John Pytlak RIP

Since 200-foot A-Minima loads are available for a wide variety of Kodak films like 7201, 7212, 7217, 7205, 7218, 7229, 7274, 7279, 7231 and 7266, what "aesthetic" are you looking for that the Kodak stocks cannot emulate, especially since you will likely have some flexibility in telecine or scanning? When "rolling your own", you need to pay close attention to orientation of the film. Static and handling marks can occur if you are not careful, and winding and rewinding an even roll with uniform tension in total darkness can be a challenge.

AFAIK, the 35mm optical sound negative (usually contains the stereo analog track, Dolby Digital, Sony SDDS and DTS tracks) is often considered a key preservation element. Today, these silver-image negatives are usually recorded on polyester stock, so the long term keeping characteristics should be very good. Unless stored properly, magnetic media may show significant degradation within a few decades -- full coat magnetic film and tape from the 1960's and 1970's has been problematic for "vinegar syndrome" and "sticky-shed" if stored improperly.

It may just be that the fluorescent tubes they are using have a mix of phosphors that produce D5500K. I believe that is a commonly used lighting condition that tube manufacturers try to match: .

Certain digital sensors will show "streaking" artifacts from strong speculars. Be careful not to damage the sensor shooting into the sun for long periods --- if the sun is too bright to look at comfortably, it may have enough energy to cause damage. The UV filter is added protection, as the IR and UV in sunlight often do the damage first.

Scrap unprocessed film still has value, as silver can be recovered from it. You might see if any lab or production company has scrap processed camera film to use for practice. Kodak FPC does sell fogged "scratch test leader": http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/products...18.10&lc=en

One possibility is running two equal wattage 120 volt tungsten lamps in series on the 240 volt line. A certified electrician should do the wiring. You cannot run two lamps of different wattage in series, as the lower wattage one will be overdriven.

Duke University Law School has published an excellent "comic book" that talks about "fair use": http://www.law.duke.edu/cspd/comics/digital.html http://www.softskull.com/detailedbook.php?isbn=1-933368-37-3

Dear Fran: Sorry to hear of your experience. As you note, most of the time the TSA folks are very courteous and understanding, but a few may be hard-nosed, especially when rushed or during times of heightened security. Fortunately, one pass through the low-dose carry-on machines usually will have negligible effect on slower films, but I've seen many cases where the inspector puts the bag through several times so the doses can add up quickly. From their point of view, although the "sniffer" test showed no explosive residue, the sealed can could contain a knife, razor blades, boxcutter, or other weapon. I assume your film that had to go through the low dose machine had no visible fogging or increase in graininess?

Kodak discontinued 16mm 7279 over a year ago: http://www.kodak.com/US/plugins/acrobat/en...PCN072705_Q.pdf 5279 is still catalog listed.

AFAIK, 65mm IMAX films are scanned at much higher resolution than 4K: http://www.cinematography.net/Pages%20DW/I...mmTechSpecs.htm http://www.filmlight.ltd.uk/content/c_northlight.html

Some digital camera sensors will show flaring and streaks with bright speculars. Be careful not to damage the sensor --- if the sun is still too bright to look at directly, it may have enough energy to damage the sensor in a stationary shot.

Because of the need for proper rem-jet removal, the ECN-2 process is not easily run at home. Here are the Kodak processing manuals and kits (intended and sized primarily for commercial lab use): http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/support/....15.6&lc=en http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/support/....15.4&lc=en

Yes, you can use the unused film that remains in the cartridge. Some camera footage counters may be "confused" by a partial roll, however. Exposure is determined by the cartridge notching, or how you manually set exposure. Most labs run a "normal" standard process, and do NOT adjust processing conditions. They certainly do not adjust the process based on the first exposures on a particular roll.

Xenon lamps are widely used for theatre projector lamps. They operate on relatively low voltage well-filtered DC supplied by a rectifier, at high current ranging from about 50 amperes and up (depending on lamp size). Light output has "daylight" spectral quality, with lots of UV (can get severe eye damage or sunburn from the raw light). Cold lamps are under several atmospheres of pressure, and hot lamps even more so. A lamp explosion is very dangerous, with severe injury, blindness, or death possible from sharp shards of quartz. Protective gear MUST be worn when handling or installing the lamps, and the lamp must be properly shielded and cooled when in operation. http://smad-ext.grc.nasa.gov/gso/manual/chapter_26.pdf NASA Xenon Safety Manual http://ecom.mysylvania.com/miniapps/FileNe...ENGR_BLTN11.pdf OSRAM Technical Manual

