John Pytlak RIP

Lots of information about Super-16 production on the Kodak website:

http://www.kodak.com/go/16mm

Productions that have used Super-16:

http://www.imdb.com/SearchTechnical?PCS:Super%2016

Or "Blow-Ups" to 35mm prints:

http://www.imdb.com/SearchTechnical?PFM:35%20mm%09(blow-up)

For low budget productions, Super-16 is often a good choice because you can usually defer the cost of a 35mm blow-up until you have a distribution deal, yet you can get excellent quality and a true "film look".

These are the Super-8 films currently offered by Kodak:

http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/s8mm/pro....14.4&lc=en

Repackagers sometimes slit and perforate other motion picture stocks (e.g., KODAK EKTACHROME 100D Color Reversal Camera Film 5285/7285) to 8mm formats.

Kodak no longer sells KODACHROME 40 or EKTACHROME 160 films for Super-8.

Mistiming between the shutter and film pulldown can also occur in a projector, where it is called "travel ghost":

http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/students...4.9.6&lc=en

http://www.film-tech.com/warehouse/manuals/TAPGUIDELINES.pdf

http://www.cinematography.net/Pages%20GB/%...ter%20phase.htm

Some ingredients in hand creams and various cosmetics can be fogging agents. Grease can prevent developer reaching the emulsion during processing.

Ingredients that contain mercury compounds, sulfur, or ammonia/amines are likely to be fogging agents. Wash with a good unscented liquid hand soap, then rinse and dry well.

We're not talking about so much overexposure that it causes the highlights to block up -- more like, just enough overexposure to cancel any effects of accidental underexposure, a safety margin of extra exposure, +1/3 to +2/3 of a stop.

Certainly, no more than 1 stop of overexposure is needed to take full advantage of the finer grained mid and slow emulsions in the film. Although modern color negative films like the KODAK VISION2 films have lots of overexposure latitude, a negative that is too high in density (e.g., >2 stops overexposed) may fall outside the normal range of printing or telecine correction, and need special handling by the lab or transfer house. As mentioned, on some telecines, a really dense negative requires so much gain that you start to get electronic noise in the highlights.

IMHO, home processing in a small tank processor is great for the experience, and handy for quick turn-around of short personal projects. But using a professional motion picture lab is the most cost effective way to get consistent, quality results. If you actually intend to buy and run a continous processing machine like the labs use, you need to treat it as a full-time lab business that rarely leaves time for filmmaking.

Does anyone have any tips for increasing grain in this film stock and how I might go about it?

 

If anyone has any examples I would be most interested in seeing them, as I have never seen this stock pushed, I am keen to see how it looks.

 

Allyn.

Underexposing and push processing will usually increase graininess.

Here are the films used:

http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/products...1.4.6&lc=en

Here is the Laboratory Aim Density (LAD) Control System that I developed to aid in the making of master positives and duplicate negatives:

http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/support/...5.8.6&lc=en

Flashing a negative affects mostly the shadow areas.

Flashing a master positive or print affects mostly the highlights.

The flash exposure can be neutral, or have some coloration.

Hi all,

 

in your experience, in which lab processing was the cheapest cents/ft ratio? It would also be nice to know the actual cost. Many many thanks.

 

richard

Best to simply contact labs that are near you, and ask for a price quotation:

http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/support/....4.17&lc=en

Some labs post prices on their websites.

Often the level of service and quality, and good lab "relationships", are more important than price per foot. Talk to other filmmakers in your area to find labs they have been pleased with.

Hi,

 

I know Kodak was started by Eastman but why are the cans sometimes labelled 'Eastman' in big letters rather than the usual 'Kodak'?

 

Thanks,

 

Grant

It's a matter of branding. For many years, Kodak's professional motion picture products were branded "EASTMAN", e.g., EASTMAN EXR 50D Color Negative Film 5245/7245. Some of the older films in the catalog still are.

In 1996, new Kodak professional motion picture products began using the "KODAK" brand name, beginning with KODAK VISION 500T Color Negative Film 5296/7296:

http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/products....26.8&lc=en

George Eastman founded Kodak in 1880. Kodak has been supplying products to the motion industry since 1891, when it sold film for Edison's first motion picture camera:

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/corp/histor...ml?pq-path=2699

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/corp/histor...=2217/2687/2689

George Eastman

George Eastman and Thomas Edison in 1928

What is a Stop ?

