Matt Wells

For anyone who is wondering, this is an excellent magazine. I had the first English issue and was really impressed with the nice broad spread of articles - it had a quality feel to it too, it is not some cheaply produced mag, but a really professional publication. I highly recommend! Matt

I use a Sekonic L308B - this is the most basic of the digital read out meters offered by Sekonic, but I have found it to be utterly superb. I think Jessops sell for about £120. I use it for both cinematography ans stills. Sekonic do some very good multi function meters wich do incident, reflected and Spot, but the price does go upwards. Matt

A while back I posted on this forum for see if anyone wanted to come and film my wedding with my Beaulieu R16. I had a couple of excellent film students from Southampton in the UK do an excellent job. As there were two, we were able to shoot both the 16mm and DV. I have found this is an excellent combination for this sort of application! the finished film can cut between the two formats and it is very effective. We used Fuji Eterna 500T for everything (saved having to make decisions about emulsions during the day) and used some ND when it was bright. Of course the 500T served well when the evening came. We set up a couple of redheads in one of the rooms of the venue where there was dancing etc and just bounced the light off the ceiling. We shot all of this with the lens wide open (f2.2) and the results are fantastic. The fast film provided just the right amount of texture, but not too much being a new breed fast emulsion. Matt

I am sure this has been touched on before, but am I right in thinking that Batman begins was NOT taken the DI route? Matt

I checked price - £30+vat. Seemed incredibly expensive for small quantities. mabey they would come down - it would need to be a lot - for over 10 carts, but they didnlt say this over the phone. There again I didn't tell then the Widescreen / Andec price of £12.50 inc vat (although I'm sure they know it), mabey this would have helped. Matt

Just re-igniting this thread I started a while back - because I have found out what the marks were! I had an attended transfer of some 16mm at the same place on Wednesday and there were some marks present exactly the same as before, as we reviewed the footage after grading and before recording to tape.......... They were little bits of dirt in the Rank gate - push of a button on the console and there is a high pressue jet of air fed from a compressor to the gate and the marks vanished!! Matt

You could try Bjorn Andersson. He is in Sweden but deals with people across the world as he is one of the few factory trained Beaulieu service agents. He will re-cell batteries and I am sure has pleanty of chargers available. His prices are very reasonable. His e-mail is: bjorn.andersson@brevet.nu I can highly recommend him. Matt

Where are you based? I am assuming you are in North America, however if you are in the UK: Soho Images in London are very good and will do deals if you tell them you are a small time/student type filmaker. 0207 437 0831 Recently processed and prepped 1,600ft of 16mm for me for 0.10p per foot. Have you ever considered trying Super8 for Ski/Snowboard - very handy when you need to shoot certain shots - I go to the Italian Alpes once a year and spend most of the time with a Beaulieu 4008 hanging from my neck. This allows quick access whilst boarding to capture shots on the move and where there is virtually no time to set up. The 4008ZM / ZM2 / ZMII runs to 70fps too! (80fps for the 4008ZMIV) Could be handy to run in conjunction with 16mm. Attainable quality can be excellent with just a hint of the Super8 look which is very cool. When you start shooting 16mm (or S8) always to remember to insist on decent quality transfers! Matt

I would second the previous two posts. The Vision emulsions are amazing (the 500T 7218 has very low grain for such a fast stock, hence why Kodak must have felt justified in putting it into super8 cartridges) However definitely be very careful indeed with your processed negative - it will get scratched and dirty very easily indeed - take special note if you are used to reversal, especially Kodachrome, which is bombproof by comparision as it is designed for projection. The great thing about negative is that at the telecine stage you can make endless manipulation of colour gamma etc etc. Matt

Thanks very much for that David. It is a proper camera gel filter. It is a temporary measure really because I don't have time to get hold of a combi filter. Thanks Matt

Hi there is the following acceptable: I have a Series 9 filter holder for the front of my Angenieux 12-120. I am planning on using this to hold a ND filter. However I also need an 85 filter, but the holder will not accomodate the two at once due to thickness. I am planning on using a gel filter cut to size for the holder as the thickness of this is such that I could fit it and the ND together. Is this OK? Cheers Matt

Thanks everyone for the good wishes!

