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I've been making movies for awhile now, but I've only ever shot on video(miniDV,) and it's really leaving something to be desired. I recently bought a Krasnogorsk-3(haven't received it yet) to start experimenting with film. It was cheap and it will allow me to get some experience with film without paying too much.

 

I wanted to know what film stocks people would suggest for me to experiment on?

 

Any other newb suggestions would be great if you want to drop a few my way. I love these forums, I've spent days reading topics gathering information that I may never need, but it's awesome to be able to learn it all.

 

If this post should have been in the 'film stocks' forum please excuse me, but I figured I'd put it in here to steer it away from serious stock questions.

 

Thanks a ton in advance.

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I agree on the BW reversal advice. It's much cheaper than neg by the roll and you don't have to make a print to project it (more $$). Another plus is the smaller exposure latitude of reversal. Because it's less forgiving than neg, you have to be more conscious of your exposure, which means you won't get into bad habits and be lazy with the light readings. One drawback is that every time you project the film, you run the risk of getting scratches or jams, so any problems you run into can't be recovered because you're projecting your master. Usually the first few rolls people shoot aren't 'neg worthy' anyways, though.

 

On your first roll, at least, you should definitely shoot a fresh roll of reversal unless you have a bum roll that you can run through the camera as a scratch test. If the camera has registration problems or scratches the film, better that you spend as little as possible to find that out.

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I've been making movies for awhile now, but I've only ever shot on video(miniDV,) and it's really leaving something to be desired. I recently bought a Krasnogorsk-3(haven't received it yet) to start experimenting with film. It was cheap and it will allow me to get some experience with film without paying too much.

 

I wanted to know what film stocks people would suggest for me to experiment on?

 

Any other newb suggestions would be great if you want to drop a few my way. I love these forums, I've spent days reading topics gathering information that I may never need, but it's awesome to be able to learn it all.

 

If this post should have been in the 'film stocks' forum please excuse me, but I figured I'd put it in here to steer it away from serious stock questions.

 

Thanks a ton in advance.

 

Evan,

One good stock to try experimenting with is kodak's 7205 250 Asa Daylight film,

U can just go out on the streets and start shooting, no correction filters needed, just some sunlight or daylight.

Dimitrios Koukas

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Thanks for the advice everyone.

 

One other quick question. What do I have to do/ask for in order to be able to edit on my home computer via Avid? Is it not possible with reversal? That wouldn't bother me, as I'm using the reversal for testing, but once I want to start an actual project I'll need to know this.

 

Thanks again in advance, I love this place.

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Thanks for the advice everyone.

 

One other quick question. What do I have to do/ask for in order to be able to edit on my home computer via Avid? Is it not possible with reversal? That wouldn't bother me, as I'm using the reversal for testing, but once I want to start an actual project I'll need to know this.

 

Thanks again in advance, I love this place.

 

 

Contact a Short end house like Raw Stock in NYC. Buy inexpensive short ends. Then buy or borrow from "uncle frank" the family movie man" a set of cheap Rewinds and a split reel you can find on ebay so you can spool down to 100ft loads. Process and transfer to mini DV at a operation like Cinepost.

 

You will have excellent results and probably spend less money then shooting reversal or B&W. The industry is set up for color neg. The other stocks are now Specialty items. You will spend and/or waste your dough trying to work with B&W or Revesal. Reversal is also "unforgiving". The simple most direct and well established method will be the least expensive.

 

With the min DV tape in hand you can firewire the xfer onto your computer using a consumer camera you can borrow. The quality of the film will come thru in the transfer because you are using the consumer camera as a digital reader of the file info.

 

 

 

You will quickly determine the limitations of your equipment -mostly the lens system and crude pressure plate and transport.

 

 

Have fun enjoy-experiment

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Once you are satisfied with testing the camera you will want to dive into neg film as asparaco recommends. Your ultimate goal is to get it to tape (mini DV format is fine for most) for use on the AVID. One place should be able to handle it all to make the process much easier.

 

In the beginning, the cheapest method may not be the best for simplicity and reliability. I still believe that new film will give you far more reliable and consistent results. That is why I generally recommend a place that offers new film, processing and telecine in discounted packages. This will get you the additional advice and support you need from one source all the way through the process. And, if they mess something up there will be no pointing fingers. Check out Spectra Lab

 

Once you gain a better understanding of how the process works you can begin to experiment with the complexities of short ends, rewinding film in dark rooms (dirt, scratches and light leaks), etc... Lots of fun to play with! :blink: I am sure, in the end, you will find that new film is preferable for the projects that matter.

 

Lastly, do not expect high-end results from the camera you have purchased. However, it makes an excellent tool to learn with.

 

Have fun with your new camera!

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What do I have to do/ask for in order to be able to edit on my home computer via Avid? Is it not possible with reversal?

You can have it telecined (transferred to digital format). Reversal works fine, in fact it's pretty sharp telecined. Someone mentioned MiniDV as a format to have the digital file transferred onto. The problem with that is that the video will be compressed if it goes on MiniDV, which means substantial quality loss. Kind of defeats the purpose of shooting film.

 

You might try Bonolabs. They transfer to hard drive (they supply the external drives), you transfer the uncompressed video to your computer, then send the drive back.

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Color Reversal will be the most rock bottom $$$ way to go but will likely be transfrred on a film chain once again the cheapest way to go. You will not get the "Glory" of film unless your xfer is on a "real" Cintel (any Flavor)or Spirit system. In that case neg may be less expensive

 

Xfer to mini-DV/DV25 is fabulous. Even after edit and export to DVD it looks super.

In August did a Super 16 to 4:3 Mini-DV Xfer for a laptop edit in the agencies conference room. A time sensitive project with DVD as final format. A recruitment video for a drug trial- Final just looked great compared to a Straight DV25 prodction.

 

Mini-DV will be a smart choice for you

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