additive or subtractive color methods. Subtractive processes, that which use dyes (like Technicolor and dye transfer printing) rely upon yellow, magenta and cyan as the primaries, and so you are correct in that green, red and blue are secondary. However, my process is ADDITIVE, and therefore, red, green and blue are the primary colors. I shot the negative using RGG seps, and then tinted them their respective colors in post. I did not use YCM. Hope that clears that up.

Hmmmm, I think there is a bit of confusion here. Okay. Everything visible to the human eye consists of three primary colors: red, green and blue. To capture color, one needs to record these three colors. So, if you want to do it with black and white film, you have to have three records, one for each color. If you have a stationary object, yes, you may use the same strip of film, and just take three photos, one after the other. If you want to record actual motion, you need to record all three records at the same time, which necessitates three separate strips of negative. Does that clear it up at all? Brian

That's what the first tests did. However, it is not possible to capture motion, since you are shooting successively, not simultaneously. The last photo is of a preliminary test using two cameras to capture motion. Essentially, to capture moving object, you need to have all three strips runnign at the same time, and ideally, captuing precisely the same image, through a beamsplitter, or shutter mechanism. Best, Brian Rose

Here are the latest 16mm tests to produce color images from black and white negative. Most of the images are three color still tests, like earlier. I mounted a bolex on a firm tripod, in a quite spot, and took three takes of the scene, one red, one green, one blue. I then tinted them, and combined them in Adobe Premiere Pro. The last image, here, is special. Here, I took two cameras, mounted together, and filmed a scene to see how well I could capture real motion. The result has some flaws. First, it is a two color image (like early technicolor) so the tonality is limited. Secondly, because the two strips are not geometrically identical, there is color fringing. However, I've taken a lesson, and my next step is to develop a method of capturing identical images in perfect sync. Any feedback would be most appreciated! Or, if anyone has a technicolor beamsplitting prism lying around.... Best, Brian R. Rose

Hey, anyone have any idea what film format For Your Consideration was shot on? I just saw it today, and although a few portions were clearly 35mm, most of it was fairly grainy, and had a certain softness to it that suggested Super 16 blown up to 35. Anyone know for sure? Best, Brian Rose

Tim, You are absolutely right in what you said about Mr. Altman. I supposed I was trying to find a way to frame the story for this message, board, since he was not a cinematographer proper, but a film director. I thought it important just to get the news out. In hindsight, I should have reworded it, based on what I (and others) knew about the extent of his involvement in the filmmaking process. Best, Brian Rose

I don't think age or health is relevant here. Yes he was fairly old, yes he had a long career, and lived to see his work recognized for what it is (sheer genius), but that does not make his death any less painful. The fact is there will be no more Robert Altman films. No one could do an ensemble film like he could. No one could interweave stories quite like him (compare "Crash" to his film "Short Cuts" to see what I mean). We've lost a true giant of the cinema today. He could have been forty, he could have been a hundred, it is still a tragedy, because we've lost someone who is utterly irreplaceable. Brian Rose

Granted, he wasn't a cinematographer, but we've lost an icon today-a master of filmmaking and of story telling, one who produced some of the finest images I can recall ever seeing on the screen. I'm at a loss. God, I'll miss him and his wonderful films! Brian Rose

It would be possible to do this with super 8. But yes, you would be shooting the film three times, and you would need to have the camera mounted firmly to capture the image. On the other hand, owing to its smaller area, it might be more difficult to recombine the image. It could wind up being very soft. Best, Brian Rose PS: I'll have some two color tests soon, once I send my next batch of film to the lab.

