Jon O'Brien

I don't know if my comment is relevant but in comedy looking into the lens is sometimes used freely, eg. breaking the fourth wall because suddenly the actor/s acknowledges the audience as if to say, "Yes, we all know you're there!". An obvious and extreme example is the skipper in Gilligan's Island, who often did it whenever he became the most exasperated and needed to lean on the audience for moral support. And Groucho Marx, for his 'knowing' punchlines complete with upraised eyebrows and shaking the ash of his cigar. Nudge nudge wink wink ... Say No More!! And so on. etc. Anyway, thought I'd throw that in. Also, is this not an Australian film? Australians are renowned for a certain irreverance and like to push traditions a bit. Am I allowed to say that? Well anyway I just did so there.

Thanks Tyler, if I could give you guys double points I would.

Yes that would definitely be the way to go about it. You'd have to see the results in a real cinema.

That is comprehensive information and very helpful indeed. Thank you Landon, much appreciated! Is it possible to teach yourself how to color grade or is attending a course the best way to go? I'd rather just learn on the job and put my money into equipment, but whatever works best.

Apparently the interior of the command and lunar module were shot in Super 16mm according to IMDb. They also used 3 perf as well as the techniscope, and IMAX film cameras. This seems to be a growing trend for big features to shoot on film.

Ah-ha! Thanks Mark for clarifying that. I wasn't sure if that would work well enough, never having had anything to do with anamorphic, though the idea did occur to me. Not being the greatest of optics I'm wondering if the results would be disappointing, effectively going through the glass twice. But I'm getting really interested now in this Panasonic adapter.

Thanks Bob and David! Would these set ups render a result that could be handed over to a professional posthouse for putting it all onto a DCP? Or can even this be done effectively 'from home' now? Thanks Bob for your comment that you're not a professional and so that makes two of us. I have some ambitions in this direction but don't know yet whether this ambition will bear much fruit. I'm involved in other creative areas and film so far is a sideline thing for me but am thinking of what I could do with it.

No 1.3x projection lenses seem to exist. Okay, well the 1.3x lens attachment is still interesting, for scanned Vision 3.

Does anyone know anything about projecting anamorphic 1.33x S16? There's a place in my heart for such a project ...

Thanks Matt, that is a huge help! Looks great. Yep, no doubt a funky lens set up but perfect in some ways for 'arty' projects. And fun too I would think. But for professional filmmaking sure the Hawks would be the way to go but I won't be going that way most likely. Too difficult as no one has the lenses here, as Dom said. I will just stay with cropped S16 or 2 perf.

Could someone spell out for me, in just a few lines, what would be a great computer set up to buy that would have the most power and fewest hassles for home editing and colouring digital footage to a completely professional and efficient standard. How much gb of video memory, etc? I'd be using it for film scanned up to 4K. I've done a lot of reading and searching online about what to get but still haven't tracked down a simple up-to-date answer, so believe me I've put in the hard yards (maybe I'm not much good at researching such topics, or don't understand what I'm reading). I did read recently that post-production is moving over to PC, from Mac, so I think PC might be the way to go (and sure, not a notebook). I intend to use Davinci Resolve. Any help most appreciated. Thank you.

Yep, you can pull out the cartridge. At worst, if it hasn't reached the end of the 50ft, you will just fog a few frames.

I might be misinterpreting what you're saying, but the only advice I can give is that the film in the cartridge 'window' should have "Exposed" (or something similar) printed in white lettering on it when the whole 50ft cartridge has come to the end. The camera should stop at that point too. Possibly the camera has a slipping clutch but really I don't know.

Will this new version mean that the original BMPCC becomes somewhat obsolete and possibly affect the value/availability of S16-suitable lenses eg. on Ebay?

A lot of today's big movies are like this. Enormous infrastructure, amazing image and sound but lacking in simple human interest. A good production should care about the 'people' side of the story. Not the 'things' people do - that's actually far less interesting because it's materialistic and the key to people is that they are really about spirit. We are spiritual beings. Modern art/entertainment is woefully poor at this truth compared to artworks of even the past century and it's not difficult to track down the real reason for this change.

