Daniel D. Teoli Jr.
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When I was out shooting projects, I always kept a close eye on the weather. Generally, I worked outdoors. The other day I wondered how accurate the weather predictions are and I did a test on them. I recorded the weather prediction from March 5 though the 18, 2025 to compare. Here are the predictions along with the actual weather for March 17 & 18, 2025 so you can see how things turned out. Files are all named, download them to understand the test.
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On 3/11/2025 at 10:36 PM, Patrick Cooper said:
For those who use Adobe Lightroom to process Raw still images, I'm sure that you're familiar with increasing the blacks of an image with a slider. And sliding to the left to make use of the negative numbers. Just wondering if you can do the equivalent of that with Shotcut or perhaps the free version of Davinci Resolve?
I have some wildlife footage that was shot on an overcast day. And it looks a bit flat and lacking in density. I have the video in Shotcut right and now and increasing the contrast doesn't really help much. I think I likely need to increase the blacks like you can do with still images in Lightroom. It would be great to be able to do more or less the same thing with video editing software.
Send in samples of what you are working on. Global slider is just part of it. Hand contrast grading is a big deal. (Dodging and burning.) You can easily turn up the blacks and lose shadow detail. Or it may throw off the color.
Do they make movie software where you can dodge and burn spots by hand? But how would it carryover to the next frame if things move? You would have to adjust frame by frame. Forget the time, timing continuity is hard to do it in dozens or hundreds of adjustment spots on complex jobs. (See below.)
This has sharpness, blacks, shadow and contrast slider adjustments as well as tons of dodging and burning adjustments. 1-1/2 hours of Lightroom! You can't do that frame by frame. It is too much.
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You won't get anywhere near what I did with this raw scan with sliders alone.
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I wasn't finished yet...this is just some of the adjustments!
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I had some old seeds I had bought in 2009. I was not going to plant them. I bought them to make sprouts. I made some sprouts but got lazy and stopped. I had them stored in the freezer and fridge. I was cleaning things out and thought I'd toss the seeds. But before trashing them I tested them for viability. I'm always testing things. Besides scanner, my middle name should be tester. Anway's...the seeds sprouted fine after 16 years.
16-year-old clover, broccoli, radish and alfalfa seeds purchased in 2009 and sprouted in March of 2025
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Vaccumate was one of those film preservation treatments they did back in the day along with Vaporate. This sample of a Vaccumate treated film is marked with a 3. Maybe they had different versions. It is all just guess work. I could not find out anything about either treatment.
Although you can't see it in the scan, the Vaporate film did seem to have a matte finish applied to the stock. I did not see any difference to Vacuumate treated film versus untreated film.
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Thanks for all the info, Patrick! I'm not into any of that at all. I run an open content, hi image quality archive...it is more or less all free. If someone writes me and wants something huge res or the original scans and it takes research, time and mailing a disc then it cost something for shipping and handling; maybe $10 - $15 or so. But none of my stuff is for commercial use, because of all the hassles with legalities.
I use this...
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
I'll post a piece someday about Getty Images. They take an image off of L.O.C. for free and charge up to $499 for it. Anyone could get it for free if they knew it was at the L.O.C. Well, money makes the world go round, huh. Money is stored energy. If you have excess $ you could buy a Lasergraphics Director with all the bells and whistles! I just bot 3 lotto tickets today! Wish me luck.
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Nice report, Thanks!
But I like seeing photos. Next report, go the distance and send in some illustrations.
Here is an example...
You wanna know about a Dutch angle shot? Show one...
Here are some old posts I did on comp. (Still photos that can translate to cine'.)
nsfw
Search Results for “composition” – Daniel D. Teoli Jr.
I like that scene in Fablemans with the lecture on comp from Lynch. But he was not just talking, he backed it up with images. Sadly, this forum is very poor images. Look at Perry and Robert. All they send in is words. With all the stuff that goes through their hands they have nothing to show for it other than words. Really sad.
