Andy Sparaco SOC

You can purchase a set of Kodak color seperation guides which give you a grey step scale and color patches. Filmtools/LA and SMS/Chicago have them. $20 to $30USD They come in two sizes. I rubber cement the small size over the director and camera spaces on the production slate in this way there is a color/grey scale at the head of every shot. The colorist needs only one clean frame to set up on so I roll 5 feet of head leader on the slate/chips at each mag change so as not to burn film needlessly. Also roll out 5 feet of tails on the the slate/chips. You should shoot chips once again just a quick second or two at each change in lighting although on some jobs we are luck to get the them on once a day. A grey card is also nice as you have a larger target for the colorist to sample with their mouse- We keep one glued to the back of the slate. The colorist does not get the "exposure right" -that is your job

The negative is the score, the (print ) transfer is the performance. Can you you achieve the same results in a more controllable, cost effective, artistic manor without closing off your options, in the xfer? I would say yes you can. Is it easier to make a "correctly" exposed negative blue or try an make a "blue" negative look normal? If you can't achieve a particular look any other way, then the in-camera approach or a chemical approach is legite. But to "whack" your negative for artisitc effect in the face of the powerful, available and pervasive digital technologies is soooo retro. If I slipped on my producers hat my response might be " Listen pal, you didn't expose MY film right it's to damn blue, it's hard to get the blue out of the skin tones especially when our blonde, female, swedish roller derby team is interacting with our black female roller derby team-it's a nightmare, I don't like it what are you gonna do about it?" After all film is like beer "we don't own it we rent it"

Are you adding blue or orange or blowing out the blue layer? Or are we talking a difference in overall philosphy here? Can you achieve the look you want by only shooting without an 85 and consequently commit yourself to that result regardless of consequence or can you acheive the sames look using the more controllable and predictable results available in xfer or in the Fire or Flame suite? Whatever floats yer boat. I like the choice and the ability to change my mind. In my personal experience I've never heard a colorist recommend shooting T under D without an 85.

Your objective as a DP should be to deliver a properly exposed and sharply focused negative. In transfer you have 250 units of three colors to work with 1 thru 250. If the film is overly blue you are skewed to one end of the scale and have less elbow room to work with in the primary and secondary color channels. You will find it diffcult to color correct in the shadows with an overexposed color channel and get many suprises in the hi-light areas. All of this "stuff" you can do more affordably, conveniently and controlably in AFE or Combustion during post. Including color and adjusting sharpness. There are a slew of filter plug-ins which can duplicate almost any effect most effectively with a properly shot negative. You need only insist that you attend the Xfer An 81 EF will help but a LLD would be better

7218 will deliver very grainy sky's. Even if you crank up the NR it will look grainy I suggest 7217 or 7205 If you are shooting during the day these will deliver plenty of speed I recently shot a film in The NYC area. The Producer and director insisted on shooting B&W. The only viable choice was 7231 all other options are extremely grainy in S16. I was shooting 7231 at an ISO of 32 in the rain and fog of the Pocono's and got exposures of 2.8 to 4. B&W really is a different animal and I was able to use the accumulated knowledge of shooting B&W stills for 20 years to get really exceptional results

You might try this: http://6sys.com/Springboard/ Fast, easy to use, inexpensive

Just finished a TV commercial with the aaton 3. Very hand holdable. With super speeds/ or standard primes and a improvised barney a capable sync sound camera. Especially with very directional mics and a tweek in post with audio software like Soundsoap. Like the MoviecamSL also but the ergonomics of the aaton 3 "the cat on the shoulder" feel is superior. 3 perf is tough not a lot of cameras available yet, two perf impossible

Two different devices. Tape splicers are for creative editing-quick cutting and easy to take a part. Hot splicers are for making rolls to be printed ot xfered- in effect "solvent" welding of the film base.

They are legite and reponsible. I've known them for 20 years. It's a family owned business and they aren't going to disappear.

Raw Stock Inc in NYC. http://www.raw-stock.com/ Rich has supplied me with raw stock of all types for years and years

A Transfer to DVCam would be preferable so you do not loose TC. Starting to see the transition to direct to drive telecine layoff-more and more common. Xfer to portable Firewire/USB harddrive using the DV50 codec is better yet (4:2:2) and can be accessed in FCP. Strongly suggest you xfer in 8 gig chunks so you can Back-up on DVD for a portable Archive you can easily share with members of your workgroup. The end of buying tape decks :D Anyone want a nice 3/4 inch JVC 850 edit/recorder?

