Josh Silfen

Does anyone know of a lab in New York that processes 16mm Ektachrome 7285 (E-6 process)? I saw the list of labs on Kodak's web site (http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/products/reversal/accreditationLabs.jhtml?id=0.1.4.4.6.4.6.4&lc=en) but it only mentions 5285 (35mm) so it seems like it might be an old list. Thanks. -Josh Silfen

I am a struggling non-union DP and have a hypothetical problem that may arise in the not-too-distant future. I have a good friend from film school with whom I have often collaborated, and all of whose student films I shot. In June we made our first feature together. He directed and I shot it. It was a low-budget project (Super16, a couple hundred thousand dollars), but had some pretty recognizable faces and a great script and a lot of talent that went into it. Who knows what will happen with it, but by all accounts it seems like we may really have a great product here. Now one of our lead actresses may be helping the director get represented through her agency and his career may really be taking off. Now, this is purely hypothetical, but my concern is what will happen if the movie actually does go somewhere, and he gets starts getting big jobs and wants to hire me, but can't because I'm not union. What would be the possible courses of action here? I'm not sure I'm eligible for union membership as a DP (I hear you need 100 days of paid DP work. Is there a minimum you need to be paid or does $50 a day count? And how do you prove you worked? I've read you need pay stubs from payroll companies, but what if your low-budget jobs pay you in cash or personal check?). What if I were eligible to join as an AC? I once heard that you can shoot union shows for 100 days as an AC before you have to pay the upgrade to become a DP. Is that true? Or is there any way to just shoot a union show and not be union? Or if he wants to hire me to shoot a union show is there some other way that he or the producers could get me into the union? Basically my question is: If that scenario were to happen, would I just get screwed and have to sit back and watch as he becomes phenomenally successful and leaves me behind, or is there some way the situation would work itself out? I appreciate any insight anyone may have into this type of situation. Like I said, it is a purely hypothetical question, but I'd rather know any info now than wait until it actually happens. Thanks a lot. -Josh Silfen

I was wondering if anyone had any suggestion for compressing a reel for viewing online. I know online is obviously not the best viewing environment for anyone's work, and even with the best compression methods the results can sometime be cringe-inducing, but it often seems like the most practical way to get your work out to a lot of people. I'm just looking for any info on compression methods that people have had luck with. Are certain formats better than others? Quicktime? RealPlayer? I use a Mac, but I think images often appear brighter on a Mac than a PC. Should I have different versions for Mac and PC users? Should I increase the brightness for PC users in the compression software, or before I output the project in Final Cut Pro? Any ideas or info on this topic would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Josh Silfen

I am shooting a low-budget feature, and I was wondering about the reliability of recans and short ends. I read some posts on the subject that said fog levels could vary for every can, etc. and that shooting with them is not ideal. In a hypothetical situation in which my choices were shooting 35mm with all short ends and recans, or super-16 with brand new factory-direct film stock from the same batch, which is preferable? What if the film ends up on video? What if it ends up with a theatrical release? Will different cans really not match? What if I have the lab do 'clip tests' on all the rolls beforehand? Will they be able to tell me if the pictures will match or not? I'm sure there are probably varying opinions on this, and I'd like to get a range of them. Thanks a lot. -Josh Silfen