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First Timed Print


Will Montgomery

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I will do that in the future, I just wanted a baseline for comparison. I'm generally shooting 100' reels and usually it is all the same setup on one reel. But if I process (4) or (5) 100' reels each might be a different scene/lighting so I would need adjustments on each 100' segment. Is that considered Best Light?

 

This one must have been some serious work for the timer. I think it was V3 500T, V2 250D and FUJI 500D. The print from Fuji 500D was looking like something from the 70's; very different from the Vision stocks.

Unless you can make one light prints of each roll by itself? A one light uses a set of Kodak standards to print off the neg assuming it was exposed to box specs... This usually works good if you use normal exposures. A best light averages the exposure throughout the roll and prints from the overall average exposure.

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is it possible to shoot print film in the camera?

You can do. There are a lot of small points to consider:

  • There are differences in the perforations that might lead to a slightly unsteady image (different perf shape and size in 35mm, same shape in 16mm: different pitch in both gauges).
  • You will, of course get a negative image, so you'll still need to transfer or print it to make a positive.
  • It will be very high contrast, and therefore the latitude will be minimal - in fact, less than nothing: you will have blocked shadows or burnt highlights or both, and even a half-stop of exposure change will make a significant difference to the image you get.
  • Print stock is balanced for a quartz halogen printer lamp, and for an orange-masked image, so you will need an extra orange filter to get anything like a neutral balanced image: one way is to shoot in daylight with two 85 filters. Without them you get a very strongly blue balance.
  • All print stock is now on polyester base. It's unbreakable, so if your camera jams, it is likely to get damaged. To be honest though, I've never experienced this problem actually happening. But I've seen the results of a polyester print jamming in the projector/platter system. Nasty!
  • You'll need to negotiate a processing price with a lab before you start.
  • You'll need to find someone to sell you a short length, wound onto the right core: print stock comes from the manufacturer in 2,000 to 6,000 ft rolls.

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You'll need to find someone to sell you a short length, wound onto the right core: print stock comes from the manufacturer in 2,000 to 6,000 ft rolls.

Yes, it's hard to find those 6000 foot 16mm magazines and the take up reels are even harder to find these days. Not since the Flintstones' time I believe.

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  • 3 weeks later...
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Labs that still do 16mm are disappearing rapidly - Fotokem is the only lab in LA that still processes 16mm, I just checked a few weeks back.

 

I didn't see anyone else jump on this in the thread, but I can think of at least TWO labs off the top of my head in LA that processes 16mm: Cinelicious and Spectra, both of whom I was in contact with for a music video shoot (that starts this weekend) that I'm directing for processing AND telecine. Well, that's not entirely true, Cinelicious will send your film off to be processed elsewhere, but I consider it full service as it is a one stop shop for processing/telecine with a decent turn around.

 

Oh, and there's Pro8mm in Burbank -- don't know if you want to count that one as "Los Angeles."

 

And this is from someone who has only processed 16mm film ONCE, a few years ago when I ran it through my CP16R (I'm hoping to be having more processed now that I have an Eclair ACL which isn't going to be such a chore to work with).

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Yes, it's hard to find those 6000 foot 16mm magazines and the take up reels are even harder to find these days. Not since the Flintstones' time I believe.

Unfortunately not much is printed in 16mm any more. Looking in the Kodak catalog, most of the available 16mm Print film comes on 2000 or 3000 ft rolls. CAT 1524537 is a 3000 ft rolls which you have to buy two of. for a total of a bit more than 300 bucks.

 

Someone wanting to play with this in a camera would have to spool it down in any case, as it is supplied in "Winding A". It would probaly come on a 3 inch core.

 

As far as 6000 ft reels, They were only used in air planes in the days before video tape, and are a bit of a collectable now.

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The polyester stock which is what most prints are made on these days as it is needed for the Platter drives at the 35mm theatre setups. does not have the vinegar problem.

Can't let this stand!

 

When the manufacturers switched to polyester base, it caused major problems with platter systems all around the world. Acetate base used to run very nicely on platters for many years.

 

Amongother things, there were issues with static electricity build-up in the polyester base, which lead to adjacent turns of the print clinging to each other, and jamming in the feed loop in the platter. If that ever happened to acetate (rarely), then the film would break, the projector would be stopped for one minute maybe two, to relace after the break, and the show would go on. Because polyester doesn't break, usually the entire platter load (upto 12,000 ft) would be pulled off the platter and on to the floor. I've even seen the entire platter cakestand fall over. That takes half an hour or more to sort out.

 

One theatre chain here insisted on show prints being on acetate base, as long as it was available - after a bad experience at a red carpet premiere :o

 

It's true that polyester base doesn't suffer from vinegar syndrome, so polyester prints are a better bet for longevity. But that isn't an issue for cinema prints, which are usually taken off after a couple of weeks, and might not be used again.

 

The switch to polyester was because the base can be recycled. Not sure what proportion of prints are actually recycled though, I know that a lot end up as landfill (where, ironically they last a lot longer than acetate ones did.

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