Buy film stock in bulk or piecemeal for shoot?

[Brian Rose]

Hey all, here's a question about dealing with film in large quantities. I'm going to start shooting a new project soon which because of the nature of the production, will shoot piecemeal, through the summer, fall and winter. I'm shooting BW 400 ASA orwo.

My question is: should I buy all my stock at once and take advantage of the savings by buying in bulk, and then just keep what I don't use refrigerated until such time as I do need it? Is it better to ensure all the stock is from the same batch and vintage, for consistency's sake? Or is it wiser to buy stock only as it is needed to ensure it is as fresh as possible?

Thanks!

[Mark Dunn]

It's unlikely to affect consistency with b/w, there are fewer variables. It's now so little used that in a year's time you're likely to be buying from the same batch anyway.

You can keep b/w for a decade without thinking about it, two decades without worrying about it, and three without caring, but on the other hand fresh film sure isn't going to get any cheaper.

[Chris Burke]

Talk to Orwo. You might be able to purchase the entire amount of film at one time but have it dispersed to you as needed. Ensuring the fact that you'll be getting fresh stock each and every time and not having to worry about storing all that footage. But as Mark has worded above so beautifully, it might not really matter. If I may offer my own opinion, I would go with Kodak. The Orwo stock really did not impress me. Lots of inconsistencies roll-to-roll. Jamming in the camera and lots of sound. But that was on an Aaton S16, both LTR and XTR. If you're shooting 35 it might be a different story. The Grain is much stronger and more prominent than Kodak. The UN74 was more impressive than the UN54

[Aapo Lettinen]

I would buy it all at once if one can save that way, your shooting time is so short that it should not affect the stock at all if stored properly. remember to store in stable temperature. if you are shooting tens of thousands of feets it may be more practical to have it dispersed to you as needed so you don't have to arrange lots of fridges and worry about the storage expenses.

 

is it 16mm or 35mm and which roll lengths, 100ft/400ft/1000ft ? I like the ORWO grain more than Kodak but that is a matter of taste. I am now testing stills stocks with my Konvas, will find out if there too much halation and static electricity issues with them. that works only with 35mm of course and is still a tad expensive. it is also limited to 100ft rolls which is a bit impractical at times and have to spool the films to different core before filming