A "stop" is the doubling or halving of exposure.

It comes from the traditional series of "f/stops" which increment by a doubling of the area of a lens opening, thereby doubling the light coming through the lens:

widest opening -- f/0.7, f/1.0, f/1.4, f/2.0, f/2.8, f/4.0, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, f/16, f/22, f/32 -- smallest opening

Note that these increment by approximately the square root of two (1.41).

The f/stop is a simple ratio of the (focal length)/(effective iris diameter) of the lens. For example a 50mm lens with an iris diameter of 12.5mm is f/4.0. If the iris is opened up to 25 millimeters in diameter, the lens is now f/2.0 and lets in four times the light (two stops), because the area of the lens iris is now four times greater.

So a "stop" can refer to the lens opening, or any other parameter (film speed, shutter speed) that affects exposure by a factor of two.

One stop equals 0.3 log exposure unit (Log 2 = 0.30)

Proper darkroom handling of camera films:

1. TOTAL DARKNESS - let your eyes get dark adapted for at least ten minutes, then look for ANY light leak and fix it. Watch out for things like luminous watches, cell phone status LEDs, etc.

2. Keep track of orientation, or you will have perfs on the wrong side, or KEYKODE numbers that count down rather than up, and are on the wrong side.

3. Handle film by the edges only. Don't "pinch" the film so tight that it could put a pressure kink into it.

4. Watch out for static marks. Wind slowly. Electrically ground all rewinds. Ground yourself. Keep humidity near 50% RH.

5. Wind at a constant speed, with constant tension and an even wind.

6. Keep area clean. Hairs and fibers that get on the film could become a "hair in the gate".

7. Gloves are not necessary if you keep your hands clean and sweat-free, and handle the film by the edges only. If gloves are worn, be sure they are clean and lint-free. (e.g., Don't use fibrous cotton gloves).

Don't fairly far gone Colour Reversals (10 years or so) give a Psychadelic look.

If anything, really old reversal films will lose contrast, have very smoky blacks, and lots of grain.

Kodak has an on-line directory of labs, listing the processing services they provide:

http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/support/....4.17&lc=en

Note the information in the directory is based on information provided by each lab, so ask them to update with Kodak if the information is wrong:

http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/support/....17.4&lc=en

Even with the difficulties importing Kodak films during the "cold war", they were desired and sought after by many filmmakers behind the "Iron Curtain".

As with any "second hand" stock, pretesting with your lab is highly advised.

It is listed as EI 80 daylight, and EI 64 tungsten.

As noted, you may need to change the process time/temperature to get the desired gamma (contrast) in the commonly run D-96 B&W negative process.

I suggest using 7229 for the softer, lower contrast look:

http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/products....4.14&lc=en

KODAK VISION2 Expression 500T Color Negative Film 5229 / 7229 is a low-contrast, low-color film. With soft, smooth flesh tones and superb shadow detail, Expression film provides a subtle, accurate image rendition at a 500 speed. And with greatly reduced grain, more flexibility in post, and cleaner images from under-to over-exposure, Expression 500T Film is better than ever before.

For the "very vibrant and colorful feel" scenes, the slightly higher contrast of any of the other KODAK VISION2 should set them apart. If you use the slower films, they will also have less grain and increased sharpness over the Expression 500T.

As stock ages, the most likely changes are:

1. Fog increase - seen as "smoky" blacks and more graininess in the shadow areas. Easily measured by having your lab do a "clip test" on each roll.

2. Loss of speed - seen as less shadow detail

3. Loss of contrast

4. Increase in graininess

5. Color mismatch - occurs if the red, green and blue sensitive layers don't age at the same rate.

For color negative films, have your lab run a clip test to look for bad fogging or issues like x-ray exposure. With moderate aging effects, slight overexposure puts your scene content further up the sensitometric curve, where the effect of aging like fog and increased graininess are less obvious.

The KODAK VISION2 films generally keep quite well. Chances are that two years at 70F will have had little effect on the slower films, and a slight but noticeable increase in fog level of the faster films.

For someone "starting out", why not use the formats that are well established and standardized? Going with specialized or "niche" formats will just limit your choices of equipment, labs, and transfer houses that can accomodate those formats.

A truly widescreen format like 35mm anamorphic 2.39:1 looks best on a theatre screen, as even on HD television, it will need some degree of letterboxing.