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I was scanning a small collection of The American Girl magazines from the 1940s. The magazines were kinda rough, so I was scanning by hand on a flatbed scanner instead of a sheetfed scanner. If I was using a sheetfed scanner I may have not seen the ad.
For some reason this ad by Dell Tween caught my eye and it made me wonder when the word tween was first used. I Googled it and AI said it was the late 1980's. I hope they don't put AI in charge of the nukes.
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I read that HDD's lose magnetism over time and they must be re-recorded periodically to preserve the data. On 3.8.2025 I tested a retired Toshiba 500gb HDD that was formatted and filled up about 98% capacity with photos and videos on 2.17.2015. After it was retired, it was put in a ziplock bag and stored in a garage where temperatures ranged from 45F to 85F for the 10-year period. It was not run during that time. When I looked at it, all the data (photos / videos) were fine.I didn't do any drive software tests on it, as I didn't have any to use. I downloaded some drive software awhile back and it took over my computer, so I was happy to get rid of it. I archive audio, photos, videos and text files. Either they work or they don't work...those are the tests I'm using here.
I then decided to do a microwave test on the HDD. I had originated this use of microwaving drives by accident. Last year I had ordered a 4TB Samsung SSD and it had problems from the start. But I was hopeful the bugs would work out and tried to use it anyway. I was transferring a 1.8TB file to it and it jammed near the end of the transfer. I was horrified to find out it would not let me delete my data before sending it back for a refund. Hence the microwave came into my head. It was a natural offshoot from using the microwave to treat moldy and mildewed paper, which I do regularly.
I can't tell you how long this original microwave test was on the 4TB SSD, but it was just a few seconds. I didn't know what would happen or if it would wreck the microwave, so it was short. When I plugged the SSD into the computer it would not show up. I was happy with the results and gave it a little more microwave radiation after that for good measure.
All we hear about nowadays is EMP danger with digital, so that also inspired me to do some microwave tests. Here are the tests for the HDD, SD card and thumb drives tested in a 1000-watt Samsung microwave.
Toshiba 500gb HDD
1 second microwave test: Passed (I don't think the microwave does much microwaving in the first second.)
2 second microwave test: Passed
3 second microwave test: Failed - drive made a loud pop and sparks near the cord port. Computer would not recognize the drive. (Drive was microwaved without the cord.)
Generic 4GB SD Card
1 second microwave test: Passed (I don't think the microwave does much microwaving in the first second.)
2 second microwave test: Passed
3 second microwave test: Passed / Failed (?) Some sparks. One computer would not recognize about 80% of the files and they only showed up as icons. When I clicked on an icon it would not load and it said the file was corrupted. Another computer played everything fine.
4 second microwave test: Failed - card made lots of sparks, plastic started to melt in spots on both sides of the card and there was a strong burned plastic smell. Both computers would not recognize the drive.
Note: This test should be rerun with multiple cards for 3, 4, 5, 6 second tests to pinpoint the failure. I used 1 card and it received a total of 9 seconds of microwaving before it failed. (Not counting the 1 second test.)
Generic 8GB Thumb Drives
I used 2 thumb drives for this test.
Thumb drive #1
1 second microwave test: Passed (I don't think the microwave does much microwaving in the first second.)
2 second microwave test: Failed - drive made an audio sound when inserting into the USB port, but the computer would not recognize it. I tried it on 2 computers.
Thumb drive #2
3 second microwave test: Failed. Drive made a loud pop and sparks inside of the USB connector. Both computers would not recognize the drive.
The rest of the HDD magnetism tests will be 12-year, 15-year, 18-year, 20-years and 22-years...if I'm still around.
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Forgot to mention...
The 30-35 seconds microwave time I mentioned above is for matte paper. For coated gloss paper stock, you may need less time. Coated gloss stock gets hot faster the matte paper. Try 25 seconds each side for coated gloss stock as a starting point. Every job is different...TEST!
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They were scanned with a 2K Retroscan, so 4K is upscaled. But titles are all proper res. I just made them today. I can't find the old ones at the Internet Archive, so made anew.
Download and study jazzy girl on a large monitor or TV. Don't use your phone.
