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Will Montgomery

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Everything posted by Will Montgomery

  1. Will Montgomery
    Hmmmm...that makes me want to re-scan that footage. That was done on a Spirit 2k many years ago, but I know their machine was immaculately maintained. Bernie (at Super16Inc...my go-to Scoopic tech) believed the flickers were due to tiny alignment issues in the rollers and mechanisms of that Scoopic. Unfortunately there's not a clear way to adjust each piece because adjusting one piece moves another one and so on where as Arri's and Aatons are setup for precise changes and adjustments...at least that is how he explained it to me :) . I've also wondered if the crystal sync (after market mod) on the camera could be affecting that.
  2. Will Montgomery
    Here's my wind-up Eyemo that we talked about (happened to be sitting on my desk as I read your post). Love that is was built in the 40's and can make images rivaling the latest & greatest digital cameras...except perhaps in sharpness due to the ancient but full-of-character lens. This camera shot this (Double X, Spirit Transfer): Another motorized Eyemo with Nikon mount lenses shot this on 50D (ending has some nice faces):
  3. Will Montgomery
    Craftsmanship and quality are alive and well in Sweden.
  4. Will Montgomery
    Scoopic is a great option that is under $1000. I've had 6 of them and I have noticed most of them can have a little flutter only noticeable in skys. If it was an Arri you'd be able to make tiny adjustments to the mechanism to get rid of it. With the Scoopic you don't have as much ability to adjust; they were meant for shooting football games and vacations...not for making features. However, on the M, MN & MS models (I've had each) the lens is really great. I've had colorists ask me what lens I was using on some transfers because they loved it so much. The fact that it is motorized is a big plus...constantly winding a K3, Filmo, Bolex, K-100, ect. can be painful and difficult on long shoots. You can find a crystal sync mod but I don't believe that is critical. Ultra 16 conversion is easy while Super 16 is nearly impossible or at least impractical. Here's an example:
  5. Will Montgomery
    I would consider raising your camera budget to £2500, finding a more modern 16mm camera that is tested and works, then selling the camera when you're done. Check around where you live to find out what cameras are still regularly serviced in your area. In the U.S. it's much more easy to find a tech that can work on Arri SR's than Eclairs and the parts are much more plentiful. Not sure about the U.K.
  6. Will Montgomery
    It is undeniably sexy. And I do love BMD as a spunky little innovator. I'm sure they will get the scanner figured out.
  7. Will Montgomery
    Yes, we are a rare breed. Struggling in the right man's world.
  8. Will Montgomery
    One little trick I found was to get a cheap variable polarizing filter that rotates to change the polarization...take out the glass and use that to mount the anamorphic lens to the camera lens (probably will need size adapter rings too) which will allow you to fix the anamorphic lens with rods and still be able to focus/rotate the camera lens. Remember that the anamorphic lens must remain fixed and level or you'll get really trippy 70's "I'm so stoned!" effects. In looking for a photo of such a setup I ran into this which could be helpful although It doesn't seem to have a bracket to mount to rails: https://www.vid-atlantic.com/products/anamorphic-lens-clamp
  9. Will Montgomery
    Every scanning pro I've talked to has had the same issues with it discussed here. Plus the non-movable sensor so 16mm is only captured at 2k. One house in Atlanta that shall remain nameless wanted to use it for 16mm dailies and found it not even suitable for that. Looks very cool. They just need the sensor to catch up with the looks. If BlackMagic decides to make it kick ass, they could...they just have to decide to do it and listen to their clients.
  10. Will Montgomery
    These days it seems best to get a completely flat scan with no noise reduction and treat it as a "digital negative" and almost make "work prints" from that with a basic color job applied so when you show others the edit they don't cringe (or just apply basic coloring in the NLE). Then when the edit is locked sit down with the colorist and pay him lots of money to make it look amazing.
  11. Will Montgomery
    Remember, much of those wonderful Star Wars Prequels were shot in HD and effects output in HD. Not 2k, not 4k...HD. George liked to save time and money. But maybe that's not a good example...
  12. Will Montgomery
    Body looks like a Fuji 120 Rangefinder...the Texas Leica...
  13. Will Montgomery
    It could be that the original Scoopic's viewfinder isn't affected by the change in aperture but I doubt it...I see I substantial difference in brightness as aperture opens and closes on the MS... If you get it to work it will be a great camera to have even as a backup.
  14. Will Montgomery
    I would look for an Arri 2C. Tons of parts out there, tons of magazines, and quite a few people can still work on them. If you look around you may find an unmodified one for $1200. If you can go up a little ($3000?) the later model Arri III's ads pin registration which will make a noticeable difference in steadiness. Both models give you flexibility in 200 or 400 magazines, reasonably priced lenses and accessories. If you need to stay in the $500 range and there are no other considerations, a spring wound Eyemo would be fine.
