Jon Kukla

Wow. Excellent work!

If you're actually asking about the CAT number - ie the one towards the lower right which reads something like "CAT 847 4439" or the like, then that's a catalog specification number that matches the particular type of film in detail to its catalog entry. Even if the stock is the same, if it has a different pitch, length, perforation, etc., then it should have a different CAT number, IIRC. But if you're asking about the emulsion number, then let's take one for example: 7218 134 022.02 76.1 7218 - the leading 7 means that it's 16mm gauge. 65mm and 35mm films will start with a 5 instead. The last two digits designate the particular emulsion type (in this case 18 is Vision2 500T). 134 - This is the emulsion batch number. Each time Kodak needs to prepare the emulsion mix again, it gets a new batch number. Depending on the particular emulsion type and other factors, a batch can make between 5 and 50 parent rolls. 022 - This is the parent roll number. A parent roll is about 4000 feet long and 54 inches wide. 02 - This is the cut number. It defines the number of cuts made lengthwise along the parent roll. A 4000 foot roll is used because the cuts will divide equally whether the parent roll is to be cut into 100, 400, or 1000 foot cuts. 76.1 - This is the slit number. It defines the slits made width-wise along the parent roll. For 35mm, these will range from 1-38; for 16mm, from 1-78.

No, I meant put it in front of your face when you can see the sweet spot, and then move yourself out of the way while keeping the board in place. I agree with your op - ideally the AC shouldn't be in the shot unless the location geography makes it necessary.

Try getting to a point where you can look right down the barrel of the lens straight into the gate. Then put it in front of your face. You won't want to do that once you get it down, but when you're starting out, sometimes that's the easiest thing to do in a tight situation. If the operator is reframing a lot, then try not to check the monitor until the last second.

I agree, it's probably not a good idea to buy a used one from a stranger (at least without having the opportunity to inspect it and do the film strip test mentioned on the Harrison website first). However, I don't think it's suspicious that someone is selling one - I bought a jumbo tent from a focus puller I work with often and trust. He simply had no need for it anymore, and had bought it late in his loading career. He barely used it because he went up to focus not long after and tended to only use the jumbo if absolutely necessary. It's had no problems. So obviously, buyer beware and try to check it out in person if possible.

If you know that you're going to have to duplicate frames in order to acheive a slow motion look, then it depends on what you want. If you want a rather blurry and slurred look (a la Chungking Express or the standoff scene in Three Kings), then you'd want the shutter angle to be maxed out, so that you retain motion blur as best as possible. However, if you want it to look as crisp and frozen as possible, then you're going to want to close down the shutter as tight as possible. Closing down to 11.2 degrees, for example, will lose 4 stops of light compared to a normal 180 degree shutter. So you have to keep that in mind too. But it will render the image with clearer definition and less motion blur due to the much shorter exposure time.

Nope. See the American Widescreen Museum for a quick rundown far better than I could do it.

You're using the 435 for sync sound?

If you're doing a telecine for editing, then you shouldn't be splicing it at all - you just let the transfer house take care of transferring each of the rolls.

I agree that taping the edges on modern and well maintained equipment should be entirely unnecessary. On the other hand, if you are planning on using older mags from, say, an Eclair NPR or Mitchell or what have you, then it probably isn't a horrible idea.

Also just for the record, you can identify the perf type by looking on the can label for a number ending with 2994. If it is one perf, it will be listed as 1R-2994; if two perf, it will be 2R-2994.

It's only a cinematography process - the prints are projected as normal on regular 35mm projectors. The prints themselves use a different color printing technology (dye imbibition lithography) instead of a photochemical dye coupler process, but from a projection booth standpoint, it wouldn't appear any different. In the theater, however, the print will look much more vibrant with greater contrast range. It also is more or less fade-resistant, which makes it very important for archivists.

Work your ass off, listen and try to anticipate, and stay in contact with the ACs after the shoot is over. The rest will fall into line fine, I should imagine. Don't worry about union and tax things, as the union is MUCHO expensive for someone without regular higher-end work.

Securing locations with local authorities and finding a good production designer will likely be far easier, I would hazard to guess. But then again, it may be worth at least trying a test to see if you're up for really doing the greenscreen for the full haul.

Other good marking methods in less tape-friendly environments include chalk, liquid chalk spray, "sausages" (long thin bean-bags usually made for this purpose), stakes in the ground, pieces of rubber matting (usually with color tape on them), and extra sandbags. I'm certain that there are many more that I am overlooking.

Usually the ballast will have a silent option for 25 fps, which should handle 50Hz fine. Otherwise, you might need to use flicker-free if you don't have a meter, but that will also make the HMI louder.

As far as I know, it's 1/2 inch gaffer's tape. But then, I rarely have heard it called spike tape. (Surely 1/2" gaffer is less ambiguous?)

[double posting]

The first thing about diopters is that the diopter number is the reciprocal of the new "infinity" distance in meters. In other words, a 1/2 diopter will make the infinity mark on the lens focus on 2 meters, while a 2 diopter would have it focused on 1/2 a meter. The rest of your scale will have to be refigured by eye focus. There are two other things to take note of: one, the reciprocal number is the distance from the subject to the diopter, not the image plane; two, if you stack diopters, they should be stacked from largest power closest to the lens on down. This may require a filter tray or two in between them, however, since larger power diopters have greater curvature. If you have the time, doing a quick test during checkout or when you have free time should allow you to get the procedure down so that the time spent changing everything and setting the frame while on set will be minimal.

Consistency is the most important thing. (As much as possible, anyway.)

Is the Xtera the same as the XTRprod2?

You're both right - the point is that keeping an object at a fixed size and then either going wider and closer or tighter and further away shouldn't change depth of field - the two factors will cancel each other out. Therefore, the image size (determined by focal length and distance) and the aperture are the only two factors. This is why you need to stop down to increase DoF in a fixed framing - no combination of lens length and subject distance will change the DoF.

One very handy trick is switching out the bulbs for a higher-wattage bulb like a Photoflood #1 or #2.

I believe that's a 35mm issue in the event that you theoretically pickup some short ends which were used in a magazine which was running in reverse. I don't think it is actually possible with Super 16 though, since it's single perf.

I would imagine that the Kodak Vision 2 500T Expression would do a good job of it as well, as it is designed as a low-con stock. I have only used it with bleach bypass, though, so I can't speak from personal experience. The Kodak demo did demonstrate that it does better than normal 500T in this regard, though. As far as Fuji goes, I think that the 250 Eterna stocks both have slightly enhanced latitude, although you will of course lose a stop compared to the 500 speed film.