I agree about vinyl by the way. For listening to classical music, eg. symphonies, I always said you can't beat a stereo with tube amplifier, LP records and proper large cabinet speakers. Yes there's crackle from static, and the stylus and records eventually wear out (not all that quickly, though), but it's a better sound because really it is the amplification of an actual physical acoustic process. The stylus is physically reproducing the sound in your own home and then it is simply amplified with the help of the input of some electrical energy. Same thing with real film projection. Light rays interact (shine through) a physical, chemical medium and are focused by the lens. There's no intermediate series of numbers getting between you and the physical process. So it really explains why there is a charm to these things. I do have on my list of projects to get my record player back up to functioning again but there are many other things to do before that. So digital for now :)

Just a brief note, for sake of completion to what I typed above. There's no problem getting 35mm scanned in Australia. Yay!

Getting back to S16, what lens works well with the Krasnogorsk 3 camera that the Panasonic LA7200 1.3x adapter fits onto? Does this adapter work well with a zoom? What about PL mount lenses this anamorphic attachment would work well with?

Well, I would be over the moon if film projection came back here, in my country. But it's not going to in my lifetime. We are the country of digital, she'll be right, mate. So I strike a compromise that works, shoot on film and digital for all the rest of it. But I agree with you, Tyler, and I wish I could regularly see film prints projected. Last year, I walked a long way through Brisbane's Fortitude Valley to discover a cinema, tucked away in a side street, so I could watch my first real cinema experience film print in a long, long time. I was charmed and invigorated by the experience. You see? I'm an artist. I'm a rare breed. I go the extra distance for quality. But most audiences? Pff! And as you know, film projection hasn't quite died yet. It lives. It didn't die in 2013. It's like the robot in Lost in Space, the original series. Yes, we can reverse the polarity and get that heart to beat again! Maybe.

This is encouraging for buying cheaper shortends. If I can get hold of a 2 perf camera and affordable zoom lens, now just need to confirm if can I get the film scanned in Australia. Looking good so far for a 35mm short film. Just have to make a final decision to stay with S16 or get into 2 perf. I know which one I want to shoot with.

Hi Doug, no I never met Laurie and I only found out about him through the excellent post you wrote about him on your website. It would be great to track down the original plans for his camera - not that I would be able to do much myself as I'm not very mechanically inclined. I know enough to know how cameras work, but not much more. It's interesting to learn about Laurie, as back in the 70s I must have lived less than 5 minutes away from him, if he was in Mordialloc. But I didn't start to make films myself until just after I moved to Queensland. That looks really excellent Matt. Any chance you could post some photos and further details of your camera, lens and anamorphic set up? Even though my main interest is shooting on film and then projecting digitally, I still think someone could make a 2 or 3 perf projector pretty easily. There are factories in China or elsewhere that could do this. Even here in Australia, Blackmagic Design recently came out with that wall-mounted film scanner. People just have to be patient. If there's a will there's a way. But if film projection dies, it won't be the end of the world, as film origination will live on through digital projection. But I think that interest will grow in real film projection. It will never go back to the way it was before, of course, with all theatres having film projectors. Too expensive and not enough interest from 'lay' audiences. This is a very 'liberal' thread. Feel free to let the discussion roam to wherever it will ... 2 perf, 3 perf, anamorphic, or back to S16. I'm enjoying all the ideas and input.

I was going to ask about this, too. I'm thinking of buying some shortends but don't know yet if it's feasible. I can get it processed at Neglab, so that's no problem.

Yep, sorry, I have jumped over into another topic a bit there. I've no intention of watching 2 perf on a projector, so I see what you mean. Just can't help but compare S16 and 2 perf.

Okay, I'm biased. I always thought the earliest Dr Whos were the best. I especially liked Patrick Troughton best (who matches up with my first Doctor - no surprises there I guess). Next favourite is a tie between Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker. The earliest Dr Whos were terrifying psychological dramas often, at least for young kids. They had to be as the budgets were so meagre they had to imply fear and evil rather than mostly show it. Very clever productions on a shoe string!! So much modern filmmakers can learn from I reckon. 'Web of Fear' and perhaps especially 'Fury from the Deep' were marvellous. I remember as a kid the terror of the ghastly seaweed, that had somehow acquired an evil sentience, dropping through the air vents. I lived not far from a beach in Melbourne that often had stinky seaweed. For a while, it horrified me. Oh, the imagination!

Comprehensive answer, thank you David. Cinematography.com .... a great place!