Synchronization, in theory, is simple enough. You have a color wheel in front, and link that through gears and such to the main drive shaft/winder of the Bolex camera. In practice, it will be a challenge to build such a device, but I hope to do it. My goal, at the moment, is to try and perfect a two color process. It's simpler than three colors, and has a very unique (if not accurate) look to it. With Super 8, it should be just as feasible. All you need is black and white film, and three color filters. You then record each scene three times with each filter. It has some drawbacks, like you cannot capture action without color fringing, and you must keep the camera absolutely steady, but that's the fun of it! In regards to my exposure, it was pretty simple. I just took a light reading based on my film's normal ASA (80), and then opened up several stops to compensate for the light loss due to the filters. As a rule of thumb, I opened up by 3 to 3.5 stops, and it came out fairly well. The blue record was a little overexposed, so in the future, I plant to lean toward 3 stops. Tinting was surprisingly each, at least in Adobe Premiere Pro: Step 1) Apply "Color Balance" to each color layer Step 2) Zero out every color except the one you want remaining (So, if you're working with the red record, zero out blue and green, while leaving the Red record at 100. Step 3) Stack each clip (I use blue as the base, with Green on Track 2, and Red on Track 3) Step 4) Apply the "Screen Key" to the RED and GREEN layers ONLY. Assuming you exposed the film right, you should see glorious, saturated, three strip color! Brian PS: I just completed some two-strip tests with two cameras--will report back soon....

All, Are there any 16mms out there that have a twin blade "butterfly" shutter? I'm looking for one I can modify with alternating color filters, like Kinemacolor. Thanks Brian Rose

You all raise some great points about using the "time slip" effect, and I'm trying to think of a project that will use this technique. The big challenge though, is trying to figure out how to capture action. These first tests were done in a crude manner. Essentially, what I did was wind up the Bolex as far as it would go, so I would get about 30 seconds at 24 FPS. I then shot ten seconds through a red filter, paused, inserted a green, shot another ten, and so on with the blue. So, there is a considerable time lapse between the three strips. At this point, I am down to three methods for achieving better coverage: 1) Use a color wheel, and shoot at triple the framerate. The problem is how to sinc up the color wheel.... 2) Use mirrors and/or prisms to capture the exact image 3)Finally, the one I lean toward, is using three cameras aligned to capture the same image. It won't be geometrically precise, but pretty darn close. Brian I forgot one other thing. Karl, the photographer you were talking about is named Sergei Prokudin-Gorskii. He made some really stunning images using a tricolor method. Looking at them, it's hard to believe they were shot nearly a century ago! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Mikhai...rokudin-Gorskii And thanks for the encouragement. I hope to have some new tests soon... Best, Brian Rose

There are several color filters available through Kodak's Wratten line. I used Red 24, Blue 47B and Green 61. With the filters, I overexposed the film by between 3.5 and 4 stops. In hindsight, I think I went a litte too far, as some of the images were a little blown out, especially the plant photo. Next time, I might try 3 stops or so. Thanks for the suggestion on the beamsplitter-i'll definitely have to look into it. I'm interested in experimenting with prisms, and with the three camera method suggested by nathan. Best, Brian Rose

Thanks for the link! I was thinking of something along those lines, but I hadn't figured out how to make it workable. Your link gives me an excellent start! So you know someone actually restoring a tech camera? Like a real, three strip camera? Awesome. What I would give to sit down and see the guts of one of those babies, especially that beamsplitter prism. Any info on that, or a website with updates? I'd love to learn more. Why is he doing the restoration...for a museum, or actual working condition... Again, thanks for the help, and the encouragement. I'm going to do some more tests soon, and then, I'll post some screengrabs. Best, Brian Rose

Thanks to the help of Mike Collier, I am able to show the frame grabs from my first experiment in creating natural color from black and white film. I shot it with a bolex, using Plus X BW Neg. I shot each scene three times, one through a red filter, green, and finally blue. The camera was secured on a tripod, to prevent any movement between takes. I then tinted each color record in premiere pro, and combined them with a screen key. Of course, at this time, I am limited to static scenes, since I took the exposures successively. My next challenge is to figure out how to make simulataneous exposures to capture real action. But, I hope to demonstrate that the three color method is practical, it can be done, and the results are amazing! Brian Rose

Everyone, I just got my first test footage back from the lab. My goal was to capture color using black and white film, and thanks in large part to the help of the forum, here are some frame grabs from the footage I shot. It is better than I could have expected!!! Sorry, not sure why I can't load my pics! How do you do it?

Thanks for the info. I shot a couple of test rolls that I will send to the lab in the next day or two. Once I get them back, I'll post some frames from the work. Until then... Brian