Hoorayyyyyyyyyyyyyy!

Just an update - I found two great individuals from this forum to come and shoot my Wedding on 16mm (and DV) The day is Saturday 23 July - and is approaching fast! The camera is serviced and my Fuji Eterna on order! Wish me luck everyone! Thanks, Matt

There have been some documentaries on UK TV recently that have been superb in 16mm. Michael Pailn's Himalya series looked beautiful, and also, I believe, Dan Cruickshank's Around the World in 80 Treasures about various ancient treasures and sites of the world. And I am about to have my wedding shot on 16mm! I think that if you want to flatter people or objects, or show a more true to life image, film is a lot more reliable. I think that also for, many documentaries, it is a lot easier to achieve a beautiful look with virtually no lighting, of zero lighting, especially with the latest emulsions. (although your documentary sounds like it might be quite staged with time to prepare) I am constantly watchiong documentaries on TV which have been video originated where there is no detail in the sky and other highlights and people have horrible skin tones. Matt

Thanks very much for that advice! Matt

I keep cringing when I see these "Lord of the Rings style" sweeping arial shots of huge armies or the like - especially when accompanied by what sounds like almost the same music. It just looks so copied now, and also very fake on occasion. Matt

I am going to be using a ND filter and 85 filter on my Angenieux 12-120. This might sound like a silly question - Am I best placing the ND before the 85 or after it on the front of the lens? I have not bothered with this before, but I am curious if there is any "text book" method here. Thanks for any help. Matt

The 4008 is a superb camera with features not normally associated with super8 cameras. I know that Oldtimer cameras in London have copies of the repair manual for the 4008ZM, and I think it is about £30 because I enquired once. I have bought user manuals off them for other cameras and they seem to give a good service. The other altenative is that there was someone who posts regularly on the forum at www.filmshooting.com who has pdf files of these manuals for sale. You could try posting a message there. Can't remember his name though. Hope this helps Matt

Hi there, Video dailies are telecine of your footage for your viewing, just like film dailies to be projected for viewing. They may be minimally graded or not at all graded. Keycode is the barcoding of the edge fo 16mm and 35mm film that can be read by a telecine machine and used to identify each individual frame. I think that Kodachrome 40 in 16mm is the only emulsion not to have keycode. Matt

You are joking, right? and how does the exposure characteristics change for Kodachrome between super8 and 16mm? Matt

Not at all. Assuming the average telecine cost in the States is $200 - $300/hour, are you saying in the UK we pay the equivilent of around $900 - $1200 / hour! The cheapest full Rank telecine I know is £85 per hour at Second City Video in Birmingham (although they often quote per job) Matt

That is what I pay in the UK Film: £15 + vat Processing: 10p / ft. + vat Prices based on 6 x 100ft reels It doesnt cost much more

Your best bet is this (if you want to shoot negative) Telephone Kodak in Hemel Hemstead in the UK on +44 1442 845945 and ask for Dan Clark. He will sell film to you, any emulsion and at the best price. The last Vision negative I had from him was £7.17 +vat. For processing you will do best to send negative film direct to Andec Filmtechnic in Berlin. Although there is a brand new service for super8 negative processing just started by ToddAO in London, Andec offer a better price - or seem to. ToddAO have bought a brand new machine for this service. If you want to shoot B/W send to Andec also. Shoot Kodachrome of you have plenty of light! Matt

Only problem Phil is that he wants it to look good. Unfortunately he doesnt have the budget for lighting and equipment to achieve anything like 16mm on video - also he probaly wants his films to elevate itself, asthetically, above the mountain of video originated material out there. The great thing about film is that you can achieve so much with really minimal lighting. Matt