37 years at Kodak certainly helps make me a "fan of film". :) Although I find myself taking more photos with my Kodak DX6490 digital camera than with my film SLR, I much prefer the prints I get that are made on silver halide color paper than on my home printer --- quality over convenience. Over half of Kodak's revenue is now from digital imaging, and Kodak Entertainment Imaging is part of that. Kodak Digital Cinema is the largest independent supplier of digital pre-show systems, and led the way with a JPEG2000 capable Digital Cinema system, demonstrated at ShowEast last year. Yet, only about 1 percent of theatre screens worldwide are equipped for Digital Cinema, SEVEN years after the Digital Cinema hype of ShoWest 1999. The rest use 35mm FILM -- still the most cost-effective way of filling large screens with feature entertainment. Kodak is in the unique position of having leading-edge technology and capabilities in BOTH film and digital imaging. I think Kodak Entertainment Imaging President Eric Rodli sums it up well: http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/about/ei...1.4.3&lc=en

What 16mm film are you processing in C-41? Remember, motion-picture negative films designed for the ECN-2 process have a carbon black rem-jet backing that needs to be removed properly, or it could contaminate the film and process with rem-jet particles.

Some of the Kodak demos that introduce new films include exposure series and push processing variations. Your best source of seeing what other techniques look like are the productions that use them, and sometimes the labs that offer them.

Modern color negative films like Kodak VISION2 Color Negative Film have tremendous exposure latitude, especially for overexposure. A bit of overexposure generally gives "richer", more detailed shadow areas, and finer grain. Don't overdo, as a negative that is too "heavy" may not print within the normal range of printer or telecine adjustment, and a really dense negative can require added gain in telecine/scanning, adding electronic noise. Projection-contrast reversal film have much less latitude than color negative films. Best to "nail" the exposure. Err on the side of underexposure, but don't deliberately underexpose.

Most agree, it's not the pixel count on the sensor that matters most, but getting all that data off the sensor at motion-picture frame rates and recording it with minimal compromise of image quality during post production. Film continues to offer superior dynamic range (latitude), proven archiving ability, and a great track record of supporting future display formats. It says something when clips from the 1962 production of "The Music Man" were used by Sony to demonstrate the quality of their latest 4K SXRD digital projector. And film and film camera technology has come a long way since "The Music Man" was made.

Standard SMPTE 59 specifies the 35mm camera aperture image areas and uses. When shooting anamorphic, the "Style B" aperture is specified, which is 21.95 x 18.59 millimeters, centered on the "Academy" centerline that is 18.75 millimeters from the reference edge of the film. But as long as the centerline is correct, you can use the larger full frame "Style C" aperture of 24.92 x 18.67 millimeters, since the unused area of the camera negative (where the optical soundtrack is printed) is not printed anyway. http://www.smpte.org/smpte_store/standards...pte&scope=0

The Kodak Student Filmmaker website is a good place to start: http://www.kodak.com/go/student It has a list of links to a wide variety of information for the beginning filmmaker: http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/educatio...4.9.4&lc=en

Ted: Yes, 2005 was a record year for Kodak motion-picture FILM volumes (well over 10 BILLION feet). And today, over half of Kodak's revenue is from DIGITAL imaging. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. I can't speak to your experience in still films, but I do know that Kodak continues major R&D investment in motion-picture film technology, and has usually led the way in introducing improved film technologies (colored coupler masking, DIR couplers, high temperature processing, T-Grains, 2-electron sensitization, etc., etc.). We aren't "resting on our lauels" in film technology, and are one of the leaders in developing digital technology and applications.

You are correct that Kodak will work closely with you in getting film to one of the many Kodak worldwide sales offices near your location. The local Kodak personnel can also help find good local labs: http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/about/ww...1.4.5&lc=en Yes, NEVER put unprocessed film in CHECKED baggage, as it almost certainly will be exposed to high intensity X-Rays from a scanning type device. The low dose machines used for CARRY-ON inspection normally will not fog lower speed films in one pass, but power levels do vary, and multiple pass inspections are likely. So the TSA specifically allows requesting a hand inspection for ANY motion picture film within the USA. Here are the current guidelines: http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/ass...orial_1035.shtm Be sure to have a changing bag, a "practice" roll for the inspector, and allow plenty of time for inspection. Magnetometers (metal detectors) and explosive "sniffing" (chemical wipes or dogs) will not harm unprocessed film, and can be used for additional security assurance. Magnetic media are normally NOT affected by inspection x-rays, but low coercivity media could be affected by the transformers and conveyer motor windings in the inspection equipment. The Kodak website has additional information for shipping film: http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/support/...15.10&lc=en Air transport of unprocessed film and sensitive electronic devices (e.g., CCD and CMOS digital camera sensors) can be an issue during intense solar storms, especially during daylight hours, polar latitudes, and high altitude: http://www.sec.noaa.gov/NOAAscales/

Lots of good info on the Kodak site: http://www.kodak.com/go/16mm http://www.kodak.com/US/plugins/acrobat/en...per16_intro.pdf http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/16mm/cam...1.4.9&lc=en http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/16mm/why....3.10&lc=en

One of the issues with the high resolution sensors are "dead pixels' caused by cosmic rays or energetic particles, that might be encountered when air-shipping the sensors/cameras during periods of intense solar storm activity or solar radiation storms: http://www.sec.noaa.gov/NOAAscales/