Bryan Darling

In helping to figure out whether you should push the film or how it will turn out depends on the effect or look you are wanting. What was the reason for underexposing the film?

K40's latitude is no where near 6-8 stops. That's the latitude of modern color negative film stocks. You may have about 3 stops. What you need to understand is that latitude doesn't necessarily correlate to overexposing and everything coming out fine...especially with reversal film and especially with Kodachrome. Latitude is the range of stops a film will "see." For instance most modern negative stops will have about 8 stops depending. So let's say that the "correct" exposure for your subject and scene is f5.6. The film will capture (see) anything that is f4, f3.5, f2.8, f1.9. Additionally it will capture anything at f8, f16, f22, f32. Now while it may have captured all that information, that doesn't mean that everything it captured will look the same. What I mean is that everything below the 5.6 will be darker and perceived as darker. Everything above the 5.6 will be brighter and perceived as brighter. Ok, so let's say that Reversal has about 1 1/2 stops under and about 1 stop over. I am perhaps being conservative but better to be conservative that way out there. If your "correct" exposure for your subject and scene was 5.6 but you shot f8 (1 stop under) then the film would capture everything up to f5.6 and everything down to say f16. But that means that anything that was at 5.6, what should be "correct," is twice as dark as it should have been. This means your shadow/dark areas or what should have been your shadow/dark areas will be twice as dark. So when a lot of your scene is being put in the "dark" part of the film there isn't much left for the brighter areas. So now your brighter areas have become more gray. I know this may seem rather overwhelming. I hope I've explained it to some degree why latitude won't make up for bad exposures per se. I will say that with wide exposure range, it does make it easier to correct for bad exposures later in the telecine or printing process. Since reversal is designed to be directly projected, it requires your exposures to be extremely accurate otherwise it will appear too dark or too bright. Everyone goes through this when their first starting out. You have to make mistakes in order to learn. We've all gone through it, it's part of the curriculum :)

If it ends up that you want to try and get it into festivals then go and put a call out for people doing music. I haven't had an issue finding people to do music and sound. It can take more work and searching to get "good" people to work on your projects for free. But you have to start somewhere. Once you are more experienced and have a body of work it gets a lot easier.

Honestly for what you are doing and how you are doing it, I wouldn't worry. It's not like the music copyright secret police will be at your door or tapping your telephone. People do this all the time and as long as you aren't out there showing it at festivals, etc. you aren't going to have a problem.

I was wondering what the differences in the 7th, 8th,& 9th editions are. What I'm most interested in knowing is if material has been deleted for new material dealing with digital or that the digital information has been added to the original material. I'm making a decision as to which edition I will get. I use traditional film more than digital technologies, however if all the original material pertaining to 16mm & 35mm film, cameras, process, et. al. remains then I'd get the new one. Thanks.

I've directed two films shot entirely with 7231 & 7222. 7231 is tempremental in that it is very contrasty. You need to really watch the times of day and lighting situations. 7231 is great in controlled environments such as using silks and bounce outdoors. 7222 has less contrast and can work in about any environment. We did full outdoor and indoor in all sorts of situations. I would get at least one or two 100' rolls of each and shoot them in different environments and you can see what you prefer.

I think the 16mm strip adapter could be for 16mm still camera frames not motion-picture frames. Meant for such cameras as the Minolta 16 series. I could be wrong. It would make more sense to use something like the JK optical printer with a digital still camera attached such as Canon or Nikon DSLR. They actually advertise their new printers for this person. As for the time it'd take in comparison to a 35mm frame. Keep in mind that 16mm is about a 1/4 of the size of 35mm.

I didn't like the image stabilization of the DVX, in my opinion Canon has had the best stabilization and it?s zoom is longer than the DVX. I do a lot of handheld shots in the field and the DVX was more fussy to work with. Additionally, I didn't like the "look" of the 24p in that the Frame mode on the Canon gave a "look" that seemed just as acceptable to me. Yes it may not be truly 24p but the average viewer doesn't know and can't tell. Also I found the 10x zoom lens to be too little for me. I was used to having a 16x zoom lens on my XL1 and the GL2 has a 20x. Video cameras have come along way however I find myself just saying wow that's good video. If I want the film look and 24p it just makes more sense for me to use 16mm or such. This is just a personal preference and aesthetic choice. Something I've come to in the 11 years I've been playing around with the various visual mediums. When I started I was 17 and unless you had something like 20,000+ you weren't going to be editing on a computer so that wasn't even a thought in my world then. I got a simple non-reflex Bolex at a swap meet for $100 and a couple rolls of Tri-X film. I had no idea about film speed, f-stops, etc. I just put it in and pressed the button. When the film came back from the lab I?d cut it and splice it and throw it in a military surplus projector. I've come along way since then but I tell you this because even if I had had a better or bigger camera, I would never have used it to its fulles. When you are starting it's important to find something that you feel comfortable with, that can be easy and that you can learn with. Digital technology is very intricate and constantly changing, especially when you add 24p into the mix. Lots of little technical things that you get to when shooting, editing, mastering DVDs, projecting- all sorts of things. As you go through the process you learn what they are and how to deal with them until it becomes second nature. I really would say keep things simple and easy for yourself. You can always sell the camera you buy and use that towards something better. That's how I've been able to put a good collection of gear together over the years. It?s not so how much you spend, how big it is, what all the little do-hickeys it has, but rather how you use it and what you make with it. Have fun and make stuff?try not to get caught up in the ?techno-craziness.?