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Here are the some of the other tests...
I've also got some res tests of film clips, but they have not surfaced yet. I've got thousands of things at the I.A. and depend on their search function to find it.
OP, besides your film IQ, you need to check title quality at different res. The color of text changes and the readability can break down at lower res.
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Back in the day there was this doctor on eBay that would butcher porn films and sell them 'by the scene.' He found out he could get more for a reel if he cut it up than if he sold it whole. Well, this was John Holmes films, so there was that. I don't know what kind of doctor he was, but he was the surgeon of films, so to speak.
Here is Pond5. They sell you short film clips by the second if you need stock footage. I didn't explore them much and know nothing about them. Just enough to take some screenshots. Prices depend on res. Everything is sold in short clips; say 6 to 12 seconds more or less. What impressed me was their upfront way to sell film clips. Very easy to see lots of material and the prices.
Click on images to enlarge.
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I was curious what they had for stag films. This was what a quick search came up with. I love the old stag (sex) films. They have it all...history, fashions, people, sex...plus there is usually no copyright crap to deal with. Only drawback is they are usually very low q. They have been duped to death. The couple of stag film clips they had, had no sex...but I didn't look at them all.
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Some people make titles and sell them...by the second. These are 6 seconds each. These are examples of higher res prices.
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I don't know where things are with the legal with Pond5. Stock photo companies used to want you to sign your life away with model releases to sell photos. There was a photographer that would take photos of people on the street. Then he would try to get model releases from them on the spot to sell the photos to stock footage companies. Jesus, what a terrible way to make money. I'd give up photography if I had to do that. When I shot this...I just didn't shoot this. I shot this same scene many times, with tons of people walking up to the bear over a few minutes period. I can't imagine asking all those people for model releases.
Photo: D.D.Teoli Jr.
Well, whether you are buying or selling, maybe Pond5 will be helpful for some of you. Looks like they deal in all sorts of things for the filmmaker.
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If YT, you have to check your viewing setting is set to highest resolution. 2K should be great.
I had done lots of resolution tests, but can't find them on I.A. One was in color and very important. The color tests show how color changes and breaks down with lower res. I.A.'s search function is just so-so.
I did find one set of res tests for titles. They are black and white and go for 240p to 4K.
Download files, look at on large monitor or TV.
Well, good luck with figuring it out. Always post samples of the problems here.
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Are you exporting 1080 or 4k full res?
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Thanks Dan! I did search for it for a short time. That is how I found it by accident. I always like to let the members add their .02. For the historical record so to speak, before they kick off. People are always kicking off and all that history within them is lost. This is a discussion forum after all, so we discuss.
People always say search Google. You can spend hours searching and still not get the answer you can get in a few minutes from a forum.
Besides that, I don't have a lot of time to spend on any one area, Dan. In addition to photography, I work in a humongous number of areas of archival preservation.
This is just the 'C' section...
My problem, Dan, is I have too much curiosity and interests and not enough time, space or $$ to do it all. So, I put some of you to work for me. Thanks again Dan for your input.
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Internet photo: Fair Use
On a heavy equipment forum I am on they have a section for obsolete machines called 'old iron.' From what I gather, this may be a discontinued machine...hence it is old iron. In its day, it sounded like a unique kind of scanner that was pretty universal with its zoom lens. But zoom lenses don't always perform as good as fixed lenses.
Does anyone have experience or comments about it?
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True old iron...
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Interesting article on film preservation efforts.
Vanishing Culture: No Film Left Unscanned | Internet Archive Blogs
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I've been looking at cine' films on eBay for 11 years. Over that time, I've looked at tens of thousands of reels. Some of them have excellent listing information. Other listings have terrible information. I call the blind eBay listings 'pig in a poke' films.
A lady from an archive wrote me a while back about some 16mm films the archive wanted to dispose of. I told her to check out eBay and the most important thing when selling on eBay...is to show the film. I didn't have these examples to show her, so I made an effort to save a few of them that I ran across.
If you are looking to realize top dollar from eBay film sales, here are some examples of good and poor quality eBay cine' film listings.
