Creating a Slow Speed Film Look With Digital

[Don Berry]

I love older movies. I shoot digital. I use a Canon c100 mk ii for the time being. I shoot at 850 iso and I know a lot of cinematographers who shoot with the Arri Alexa also shoot around there. I've tested lower iso ratings with my camera and I'm never pleased - be it banding, noise, or ugly blacks. I get a nice clean image at 850. However, my backup camera is a Canon 7d and with that I can shoot as low as 100 iso, which I often do and is closer to the asa of older movies. But how can I, if it's even possible without too much post work, shoot at 850 and get close to that classic movie look? In terms of saturation and crispness? My main lens is a Zeiss Planar that helps immensely with the saturation, but it still looks closer to a higher asa film stock sans the grain.

[David Mullen ASC]

Wouldnt adding saturation and contrast be a color-correction decision?

[Don Berry]

Sure, it could be. I try to get as much in camera as possible.

I'll cite a movie for reference as I realize my question covers a broad range of movies: Max Ophuls's "Lola Montes". The colours in that are vivid but not super saturated. Naturally, a lot of that is the costumes and sets (that not many people have a budget to make/rent/buy).

[David Mullen ASC]

When I used to shoot with non-log cameras like the Sony F900, my general attitude with adjusting the look was that video cameras were basically contrasty in the highlights and flat in the shadows whereas film was flat in the highlights and contrasty in the shadows, so I played with the gamma, etc. on the F900 for more of that film quality, though it meant keeping the blacks down and adding more fill when necessary.

[Don Berry]

Interesting. And thanks a lot - I'll be doing some tests this week and see what pans out.