I own a GL2 and never have had that problem. I bought mine last August to replace my XL1 and after testing out the Panasonic DVX-100. It's a great lil camera and decent in 16:9 mode. It also has the ability to put framing guides in the viewfinder for 16:9 while shooting in 4:3 mode. You can use them as a guide for 1.85:1 if you remember that the guides are a little bigger than the 1.85 frame.

I think that alone says a lot about the operators and facility. I'd have been very weary. Equipment is nothing without skilled and meticulous operators.

Use the interviews as voice overs and they become like the narration. You can even show the person who is talking without the sound syncing up. The audience will get the idea. You just have to change your perspective and realize your limitations, then use those artistically to achieve the goal your after.

Thanks Hal, that makes a lot of sense. I'll try and find out what Bolex cameras & projectors, Eiki projectors, Elmo projectors & the Kodak Pageant were designed for. I only worry that I'll end up with 20 products for all these specific devices.

I should be more specific. I was told to use the silicon based on projetors.

Also remember just because something is termed obselete doesn't mean the camera itself stops working. Mini-DV will be around for a long time and as long as you have a tape to put in your camera it will work. When purchasing digital equipment it's not so much about what will be obselete as it is about will this work for me and what I want to do.

Hi, I've been getting asked to do work on projectors, reel-to-reels, cameras, etc. I wanted to find some good products for oil & grease. It was recommended to me to use silicon based products. Does anyone have recommendations into actual product names, etc? I need stuff for gears, rollers, and other moving parts- both plastic & metal. I currently have cleaners for electrical contacts and such. Thanks, Bryan

Oops.

Hi, I've used camcorders for many years, from the days of Panasonic's SVHS lines to working in brodcast news with BetaSP to both Sony and Canon MiniDV & DVCAM. My main medium is 16mm & Super8, however when it comes to the DV format I recommend Canon. I've used the XL1 for years, tryed out an XL2, and own a GL2. I think for the price the GL2 has the most bang for the buck. It's a very solid unit with a lot of features and customization. In my opinion it's very similar to an XL1s without removable lenses. I think the image is excellent. I like using the Frame mode personally, something I've kept from using the XL1. I feel it gives the image a better feel and quality than other interlaced camcorders. I'm not a fan of the new progressive MiniDV cameras, I owned a Panasonic DVX100 for a couple weeks before selling it. I felt the image stabilization was lacking and felt the camera was overpriced. Even with 24P it still felt and looked like video, so my opinion was why not just shoot film if you want it to look like film; and shoot video for when you want video. I've used the Sony PD-150 and it too is a good camera. I just don't like how many of the camera settings & adjustments are in the menus and not accesible on dials or switches on the camera itself. These opinions come from using camcorders extensively in the field, not a studio. There may be people with other opinions when it comes to working primarily in a studio or very controlled environment in regards to lighting, etc.

Just for a reference, here's the camera on ebay right now: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=230000089996

I'd be interested in it for our media co-op. PM me and let me know.

Usually there are two viewing glasses in color, one for slower speed stocks and one for faster speed stocks.

Now that's hilarious. Where was that from? Definately good for stabilization. :blink:

I would say that these things are more fun to play around with than anything else. They don't really have any value as far as collecting and such. It's more if someone is looking just for that model or someone wants an old camera to play with. If you want to sell it, I'd be interested. I organize a media collective that collects and works with old equipment, fixing it up and using it for experimental videos and films.

Hi, does anyone have recommendations on shoulder support or something similar for stabilizing a Bolex camera such as the H16. The problem I find today is that everything is designed for camcorders. I don't want to buy something that is designed for a camcorder that I can't try with my Bolex first, and in my area I'm not going to be able to try them out. Additionally, I'm want to spend less than $500. I wouldn't mind putting something together myself. Just curious what other people are using and how they perform. This came about as I was shooting on our lightrail, same as SF's muni, or a lighter version of NYC's subway. All I had was the pistol grip and no matter how I tried to stabilize it with my body, it was very hard keeping steady as the train was moving. The pistol grip is not great as the weight is so awkardly placed on your wrist. I need something better designed for spreading the camera's weight so not to break my wrist carrying it all day. Thanks.

I'm looking to build a crystal sync motor for my Bolex Rex-2 and to modify my Nizo 2056. I would love to be able to have sync speeds at both 18 & 24fps. I'd prefer to do it myself as a learning experience, although I more apt to have a professional do the Nizo if I don't feel confident. I was thinking of getting the MCE-17B motor to use for easy applicatins where I don't need the xtal sync. Nick, do you have any ideas on motors? What specs I should be looking for? Any ideas on make/model? Thanks.

I don't see why not. I think it would just depend on how the cameras were designed to record in VCR mode. You may need to do some fiddling in the menus when in VCR mode. Just try it and see what happens. Only thing I see being a problem is that your timecode won't copy over, so your dub's timecode will not precisely match your original.