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Timothy Fransky

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Posts posted by Timothy Fransky

  1. I have to admit, even with an English degree, 19th century novels are tough going. I've had to supplement my reading with film and tv adaptations. So I don't begrudge anyone who has trouble with them. I don't think they were meant to be read in a weekend anyway. Often they were published in literary quarterlies, so you'd only read a chapter at a time. Dickens novels were all like this.

     

    If you love this novel, you must see this film. I believe it's on Netflix.

  2. Resurrecting this rather than making a new post.

     

    I LOVE this film. I'm not a cinematographer. I'm primarily a performer, writer, and director.The cinematography, to my mind anyway, is gorgeous. I would go so far as to say it rivals "Barry Lyndon" for it's use of natural light.

     

    All the performers are committed and enjoying themselves. I particularly enjoyed the sheep bath sequence. It was not only shot beautifully, but it was conceived most artfully. Being a rural man myself, I believed that scene could happen in "real life." The romance was palpable, in the classic 19th century dramatic fashion—few words, all action. From a director's perspective, it's the key to Bathsheba and Gabriel's relationship. He dares her to be more throughout the film, but it's here we see her literally wade in to take up his challenge.

     

    I would've sworn it was a digital film, until I saw some BTS docs. The wide landscape shots absorbed with their clarity and depth. The chaff, wool, and dust floating in the air was tack sharp as well. When I heard it was 35mm, I was shocked. I can now see where I was confused. The photography is incredibly sharp, but it's quite warm as well. I hesitate to say soft. That seems to be a pejorative descriptor. I would say soft in terms of texture. There are no cold, hard edges. The closest we get to the cool side is in Boldwood's brand-new home. It is all rough stone and polished marble, but inviting all the same. I felt like I could smell the soap from the servants' scrubbing. I could also feel the jolly heat of the Christmas party.

     

    I believe the true star of this film is Charlotte Bruus Christensen and her team. It's not lost on me that Carey Mulligan's closeups are not seductive. She's beautiful, of course, but perhaps because a woman is shooting her, we see much more than we might if a man were behind the camera. I believe I would have trouble not focusing solely on Mulligan's beauty if I were the cameraman. The sex of the DP also allows us to see Hardy's world more fully through Bathsheba's eyes. It's not any less or more romantic than if a man were DP, but the subtlety of the "woman in man's world" theme is more accurately realized, in my opinion.

     

    Wow, I didn't mean this to be an essay. I clearly love this movie. If you haven't seen it, I recommend you do. Watch it on the largest screen you can find. If you're not into 19th century drama, you will be after this film.

    • Upvote 1
  3. I've been thinking about 16x9 framing in super 8 lately. I'm almost prepared to have my camera modded, but I have a few questions.

     

    Am I observing incorrectly that cinema is always trying to stretch wider?

     

    I love a wide image, no doubt, but I find that the height of the frame doesn't increase much either.

     

    Why is it that filmmakers want to go wider (i.e. Cinemascope, VistaVision), but not taller?

     

    The sides of the frame never worry me really. Most of my favourite films are in the old Academy standard.

     

    However, I do feel slightly hampered by the top of the frame when shooting. I know IMAX is quite tall, as it's shot and projected in portrait rather than landscape.

     

    What are the odds of having both? Cinemascope wide and IMAX tall?

  4. I would ask around the family to start with. Someone is bound to have one in a closet or drawer somewhere. These are usually the consumer grade cameras from the 70s and 80s.

     

    Barring that, get out to yard sales, second hand shops, antique sales, etc. My brother found an Elmo Super 106 for me at a yard sale on his block for $30.

  5. Also, anyone with a Kern Vario-Switar lens may be interested in some auctions of PX1A batteries on eBay, by mdbattery. If you have an OE or POE lens, these are the batteries for your power zoom, (replacing the PC1A, mercury battery). These are available to the U.S. and Canada, with the Buy-It-Now option, at US$3.75 each. Being hard to find, in Canada, and at a cheap price, you may want to get a few while their supply lasts.

     

    These ship from Buckhorn, ON. https://www.batterybuyer.com/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=px1a

     

    And are way cheaper than the eBay option. I stumbled onto this site looking for a battery for my SLR camera.

  6. My big dream is to make a silent feature entirely on a 35mm camera from this era. The obvious choice is a B&H 2709, but this is also a perfect example of cutting edge tech from the golden era.

     

    I love the B&W stock, but I don't suppose there's any reason you couldn't run colour stock in these cameras? I wonder what that would look like? The B&W is nearly magical. Maybe it's the flicker, maybe it's the natural light, but it looks like wizardry. I hope I'm not indulging in hyperbole, but for me this beats 4k any day. It draws my eye much more strongly into the picture. I wish I knew why that is.

     

    I also agree that this particular camera needs service of some kind. It shouldn't leak that much light, nor weave quite so much. I bet it wouldn't take much to get it back to fighting form.

  7. That would be a creative and interesting way to demonstrate the panache that might be part of the makeup of someone who would shatter the glass ceiling. I'm kinda stuck though since that metaphor (glass ceiling) is so ingrained in the culture of their intended audience.

     

    This is why I would avoid using it, but if that's the brief, then that's the brief.

  8. Are you certain that's the shot? Forgive me for being blunt, but that sounds a bit "on-the-nose."

     

    If you're open to suggestions, how about:

     

    Fade In

     

    Ext.–Dilapidated House—Day

     

    *crash

     

    A rock sails into one of the very dirty windows, smashing it.

     

    *crash

     

    Another rock.

     

    A child's hands scrabble in the dirt looking for just the right rock. Aha! Found it!

     

    The child's arm throws the rock at the house smashing yet another window.

     

    SHE blows a strand of hair out of her eyes, grins, picks up her schoolbag, and skips away.

