Pierre P Blais

Hi, Fishing for some information here... I am going to Lyon France around the end of the month to help a friend out with a project as his cameraman/dp, and I am hoping to travel light with just my camera and tripod, and hopefully rent on location. It's a small project and I doubt I'll be looking for much, maybe a small hmi or a few kinos or the French equivalent, things like that... I'd like to know if anyone has any experience with rental houses in France, more specifically in the Lyon area? I did a google search but didn't find much, but maybe I don't have the right vocabulary for these things in France... As a related question, is there a website or a resource that'll tell me the French lingo equivalent of various frequent film terms? Thanks! Pierre

Hi I'm wondering what to chose for a serie of interviews I'm planning to shoot, and I'm hesitating between using the Kinoflo Diva-light 400 or the Kinoflo Double 4' or possibly 4bank. I'd like some advice on evaluating one vs the other. I have worked with a DP that uses the Diva Light extensively, but I always find there is a bit of an unpleasant color bias when we use it, even worse when you start dimming, I've also been told by another DP that this is a known issue with the Diva light that is less of an issue with the regular Kinos... I myself have only worked once with a 4bank kinoflo, during a training course on lighting, I can't say I noticed anything wrong with it, it seemed to mixe very well with both tungsten and HMI'S, but I didn't have as much of an eye for these things at the time vs. now. So I'd like to hear thoughts of people who've used both quite a bit! This is going to be my first real experience as DP, hence my wanting to make good choices, usually I'm more of a focus puller, 1st AC. Thanks!

This is the liquid version i'm talking about yes. That is good to know, I would not necessarily have thought about doing that, but since I have the glass bottles... now I will! thanks!

I was wondering, how long can I keep unmixed e-6 chemical component from the single use kit before they lose their properties? The kit yields 5L and that's a bit much for a single use, considering my lomo thank only uses 1.5 litres about, and I rarely process more then 200ft-400ft per 4 week period, if that. So I'd much rather mix smaller quantities of the solutions, when I need it. thanks! Pierre

Thanks guys, that's exactly what I wanted to know.

Just checking, I just got 5 very nice old nikkor prime lense (dating from 1979), with matching 1979 nikon slr, at a bargin price. I'd like to use them on my canon dslr and possibly on my Bolex if I find the right adaptors. Are old nikon mount different from the current nikon? I mean like with Canon and the old FD and curent EF mounts... Just wondering so I order the right adaptors. can I purchase a Nikon F-mount to Canon EF adaptor? thanks! Pierre

Quick question, how much can you push ektachrome 100d and still get acceptable result? I ask because I have a project where I need to shoot color reversal, and since my options are limited...I want to know what I can get away with in situations where lighting is less then ideal. Thanks!

Thanks Richard for your reply. I'll definitely go for it then. It's good to know about rating the film under, in this case the footage I was going to test with I didn't shoot specifically for doing this, so it's was exposed at the recommended asa, so we'll se what I get... I've never actually tried pushing yet (or pulling for that matter), I know that it' a question of leaving the footage in the first developer longer, but about how much longer per stop? I think a friend of mine once told me it was something around 1min for one stop, 2 for 2, 4 for 3, 8 for 4 and so on in powers of 2. is that correct?

Has this been done by someone? cross-processing ecn-2 negative in E6 bath? what does it look like? interesting? no? waste of time? I know it will mess up the colour and all, but I'm curious, I have some E6 chemical bath left-over from developing a few rolls of 7285, they're still good for a few more rolls but I don't have any 7285 left to develop so I'm tempted to try this out with some 7219 and 7213 rolls I haven't process yet and that don't contain anything important. also, about the remjet... In the past I've developed small amount of 7219 in c-41 baths, and removed the backing at the end only (a lot easier when the lights are on!), it worked fine (i mean I know c-41 isn't the same as ECN-2 but still, colours were ok, nothing overwhelmingly wrong with the footage), could I do the same and remove the remjet at the end only in e-6 bath? anyone ever attempted something similar? any thoughts are welcome. if anyone is interested I'll post the results I get :)

I am wondering how I should rate 7222 stock to expose properly under industrial arc lights (mercury vapor I believe). Kodak says to rate at 200 for tungsten and 250 for daylight. The arc lamps in question are not HMI's, but I'm thinking rating more towards the 250... To my eyes the temp of the light are a little warmer then daylight, but certainly not tungsten warm, and with a bit of a green bias too. Any thoughts? Thanks!

merci, ça répond a ma question, évidement je vais faire des tests pour me faire une idée du look, mais ça me donne une direction et une idée à quoi m'attendre.

