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How do I film Kodak 200T ISO with the correct ARRI tungsten lighting


John Rolfe

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So, from what I understand the best quality for indoor film is Kodak 200T, at a smaller aperture like F/6 or F/8.


But what I don't understand is which ARRI Tungsten lights do I have to buy so that will be bright enough at 3200k and 24 flood light level. Let's say I have 2 of them. One for the foreground and one for backlight. Does that change the calculation?


What if there's some outdoor light coming in through the curtains? I know T Film isn't designed for that kind of light so should I try to block out all light coming into the house?


I don't understand how to calculate how to get the 200 ISO with the aperture and shutter speed.

I know the shutter speed is naturally at 130 Degrees (giving 1/65 sec at 24 fps).


Does that mean for 200 ISO. I would need an EV around 8.0, 1/65 and aperture of F/2.8?


And for 200 ISO. I would need an EV around 9.0, for 1/64 and an aperture of F/6.3?


But what's also confusing about the Bolex is that there are the RX lens and the regular lens. Are RX lens better? Does using them mean I don't have to calculate the 25% that is lost?


Please help me understand this

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If the lights are bright enough for 200T stock depends on several factors. The size of the lights and area they are illuminating. Arri lights come in a huge range of sizes (measured in Watts) from 100W to 18,000W if counting HMI's as well.

 

E.g a 150Watt arri light won't be able to light a wide shot in a church on its own and a 10,000 Watt arri will be overkill in a bathroom.

 

What you need is a light meter - this will allow you to measure the actual light level for the size lights your using, for the space your using. You put the shutter speed and film speed into the light meter and it will tell you the correct aperture for correct expose.

 

So its not a calculation that you need, its a measurement. You set up the lights, measure the light and then set the aperture, or adjust the lights and measure again.

 

Can't afford a light meter - A DLSR will serve at a pinch. Set the ISO to 200 and shutter speed to match you film camera. Then take some photos at different apertures - when you hit the correct exposure, do that on the film camera. Its not perfect but its close enough if your careful.

 

In terms of mixing outdoor (daylight) with electronic tungsten light (blue) - yes it won't match in terms of colour. Daylight looks much bluer then tungsten. So either you go with the mixed colour, eliminate the daylight and only use tungsten film lights or put CTB filters on the tungsten lights to match it too daylight. Or put CTO filters over the windows so they match the tungsten. Or use daylight balanced film lights (HMIs, Kinos, LED's etc)

 

Lots of tutorials on youtube on both light meters and colour temperature. Most cinematography text books should be able to get you upto speed as well

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Also maybe practice on digital before you start burning though expensive film stock. Would also give you an idea of what size light you need for your location. Since the answer people are going to give will be along the lines of "how long is a peace of string"

 

Its not just about getting enough light to expose the film, but your probably going to want to create a mood, have a choice about hard or soft light etc...

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Also makes sense to practice exposure and lighting with stills film. This way you learn to previsualize the image, which's probably the most important skill for a novice cameraman as it makes you learn the tools and their limitations and frees you from oversimplified formulaic BS they write in entry-level "cinematography" books, like "4:1 ratio for dramatism".

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