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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Film out cost?

J

Jack Wester

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What kind of cost is involved in good quality printing a feature length film in RedCode to 35mm film? :greedy:

(and yes, I've tried the search tool, and if there's a post out there somewhere, I didn't find it :pirate: )
 
The folks over at DVFilm.com have very good rates for film out. They transfered the trailer for my movie from DV to 35mm and made a bunch of copies, and the transfer looked really good.

According to their website, a 90 minute feature in HD transfered to 35mm with sound and color correction would run you $38250. Not bad compared to other transfer houses.
 
adobeone said:
Jack do you want to know for a film of yours, or just general purpose knowledge.
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The ultimate goal of this new moviemaking hobby of mine is to eventually be able to do a feature length movie. So I'm basically trying to learn as much as I can. I'm going to team up with people like myself who are willing to invest time without getting paid, so I'm trying to get a grip on my "above-the-line" costs.
 
David Mullen ASC said:
Laser recording digital files to 35mm generally cost anywhere from $45,000 to $60,000 for a feature-length project.
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Jaime Vallés said:
The folks over at DVFilm.com have very good rates for film out. They transfered the trailer for my movie from DV to 35mm and made a bunch of copies, and the transfer looked really good.
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My humble thanks for your feedback and time :blush:. Expensive as it might be for an aspiring amateur, the good thing is that I can wait until I feel that I have something worth printing.
 
Jack Wester said:
Expensive as it might be for an aspiring amateur, the good thing is that I can wait until I feel that I have something worth printing.
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Even better, just screen your movie digitally at festivals and make DVD screeners to show distributors. Then if the film finds a distributor they should pay for the prints. I don't see any need for an indie feature without distribution to get a 35mm print made.
 
kmikami said:
Even better, just screen your movie digitally at festivals and make DVD screeners to show distributors. Then if the film finds a distributor they should pay for the prints. I don't see any need for an indie feature without distribution to get a 35mm print made.
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I didn't know festivals screened using digitial projectors :blush:. Though I still have a long way to go, thats good to hear!
 
Jack Wester said:
I didn't know festivals screened using digitial projectors :blush:. Though I still have a long way to go, thats good to hear!
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Oh, they definitely do! Check with specific festivals to see their particular requirements for digital submissions. We were in 6 festivals last year, and our movie was screened digitally off of a Digibeta tape. In all screenings the quality was excellent. We only transfered the 2 minute trailer to 35mm film in order to be able to show it in over 100 screens in Puerto Rico. The movie itself was exhibited digitally in 13 screens across the island off of a DVD player!

BTW, I'm posting this from my brand new Treo 755p. I love this phone!
 
Jaime Vallés said:
The folks over at DVFilm.com have very good rates for film out. They transfered the trailer for my movie from DV to 35mm and made a bunch of copies, and the transfer looked really good.

According to their website, a 90 minute feature in HD transfered to 35mm with sound and color correction would run you $38250. Not bad compared to other transfer houses.
Click to expand...

I believe DVFilm uses a CRT recorder of some sort, maybe a Celco, going to camera negative stock, as opposed to a laser recorder going to intermediate stock, hence the cheaper price. Some people prefer CRT transfers for having more of a "film look" from having the digital image put on camera negative stock, whereas others prefer the look of laser recorder transfers to intermediate stock as being cleaner and sharper, more like the look of the original digital image.
 
Assuming your first feature is still a few moments away, there will be even more digital theatres.
And true, if a distributor is interested and the print is needed, he'll pay the bill.
Don't forget, if you get interest, your movie is kind-of-paid already. Whatever you may get, its a plus (looking from the hobby side).
As for the festivals, there are both. Some still require film, but most of them do video.
 
we usually spend 10.000-15.000$ for a 90min fullfeature 35mm out, including sound.
 
David Mullen ASC said:
I believe DVFilm uses a CRT recorder of some sort, maybe a Celco, going to camera negative stock, as opposed to a laser recorder going to intermediate stock, hence the cheaper price. Some people prefer CRT transfers for having more of a "film look" from having the digital image put on camera negative stock, whereas others prefer the look of laser recorder transfers to intermediate stock as being cleaner and sharper, more like the look of the original digital image.
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i agree - its often a question of individual taste (i prefer laser, most clients crt).
 
laguun said:
we usually spend 10.000-15.000$ for a 90min fullfeature 35mm out, including sound.
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I'm not questioning this, but that number seems absurdly low. The cost of negative and print stock alone, along with two processing passes, is almost $10K. That doesn't even include the actual film recording itself, a process that doesn't come for free. The only way these kind of prices can work is if you're not using intermediate stock for the negative (you can use camera stock, but even then, the prices are not going to be that low unless you buy recans - not a good idea for a master negative), and by recording it on something other than a laser recorder - although a good quality CRT or other type of recorder is not going to be that much cheaper, either.

Maybe you know something that I don't...
 
I seem to recall that the cost of simply making a one-light IN off of a feature-length (let's say, 10,000') IP using a contact printer was around $10,000, mainly just for the stock & processing. CRT transfers for features tend to be half the cost of a laser recorder, around $25,000 to $30,000.
 
David Mullen ASC said:
I seem to recall that the cost of simply making a one-light IN off of a feature-length (let's say, 10,000') IP using a contact printer was around $10,000, mainly just for the stock & processing. CRT transfers for features tend to be half the cost of a laser recorder, around $25,000 to $30,000.
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Can you give any hints on this price? Where can we get it?
 
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