David Bias

Some quick replies: @Uli Meyer We will certainly make some standard 100/200ft reels for general stock in the online shop, and over time, we'll fill in the catalog with more standard (no minimum) offerings based on feedback. Once we're in full swing, we'll open a direct channel for "bespoke" orders. Those will very likely have a minimum purchase quantity. @Simon Wyss As far as the different variations are concerned, these will most likely be in the bespoke category - but again, we will listen to feedback and see what happens. We have already had contact from the 9.5 folks in France and once our production capacity can support selling raw pancakes, they will likely be our first call. @Tyler Purcell Color is definitely coming, but it's going to take some time yet. @Tim Smyth Super 8 is a bit trickier than 16mm. Cartridge supply is thin at best and so they are far more expensive than we like. In fact, we have been hoping to offer Super 8 at a more consumer-friendly price point... That said, yes we will make some P30 in Super 8 format. I am receiving a weekly digest email of this thread. I'll check back in periodically, so send through any questions you have.

Hi folks! Thanks for the invite to the thread, Stephen! @Uli Meyer We will likely announce 35mm stock at the same time as 16mm availability - or shortly thereafter - however all 35mm cine stock will be produced on demand only for the near term. We don't plan to make it a standard in-stock item for some time yet, but we can task our team to make bespoke productions of master rolls specifically to cut and perforate for 35mm cinema projects.

MAJOR update today: http://www.filmferrania.it No cinema film yet, but it's certainly on the horizon!!

Our latest factory update just went live: http://www.filmferrania.it/news/2017/welcome-to-2017

On a very simple level, ALL of our films will be based on cinema formulae. All will have the potential to be used for cinema purposes - but obviously, especially when talking about S8, there are some film speeds that are somewhat pointless. Good point about the code numbers. I will pass that along. But to some degree, we are bound by the finishing services we use until our own machinery has been removed from storage and integrated into the LRF.

Hi Doug, Of course we need to first make film before we can test it... But since it is based on the original Scotchchrome formula, we can say with some authority that it can be pushed/pulled. We must understand the film better before we can say how many stops and what sort of processing "tweaks" must be made for pushing/pulling. And of course color reversal film really prefers to be properly exposed, in general... But we expect it to act like most films of it's type. Yes, our first color film will be 100ASA and we will release additional speeds as we ramp up production. We would like to have 100, 400 and 640 ASA by this time next year (maybe 50 as well...) About the winter - don't worry! The issues we had previously were solved by the "Big Chiller" that was installed late last year. Despite its simplistic name, it's an integrated system that runs throughout the building, not just a single machine - and it doesn't simply cool things off. Our team can target regions of the building, even specific rooms, and individually adjust temperature, humidity, and a few other parameters essential for coating film. The reason we call it the Big Chiller is because it has a direct connection to our coater that pumps freezing air over the film in the first few seconds after coating - a crucial step that "gels" the emulsion while it makes its trip through the drying tunnel. The problems we had AFTER the Big Chiller was installed had to do with our power/water/steam situation. What we generically refer to as "services." There's a post on our site that talks about this in some depth. http://www.filmferrania.it/news/2016/lessons-of-a-naive-new-father

We're not officially involved with Mono No Aware. We hope to be in the future (when we are making film). Pointing people to their Kickstarter campaign is the least we can do to support them right now. They are a great organization bringing cinema know-how to people all over the US.