Pitch adjustment solves this problem. I am shooting tests on 7231 for a project that starts in August. B&W film clattered. First thing I did was adjust the camera pitch and everything was fine. Unfortunately you need to have a camera which has the adjustment-Re: SR3

Try P+S Technic in Munich--down the street from Arri

If it were not for those pesky clients this would be a really good job! A very good strategy is to 1) Film project: ask and pay for a lay-off to a 2nd deck or clone of a harddrive xfer. As we transition from video tape (which is dead!) to harddrive recording it is an easy thing to do 2)If you are shooting Digital video you might supply a portable firewire drive which you can present as a "backup". This is reasonable and shows you are thinking ahead. Of course at the end of the shoot you take it home , right! If you are using a Laptop as a Video Assist station this is easy to do it's just part of the kit. Most folks still have not realised that recording to a harddrive is superior to recording to tape. You can dump the digital files to DVD or flash drives should they want to use firewire drive. You have to have a trusting relationship with the director or production company. There are ownership and copyright issues you have to dance around. And I see an increasing number of NDA's being signed now so you can't even show the material without permission.

I always carry a stainless steel knife/fork/spoon set. It's hard to cut "Mystery Meat" with a plastic knife

You will see little if any improvement in the sharpness of Super8 regardless of the optics you use because the camera has no pressure plate. Someone makes an add on pressure plate that you insert into the cartridge which improves performance.

It will not sit there most of the time -it will sit there all of the time! You will never get it to work. There is no one to repair it, calibrate it, tweek it. The established (and remaining labs) offer fabulous service at great rates, will pursue you for the business. Take the one or two grand buy some film and shoot it, process and xfer. You will benefit more. Just the dirt problems alone will put you out of business. The film cleaning machines are dangerous and use a highly volitale solution which is explosive

That will prove to be an understatement! You are absolutely nuts to consider this. I shot the first tests of 7247 and did the first film to tape Xfer in the USA in 1976. (The color corrector was a Radio Shack TRS-80 with three joy sticks -gamma/chroma and gain) It was a contraption then and it only got worse as updates where stapped on to it any way possible.

You will find many useful tools at this link: http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/support/...d=0.1.4.3&lc=en Including a film calculator

I carry one battery to run the camera if asked. Sometimes the TSA wants to see a camera operate. conversely if they question the battery I power the camera to make it clear it is a battery. Sometimes when they do an inspection I will turn on the camera and hand it to them without plugging in the battery. If they can see thru it they assume it's running. It all depends on my evaluation of how slick the TSA folks I am dealing with are and how much time I have before departure.

Leica R and M lenses have a rear flange distance of 47mm (Leica R -Leica M even shorter). The flange distance on Arriflex cameras are 52mm. Unless the back end of the lens is modified there is no PL to Leica R adaptor available with infinity focus. The exception is for Leica Visoflex lenses. I have a custom made adaptor from Les Boscher in the UK and mount Leitz Visoflex lenses for MP use which are quite good.

Who has time to count turns on a rewind? If you are using a camera which has non coaxial magazines- Arri-S Arri BL Arri 2/3- CP 16- You can spool down film using it. 1)In a changing bag run the film from the supply side to the collapsible core on the take-up side. (You do not run the film thru the camera-preventing possible scratches) 2) Reverse the motor 3) Run the film back to a spool. 4) Use a finger to gauge how much has wound onto the spool. Running film out to the edge of the sppol is 120 to 130ft 5) Cut the film and replace the spool with an empty Be sure to black tape any running lights so they don't fog film! Also shut down the eyepiece. I have used this technique on location to spool down short ends for my B Camera

This issue is with the eyepiece not the extention. You need a wide angle eyepiece or you will have to move your eye around. I have both the regular SR and a wide angle eyepiece both work but the wide angle is more comfortable

"The can do what ever they like and they will" Depending on how busy and what mood they are in.

Wet batteries will not fly. The TSA does not like batteries. I have noticed when I arrive 3 hours early to get my equipment sorted out properly, the TSA folks will ship my equipment on a different flight if they have an option. Usually ship sealed non liquid batteries Nic Cad/Lithum and NiMh types in checked luggage-in a unlocked case. I carry on the camera and always have one battery in case I need to power the camera. This is one reason I went to Dewalt batteries, so if they don't arrive I can quicky and cheaply get spares at HDepot.