More and more, television display is evolving to 16:9 aspect ratio, whether it be SD or HD. If the 4:3 aspect ratio of Super-8 or Regular-16 is too "old school" in your opinion to learn with, Super-16 or a cropped regular format will let you explore composing for the 16:9 ratio. If your masterpiece ends up being blown up for 35mm theatre display, the 1.85:1 aspect ratio is available in almost every theatre.

I'm shooting a music video in a few weeks in the cornfields of Michigan, and I'm wondering if i could get some stock advice from the experts out there.

 

I'm shooting on 16 and am trying to decide between Kodak's 50D and 100T stocks. Although the 50D is an excellent stock, I've noticed considerable grain in the highlights. Also, I've noticed the greens being slightly too saturated for my tastes, and I'm worried about the latitude I'd have in color correction.

 

I like what I've seen from 100T, but I've never put an 85 in front of it so I'm a little worried about how the colors hold up. Also, I've never shot it under direct sunlight, so I'm not sure if the grainy highlights I've experienced in the 50D would be present in the 100T as well.

 

I'm looking for a pretty natural look. I really want my earth-tones to pop, and as little grain as possible in the sky.

 

Do any of you have any experience shooting 100T for daylight? Any advice in general about what stock you think would suit my needs?

 

Thanks!

 

-adam in chicago

As David Mullen notes, 5201 has the finest grain of any motion picture film on the market. Seeing "grain" in highlights is often due to electronic noise, rather than the graininess of the film. Some telecines tend to have more noise, often seen first in the blue channel (e.g., skies).

Hello,

 

I picked up a roll of this film cheaply assuming it was some kind of tri-x b+w. It seems to be (I'm guessing) some kind of microfilm like which you get in libraries.

 

As it is 16mm I was hoping to use it in my camera though I don';t seem to be able to find an ASA number.

 

Does anyone know what the ASA is and what I'd be looking to expect if I tried it in a movie camera?

 

I'd also be interested in actually knowing what it is

 

I couldnt really find much about it on google. There dosnt seem to be a stock number either (unless 1456 is it)

 

Thanks,

GRant

Information about Kodak microfilm products:

http://www.kodak.com/US/en/dpq/site/TKX/na...crofilmsProduct

Many microfilms are unperforated, or don't have motion-picture perfs.

What is N16? Never heard of it.

N16 is the ISO (International Standards) designation for 16mm camera perfs (N=Negative):

If I'm doing a telecine transfer for something that will live in the digital world:

 

is it wise to use a lower con stock? If so, what major differences exist between Kodak 250D and 400T, as well as the Fugi compliments to these?

 

The main subjects in the frame will be a man and a woman in a passionate situation (It's a cologne commercial). I want it to feel very slick and warm.

 

The other option I was considering was using an ultracon. If I do, would it be a poor choice to also over expose by 2/3rds of a stop for a dense negative?

 

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

Chris

Really, any of the KODAK VISION2 color negative films should be able to produce the "look" you want, especially since you are transferring the images:

http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/products...4.4.4&lc=en

http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/support/...1.4.3&lc=en

I agree that a lower contrast stock like KODAK VISION2 Expression 500T would be a good choice:

http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/products....4.14&lc=en

Soft Natural Colors and Less Grain.

KODAK VISION2 Expression 500T Color Negative Film 5229 / 7229 is a low-contrast, low-color film. With soft, smooth flesh tones and superb shadow detail, Expression film provides a subtle, accurate image rendition at a 500 speed. And with greatly reduced grain, more flexibility in post, and cleaner images from under-to over-exposure, Expression 500T Film is better than ever before.

 

The VISION2 Film family is the first line of products designed specifically for both film and digital post-production. What?s more, all VISION2 Films provide natural flesh tones, very fine grain, excellent shadow and highlight detail, and maintain neutrality through the full range of exposure. So you can convey exactly the look you intended all the way from capture to post.

Did you contact the authors/publishers to ask the basis for their statement?

I agree with Dan that you should have your lab "clip test" each roll. Not only will this tell you if there is any fog increase from age or radiation, but it will positively identify the perforation type. Kodak still sells 16mm perforated both 1R-2994 (single perf) and 2R-2994 (double perf).

Expect that the old EXR films will have more grain, both due to their age and being older technology without the tremendous grain improvements of the VISION2 technology. Even refrigerated, the faster films can be affected by ambient radiation after a long period of time.