Good Examples:
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Poor Examples:
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Is this a battery or sound recorder on the Arri?
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Photographs of TV screen
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Spelling Correction
Max Fleischner should be Max Fleischer.
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Yes, it was a lot simpler back then.
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Yes, love the Leica! I started with a Nikon F back in the day. Then got an old Leica M3 and moved to the M4. I used both Nikon and Leica, but liked the Leica for street work. It was nice because you can carry it easy in 1 hand and it is somewhat unobtrusive. Back then we didn't have to worry about auto focus and associated problems with it. And even if we would have had issues with auto focus, the Leica, Nikon and everything else didn't have dummied down lenses. We had the focus scale and aperture numbers on the lens for on the fly adjustments.
I shot these with a M3 and M4 Leica in the early 1970s.
The Nikon F was what I started with as my first $$ camera. Prior to that I had a Kodak Retina and the family Kodak Brownie.
These were shot with the Nikon F.
Back in the day they had cold water flats in L.A. Like $40 a month in skid row. Bathroom was down the hall.
Love dolls were a thing even in the 70's!
Nikon F or Leica...they both produced. I have a large Leica archive, but most of it needs to be scanned.
Leica Magazines...
Internet Archive: Digital Library of Free & Borrowable Texts, Movies, Music & Wayback Machine
Nikon and Canon made rangefinders as well. But only Leica endured!
Weegee
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On 2/26/2025 at 9:20 AM, Jeff Bernstein said:
The Thin Red Line has a fascinating commentary distinguished with great detail.
John Toll. One day Terry walked up to our lead editor and said, "Somewhere, after 'cut' has been called, there are about ten or twelve frames that (and he described what the frames were)." Now the lead editor has 1.2 million feet of film in front of him. It took him ten days or so, but he found those twelve frames and put them in the sequence. I was in the room when we watched it, and with those twelve frames the sequence worked.
Library has some DVD's of it. No Blu-rays. They don't have everything. I don't remember seeing that film. Maybe I did ages ago, but memory is poor. Probably saw it back in the VHS days. Anyways, thanks for the recommendation!
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Defiance (2009) Blu-ray has good commentary. The director Ed Zwick knows his stuff! Many directors are not that technical in their comments of their film. Disc has interesting discussion about pushing film 2 stops, lighting, using a format ratio to support faster lenses and shooting dream like sequences at 6fps with a 90-degree shutter and triple printing, etc. Many of these discs also have behind the scenes mini docs, so don't forget them.
Zwick's 6fps triple printed footage was gritty and had some nice blur effects. Maybe a 90-degree shutter at 24fps produces low blur.
AI / Google...
A "90 degree shutter" in filmmaking refers to a camera setting with a narrow shutter angle, which results in significantly less motion blur, often used to create a sharp, crisp look in action scenes or to convey a sense of urgency by minimizing the blur of fast-moving objects, like in the famous "Saving Private Ryan" opening scene where a 90 degree shutter was used to enhance the chaotic feel of the battle.Key points about a 90 degree shutter:-
Less motion blur:Compared to a wider shutter angle (like 180 degrees), a 90 degree shutter captures less motion blur, making fast movements appear sharper and more defined.
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Intense action scenes:This setting is frequently used in action sequences to emphasize the details of quick movements and explosions.
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Gritty aesthetic:By minimizing blur, a 90 degree shutter can give footage a more gritty, realistic look, particularly when combined with handheld camera movement.
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Creative choice:While not the standard setting, a 90 degree shutter can be used creatively to convey a specific mood or feeling depending on the scene.
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History of ARRI in a Century of Cinema - Film and Digital Times
in Off Topic
Posted
August Arnold and Robert Richter founded ARRI on September 12, 1917.
For the intellectual...all words.
History of ARRI in a Century of Cinema - Film and Digital TimesFilm and Digital Times
For the visual...loads of photos!
http://www.filmanddigitaltimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/FDTimes-ARRI-Centennial-84-3.05-200m.pdf
Film and Digital Times has tons of great material at their site.
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