     

    Fade Out

     

     

    That's what I would do anyway. The glass ceiling thing is just so prosaic.

  9. In reference to the OP's original question, I've been looking at a B&H Model 627. I know Orson Welles used the 240 on many of his later films. Non-reflex, but they generally came with Taylor-Hobson glass. I've not used one, so I'm just offering them as a possibility. Perhaps some of the more informed members could sound in on the Model 627.

  10. Update: I only used my Elmo Super 106 to shoot one roll of the Ektachrome. It has manual exposure, so I opened it to what I assume is f20. The ttl exposure meter is a bit confusing. There's also no dial for film speed. That must be auto only.

     

    Anyway, the camera worked very well. I'm surprised by how quiet it runs. I'm planning to send to Film Rescue for processing and scan. Although, if there was a member who enjoyed hand processing and wanted a crack at this emulsion, I'd gladly it send his/her way. It will definitely be a challenge, even for the Film Rescue people, I expect.

     

    @Roger Haney, say I didn't know those leader ladies were called "china girls." I've never seen one on a film leader, but then I was born in 1980. I never got a good look at any motion picture film. Do they still make leaders with china girls? That would be helpful for colour correction of fresh stock. I can't imagine it would help with the 160 G though.

  11. Generally, grey cards are used for metering and white balance is only for video and digital photography. Have you ever seen the single color frame of the lady on film leader? Ever wonder why she is in there? She was a reference for colorists to color time film properly. Everybody does color correction in digital post these days(which is why it takes so long to edit video.)

    I haven't seen the lady. Only "K O D A K." But that's excellent info!

  12. Wow, Martin, that's a beautiful essay! No sarcasm, I really appreciate it! :)

     

    I missed out on that B8, unfortunately, but I'm sure there will be other opportunities.

     

    I'm a really big fan of the silver nitrite look of the early Chaplin and Keaton shorts. Obviously, that'll never be duplicated, so I'm pawing through as much true b&w stock as I can to find a suitable alternative.

  13. Thanks for your insight, Martin, and your concern. The guy I bought from assured me it had been stored in the freezer, for whatever that's worth. I have no real way of verifying that, other than my gut feeling about him. So yeah.

     

    I was worried myself about the quality of these cartridges, as they're dated 1984/85. But I've seen some interesting results on vimeo that are acceptably weird for me to at least try.

     

     

    The whole idea of filming this on super 8 is that this particular brother was born right at the demise of the format. So many family memories before him are on Kodachrome. There's no super 8 of him. I felt it would be interesting to dovetail that gap in the family with this wedding film.

     

    The fact that it's a wedding is not really my interest. Rather it's trying to bridge the gap between the two eras of my family. Most of the surviving film from my childhood isn't horrible quality, but it's at least as good or bad as the above link. To wit:

     

    https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tD4B7kzK2e_TWOiywW71NGVGd9t1JIiD/view?usp=sharing

     

    My father still has his B&H 1206. I have an Elmo Super 106. So we plan to both shoot a roll, then assemble all the use-able images in post. I won't be terribly disappointed if it doesn't work out. If I were simply trying to record the best visuals of the day, then I wouldn't even consider expired film. I'm not the official photographer anyway. It's just a fun experiment.

     

    I've not been able to locate affordable expired Tri-X or any other stock, for that matter. Guys who have stored this stuff think it's made of Cuban wrapper leaf onto which Castro or Churchill personally farted. I don't personally think any expired cartridge should be more than $10 in any currency. But I digress.

     

    I've not heard of the Fuji stock you mention. I'd like to hear more. Frankly, I'd like to hear about any caches of expired super 8 that isn't being horded like dragon gold.

     

    (I do have a roll of brand-new 50D in my freezer, but I was saving that for a narrative film I'm planning.)

  14. I'm going to shoot some of my brother's wedding on Sunday with some expired Ektachrome 160G. It may work out, it may not. I'm prepared for that. He'll have a professional photographer there anyway. I'm just doing this because it's fun.

     

    Could you guys advise me on whether I need a colour chart/grey card? If so, how? The finished product will be scanned, not projected, so colour correction will be important.

     

     

  15. Ektachrome will cost more than Vision negative stocks...it always has. I like to project it in 16mm and I like the look in general when scanned but I probably would stick with Vision stocks in Super 8 and 35mm...although it would be fun to test a 35mm motion picture Ektachrome 100' reel on my Eyemo.

     

    That's good to know. I would also like to watch a 35mm Ektachrome print of a classic film. Maybe Holy Grail?

     

    If I had the budget for 35mm, I'd definitely shoot with Ektachrome. From what I've seen (in stills at least) the colours are quite cool and soft.

  16. It is good. I got ADD and it was not really boring. I got a little tired at about 3 1/2 min, but watched it all. Nice technicals and comp. You got talent!

     

    Thanks! An entirely visual story does require a bit more focus from the viewer. I find I can drift in and out of a film with dialogue and not lose much. I appreciate your thoughts!

  17. I started in the theatre as an actor. I gradually moved into film because the stories I wanted to tell basically weren't plays. Every time I tried to write a play, I'd end up writing a film.

     

    I held off making movies until this year. If you love the theatre, it's tough to even look at other types of performing. Finally, I decided I'd pick up a camera and start shooting.

     

    This film is made straight from the hip. The camera is a Panasonic SD camcorder, nothing special. I wanted to simply film interesting images and then see if I could assemble a story in the edit. It's an exercise in the unconscious. Once you've had a certain level of training, you can paralyze yourself creatively.

     

    So I just let go and allowed this to basically fall out.

     

    I'm pleased with it as a first attempt. Image quality is less than I would like, but the project really wasn't about that. It was about being vulnerable and authentic.

     

    Thanks for watching!

     

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