Ben McMurry

It's not common but it has happened in the last few years. I suspect most if not all black and white entries will have originally been conceived as black and white, but it's left open. We are not a festival, but the reason we have aligned ourselves with one color winner and one black and white winner is based on film stock. We have one roll each of the color stocks and black and white stocks to offer as prizes, thus the 50/50 split. A 2,000' roll of stock will cover one 20 minute film, thus the time limit.

Hi Chris, This year's Summer Shorts Contest is featuring 35mm prints as prizes, and so we want to show the best that 35mm can offer. Colorlab is a film lab and so we are heavily vested in our grand prize winners looking great and representing the medium of 35mm film. Previous year's prizes included 16mm prints and we did not have the resolution requirement. We understand that a lot of quality filmmakers are not shooting or finishing on film or 4K video, and so while this might not be for everyone, we know that will we get a lot of worthwhile entries. Finally, I'm not sure I understand your question of short notice. As of now there are still 16 days in which to submit a link to a video. We are not asking entrants to create a new film for this, as the requirements and above paragraph only state that the film be made in 2016 or 2017.

Have you made a theater-worthy short and are looking for exposure? Would you like your film preserved on actual film for generations to come? Colorlab is offering the chance to have your short made into a 35mm print and premiered at a Washington DC area theater. Films must be narrative in nature, made in 2016 or 2017, be 20 minutes or shorter, be available in 4K, and have been shot with a majority of 4K video, 35mm film, and/or super-16mm film. We have two categories, Color Narrative and Black and White Narrative. A renewed trend has been the exhibition of traditionally color films as black and white (Logan, Mad Max: Fury Road) and so films DID NOT have to be shot and finished in black and white to submit for the black and white category. Approximately ten finalists will be selected for judging, which will be done by Colorlab employees at a private screening. For full rules and entry form, please visit www.colorlab.com/shorts Entries are due July 22nd. Good luck!

Tyler, those prices for film outs seem really high. We use an ARRI Laser 2 for 35mm and also do 16mm digital intermediates and prints on our custom machine. Check out www.colorlab.com/pricing for our rates --- currently $325/min for 35mm and $175/min for 16mm which includes a negative, track, and print. As for film production, I (of course) agree. There's a pace and precision to shooting on film that I prefer.

I'll try to dig up my samples. Rating at 25 is what I did. 3378 is processed in positive chemistry for soundtracks, but you can request it to be run in negative chemistry which would reduce the contrast by a noticeable amount, but you'd have to rate it even lower, maybe 12 ASA. Charles, you can email me at info@colorlab.com and I can get you a price for 400' of stock.

Bummer! I realized I made a mistake on the dates. It's actually October 27th and 28th, a Thursday and Friday.

Colorlab and Kodak are having a film workshop on October 26th and 27th in Rockville, MD. Randy Tack, cinematographer and lead imaging instructor for Eastman Kodak, will be leading the workshop. Topics covered include 16mm and 35mm cinematography and the motion picture film workflow. Participants will be shooting and screening dailies both on film and digitally. Please pass on the information to anyone you think may be interested. It's FREE, but spots are limited and filling up fast! For more information or to register, go to: http://www.colorlab.com/workshop.html

I shot some 3378 last summer and have a good bit of stock. The traditional result, as has been pointed out already, is an extremely high contrast B&W image. This is with D-97 B&W positive processing. You can get it processed in negative chemicals and get much closer to a normal contrast range. I can't remember exactly how I rated the film for this, but I can check back through my tests. One thing to consider is that 3378 is thinner than normal camera stocks. You can feel the difference when handling it. Some camera models might have trouble keeping it flat and stable, depending on how the pressure plate system works. I had no problems with it on a Scoopic. If anyone's still interested in soundtrack as a camera stock, I can shoot some and post the results online.