  15. Will Montgomery
    With how loosely the Eyemos seem to wind the film up I would be hesitant to try and fit more than 100' in there. There have been quite a few times when unloading the film was running past the flanges. Seemed to happen with three different Eyemos. Usually have to manually tighten it up. Thanks. It was really fun to have the 35mm Arri 2c at the soccer games. Put those soccer moms with the $4000 DSLRs to shame. What I love is that I can go back and re-scan the film to 4k when I get around to it. Don't think the VHS home movies will hold up as well. :)
  16. Will Montgomery
    It has a very cool 70's look to it. When they do type over it you should use After Effects to track the camera flutter and track the overlays to that and soften them just a little so it looks like it was done optically.
  17. Will Montgomery
    Honestly the most important piece of the puzzle will be who is coloring the film. Any of those scanners will do fine in the hands of a competent and qualified colorist. Some of the best looking images on film I've ever had were scanned in SD but were colored by an amazing colorist that brought out the film's fullest potential. All of the machines listed there will do great, especially if as you say the operator knows what they are doing. I'd go with the least expensive and spend the difference and more on the colorist.
  18. Will Montgomery
    I have your basic wind-up Eyemo and I have a couple Steve's Cine Modified Eyemos with crystal motor but unfortunately not reflexed. The motorized ones have been completely gutted and re-made basically. The gate and the sprocket drive is the same but the spring is removed and electronics put in. With a reflexed viewfinder this was like a $25,000 mod back in the day. Then they were used as crash cameras so that's throwing a lot of money around. Result is that many of the modified ones were damaged in crashes. The wind-up Eyemo is small but incredibly heavy and a big chunk of solid feeling steel. Can see them being used as weapons in WWII. With 1 minute per reel they aren't exactly practical for much but the one I have with a Nikon mount makes some beautiful images and the old wind-up one with the Eyemax 25mm lens has it's own charm too. Wind-up Eyemo: Crystal Eyemo (Steve's Cine Mod) with Nikon Mount:
  19. Will Montgomery
    You should notice the viewfinder getting darker or brighter as you adjust the aperture. You won't see blades or anything like that but it will get darker or lighter. Sometimes I find myself opening it up all the way to focus then putting it back to where it should be although this can be dangerous if you forget to set it back. It could be some sort of disconnection between the aperture ring (that's not on the actual lens but on the smaller meter lens) and the aperture. You should see a difference as you manually move it. You can still shoot a test roll and make notes of the aperture as you shoot to see if it's really changing or not.
  20. Will Montgomery
    Exactly what I do. Incredibly easy these days and the Zoom can be placed very close or you can use external mics. Standard setup these days is a two camera shoot with zoom and sync all three in Final Cut Pro X with built-in sync feature.
  21. Will Montgomery
    That's what I expected. It would seem more time consuming for the scan house to try and figure out what was needed vs. just running the whole reel down. I think I may need to do it locally and sit with the scanning guy to make it move more quickly for them. The only reason I would pursue this method is that I only need like 20 seconds of some of these 400' reels. Hoping the reel will show off "what's possible" when shooting film that I can use to sell clients so scan quality and color is going to be important. Film seems to be an easy sell for me with music videos but I'd like to broaden it's use with my clients where possible.
  22. Will Montgomery
    I'm in the process of putting together a film DP reel. I have scans/telecines of all the material but they are of wildly differing qualities...from SD to 4k. If I know I only need 45 seconds of a particular reel, is it practical to tell the scanning house exactly what to scan from each reel...by approximate time or by frame grabs and only scan that vs. scanning an entire 400-800' reel? I'm not trying to cheap out, but I also don't need everything on the reel. My goal is to get quality and consistent 4k scans of everything and work locally with a colorist to make it shine. Is that just a standard request or should I expect to pay a slight premium due to finding the part I need scanned then loading and unloading reels so much? (not opposed to such a fee.) Thanks for any insight, Will Montgomery
  23. Will Montgomery
    So you really can see a difference with negative? May have to try that next time. Is it the kind of thing you notice once you start grading (more info to work with) or is it apparent right from the flat scan?
  24. Will Montgomery
    Super 16 is intended as a "capture only" format. 16mm film prints use that space for sound. If you really wanted to get into it, through some fancy optical printing tricks you could probably take a S16 negative, crop it a little top & bottom then make it cinemascope anamorphic and print to a standard 16mm release print that would be anamorphic widescreen. Those lenses are fairly common for 16mm projectors. I'd talk to Tommy at Video Film Solutions in Maryland if you really want to get your S16 image onto a standard 16mm print. http://www.videofilmsolutions.com/main
  25. Will Montgomery
    Focus has always been my weakness with Super 8, but out-of-focus shots kind of make it look more Super 8 anyway. Stabilization is not quite intuitive in Resolve, but there are undoubtedly some good YouTube videos to help you through it. At one point it wasn't available on the free version but I think they've changed that now. A wise colorist once told me, whenever you have the lighting setup just right...double it. It always easier to remove light in post but not so great putting it in.
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