John Pytlak RIP

As you may have read in the press, today Kodak announced a growth strategy, where the company plans a three-year program to enhance its competitive position. Here is a link to the information on the Kodak website: http://www.kodak.com/US/en/corp/pressRelea...040122-02.shtml Here is a letter from Eric Rodli, President of Kodak Entertainment Imaging to our customers, giving more detail about how this strategy affects Entertainment Imaging: ___________________________________________________________________ January 22, 2004 Dear Kodak motion picture customer: This week you may have heard some updates on Kodak's new business strategy, as well as plans to lower our cost structure. The structural changes announced are not a reaction to temporary earnings or business pressures. In the consumer world, the digital reality is now, and Kodak has no choice but to adapt to the digital model, which is characterized by faster growth, tighter profit margins, aggressive pricing and swift product turnover. Please do not interpret this as Kodak 'abandoning' film. Refocusing our R&D investments applies primarily to our consumer and medical imaging businesses, where the demand for digital imaging products and services is growing rapidly. Reducing costs in these areas also allows for Entertainment Imaging to continue its efforts to deliver the best film products - and best value possible to our motion picture customers. Entertainment is still a film business, and film will remain an important part of the imaging chain into the foreseeable future. The success of our VISION2 product proves motion picture film's continued viability in the marketplace, and justifies future investment in silver halide. Nothing approaches film for its quality, resolution, dynamic range, flexibility and archivability. At the same time, EI is expanding its digital participation, and we are making selective and strategically important investments to do that. One such investment is the acquisition of postproduction company Laser Pacific. This broadens our participation in the TV post arena, and brings exciting new digital/hybrid competencies to Kodak. We believe that, in our industry, digital solutions make the most sense in the post production arena?so that's where you'll see the majority of our digital participation in the short term. And this includes our silver halide investments, which are incorporating a full systems approach for more flexibility in post. We're working hard to supply you with the technology for what we foresee as a film/digital hybrid world. As such, within Entertainment Imaging, Kodak?s commitment to and investment in film continues. In fact, we continue to dedicate over 70% of our motion picture R&D budget to film technology. Additional announcements later in the year will attest to that fact. Know that we remain passionate about film building. We are committed to all our customers in the creative community and to developing a full range of tools and services to help bring your vision to the screen, more faithfully, efficiently, and at the highest levels of quality. Sincerely, Eric Rodli Eric Rodli, President Entertainment Imaging Senior Vice President Eastman Kodak __________________________________________________________________

Shhh! ;)

There are some great websites and user groups devoted to 65mm/70mm: http://www.in70mm.com/ http://www.1570.com http://www.widescreenmuseum.com/widescreen/lobby.htm http://www.film-tech.com http://www.cinergetics.com/ http://www.redballoon.net/current70mmus.html

Well, as far as film itself, here are some links to the Kodak website: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/products/index.jhtml http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/support/index.jhtml http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/students...ml?id=0.1&lc=en http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/newsletters/index.jhtml http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/16mm/index.jhtml You can also search any topic with a keyword on the "Search Cinematography" tool on the site.

Another thing to remember is that B&W stocks of that era were NOT panchromatic -- they were essentially only sensitive to the blue portion of the spectrum. So the tone scale of colors were rendered differently than the eye perceives them (e.g., reds were rendered as dark gray, blue skies were blank white). You can simulate the "look" of an old blue sensitive film by shooting with a blue filter. To simulate the "look" of an old orthochromatic camera film, use a deep cyan filter to remove the red. Your lab may also be able to help you simulate the blotchy/flickery non-uniformity that resulted from the more primitive processing machines of the early 1900's, perhaps even "hand souping" the film during development.

Go for a slightly "richer" exposure (maybe up to one stop over), and definitely avoid underexposure. Lighting and costume/set design are probaby the most important factors. Consider using fluorescent dyes, paints, and fabrics if you want glowing colors.

IMHO, the unique "look" of images originated on B&W silver image films is usually due to the well defined silver grains (rather than more diffuse "dye clouds"), as well as the contrast differences. I would call it "grittiness". Color negative films tend to make the images look "smoother", even when printed or viewed as B&W. That's why Kodak continues to improve and offer a family of B&W films: http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/products/bw/ http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/blackAndWhite_flash.jhtml

A base scratch on a negative will usually show up as white in the print or video image, as the scratch refracts light away from the scratched area. Usually wet printing or a diffuse telecine (e.g., Spirit) can minimize or even completely eliminate a base scratch. If the negative emulsion was deeply scratched, removing the dye images, then the scratch might have some coloration or even be black. A light leak in the magazine will sometimes have a convolution repeat, or be especially severe in an area where the film was not rolling. Did the fogging have a coloration?

For me, I took lots of still images (both film and digital), but no motion (my daughters are 21 and 27 and like watching OLD home movies, but don't want to be part of NEW ones). Had a big family (Polish) wedding on Saturday, 12/27. Betsy insisted I take no pictures in the church, but I had lots of fun at the reception. Like using 800 speed film for available light candids, making people wonder how I can take pictures without flash. I use Kodak "Perfect Touch" processing (digitally enhanced printing) which does wonders for photos with uncontrolled contrasty lighting. B) Had a scare with my home computer yesterday (BIOS settings somehow reset themselves so it didn't recognize the hard drive). Made me realize that I'm not backing up my digital photo files often enough. :unsure:

So what were the films you really enjoyed in theatres over the Holidays :) , and which ones do you advise avoiding? :(