To David, Doug and Karim: Obviously, we have a long way to go before we can think about creating specialized products like this. However, there are two facts that could provide some hope. 1) Our co-founder Marco Pagni runs a cine lab in Florence and has done a lot of work with the Italian National Cinema Archive (and others) in restoration, preservation and printing. Furthering these causes is one of his main motivations for getting FILM Ferrania up and running. 2) As part of our deal with the Italian government, part of our building will become a school affiliated with the Cineteca Nazionale and dedicated to bringing these techniques to a new generation of film enthusiasts. #2 is a distant future proposition (3+ years from now) - but it will obviously require us to produce a number of stocks associated with the school. Of course we have people every day who ask us to produce some oddball stock that suits some specific purpose. The requests come from both cinema folk and still photographers and I answer everyone the same. Our factory WILL (eventually) have the flexibility to produce small quantities of highly specialized stocks. But it will be up to the community at large to prove to us that a market actually exists for these things before we can make them. We will be creating many polls, and constantly watching the community to learn. My advice to all who ask us for specialized stocks is the same: Reach out to any like-minded friends or colleagues and drum up support. When the responses to our surveys or the number of requests in our inbox reaches a level that makes sense for us to produce a particular stock, we will. Even better, get entrepreneurial about it! For example, in the Ultra Large Format community, a man named Keith Canham places an order with Kodak once per year for a variety of sheet film sizes based on pre-orders that he collects throughout the year. Mr. Canham manages this personally, and obviously makes some small profit on the deal for his labors (he also makes amazing LF cameras).

A reminder - 8 days left in Mono No Aware's Kickstarter campaign to install and activate their cinema processing line!! This is a huge project with major ramifications for all who shoot cinema film. Spread the word and support this amazing project: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mononoaware/mono-no-aware-film-lab

Hi Gareth, Our 16mm film will be perforated 1R. -Dave

These issues you mention have been the subject of many conversations over the past couple of years. We have some ideas - but of course we have to make film first. And sell a lot of it - and focus all that income on expanding our own capacity. We have watched the lab situation very closely (and with great sadness). My friend Steve Crossman at Mono No Aware here in NYC has a Kickstarter going to help him pay for the 35mm cine processing line that was donated to him. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mononoaware/mono-no-aware-film-lab He's got a bit of a hill to climb to meet his goal, so I'd urge everyone in this forum to rally and support his efforts. We're keeping an eye on proactive people like Mr. Crossman, and we hope to focus our early energy on supporting people like him, and other labs who have survived, through our own communications, on our site, etc.

Hi Tyler, We will sell on our website and through just a few dealers initially. We will add dealers as we expand operations, and primarily based on input from the wider community. I will say that it is our full intention to provide an extensive educational support program. Like with everything at our company, it will start small and with those who have been most proactive "pre-film" - and will expand over time. As you might imagine, we also have a lot of people asking us for samples, and most deserve them in one way or another. We are putting together a more formalized process to submit requests and I'll be sure to post it here when it's ready. This will follow very soon after we launch our first film, so keep an eye on our progress and feel free to get in touch with me directly.

Hello all, I do apologize for my tardiness in joining this forum. I did a quick search, and it seems that there have been a few mentions of our endeavors... For those who have been following our progress over the last 2+ years - thank you!! For those who haven't heard about us yet - it's a long story... Best to start HERE. The short version (which is still kinda long, sorry): We're building a 21st century-size film factory from the pieces of the former Ferrania campus in Italy. Ferrania was the third-largest film manufacturer in the world and had a long history deeply rooted in cinema. Their P30 B&W film was the stock of choice for the Italian masters from the middle of the last century - De Sica, Fellini, Rossellini, Pasolini and many others. From our new, compact factory (the former R&D building), we will be producing still and cinema products. In storage, we have the necessary equipment to create and finish nearly every film format ever made. In cinema formats particularly, we're starting small with 100 ASA color reversal in Super8 and 16mm formats - but we will eventually produce everything from 8mm to 70mm - in negative and reversal, in a variety of speeds, tungsten and daylight, etc. Our ambition is to provide a manufacturing base that eliminates the lingering doubts about the long-term viability of film. As of today - after a very long ramp-up and many, many delays - we finally reached the stage where we are testing our coater with photosensitive emulsions. Our factory team are still not ready to release a proper timeline for our first color products, but we are getting closer week by week. Just quickly about me: My name is Dave Bias and I'm heading up our US company which will handle global sales and marketing. My background is in stills primarily. I helped startup The Impossible Project in the US and worked for them until I learned about FILM Ferrania late in 2013. Since then, I have taken over most communications, designed and built our website, designed, wrote and oversaw our Kickstarter campaign, established our socials - just about everything that is not making the actual film. And now I'm here on cinematography.com! I'm ready to answer any questions you might have, to respond to your comments - good or bad - and to learn much more about the cinema film community in general. Fire away!