I have recently started experimenting with hand processing BW 16mm film. So far I've successfully developed some reversal 7266 as positive, and some hi-con 7363 as negative. I'm not looking at getting "lab" results anyways, and when I need clean stable result I still use a lab, but since technicolor stopped processing 16mm here in Montreal, and the closest lab requires shipping back and forth to Toronto, I'm enjoying having the ability to see what I shoot much sooner... anyhow, I have what may seem like a novice question, but exactly how are positive made from negative? if I ask my lab in Toronto do make me a positive copy of my negative, what exactly goes on? So far I've only gone the digital route of scanning and making a "positive" digitally, but I'm curious. Is it a dark room process, I'm assuming it isn't. Does it require an optical printer? I know the film-coop I'm member of here has one in a room, though I've never quite understood what it can do... also, I have yet to attempt hand cross-processing... would cross-processing a BW negative like the 7222 give me something similar to a positive? I understand the unpredictability of cross-processing, particularly as it relates to colour reversal, where you can get some intense color shift, green bias and such, but how does it relate in bw stock? shades of grey shifts? would projecting a cross-processed negative be more "lookable" then projecting a negative? I have a project coming up for a theatre/circus show I'm directing, in which 16mm visuals will be used. 99% of these visuals will be digital transfers rear-projected in HD on stage, but I've been musing with the idea of bringing out my 16mm projector on stage, and projecting a short sequence onto the actors at one point during the show... so far so good. Things get complicated when I start musing further... what if in each performance night (only 5 nights total) I had someone on stage filming with my Bolex, just a single 100' roll, and that 3min of footage would be the physically projected film the following night (i.e. opening night would feature the 100' shot during dress-rehearsal and so on)... this implies I would hand-process the film during the day, for projection at night. However using 7266, rated at 160 for 3200K, in an uneven theatrically lit stage might be challenging exposure-wise. 7222, rated at 200 for 3200K, cross-processed would gain about 1-stop (am I making this up?), which brings me closer to my goal, but would the result be watchable when projected? I don't mind something a bit surreal, or whit a distinct aesthetic signature, but I would not want a negative-like, inverted image. any thoughts? thanks! Pierre

I did a quick search on this but didn't find anything addressing my concern so I though I'd just post directly. I'm going to be shooting some concert footage on a 7D, and I'm thinking I should maybe rent a good zoom lens for the event. The reason behind this is: #1 my own lens kit only has prime lens (the longest being an 85), the only zoom I have is the rather not so versatile and rather slow 17-55 lens that came bundled with my first DSLR (t2i) #2 I want to avoid having to switch lens because the concert is only about 1h long, and while I'm not looking to capture beginning to end (12min cap anyways), I do want to get as much as possible. #3 I'd want to vary my framing, but I can't move much during the concert, because this is a concert in a classical hall I've been required to be as discreet as possible. I will be positioned at aprox. 30' from the stage (based on the hall measurements I was given). because I'm renting price isn't an issue. so you can go crazy with your suggestions! I am concerned about speed tough, I have no idea what lighting condition I'll be faced with during the event... In classical concert the room rarely goes completely dark and the stage tends to be richly and evenly lit on the performers, but I need to be prepared for the eventuality of having low light conditions. an ƒ2.8 would be ideal, I'm afraid that a 4 would be taking a bit of a risk. I need something that goes into the telephoto range to get some close-ups and tighter framing on stage, how much of a telephoto I'm not really sure. because I will only be allowed in the hall the day of the concert I kinda have to be prepared for anything. I was thinking maybe the 70-200mm ƒ2.8 L would be a candidate but I'm worried that on an APS-C cam the field of view would be too narrow at 70, any thoughts? I am shooting an ensemble of 20 musicians and 2 dancers performing on a roughly 36' stage and I would like to have some wider shot of the full ensemble. I could consider renting two lens because during the concert there will be 2 spoken interventions which don't really interest me, which I could use to switch lens, 2 lens would be my maximum. thanks for any suggestions and comments, and if you think I'm approaching this the wrong way do let me know (constructively please), I am still a fairly unexperienced DP still learning... cheers Pierre