Shooting 16mm

[David Mullen ASC]

I'd also add that since underexposure mistakes tend to look worse than overexposure mistakes, by rating the stock only 1/3 of a stop slower, which is very conservative, you may not really be overexposing much, it might just be a protection against slightly underexposing because 1/3 of a stop is within a margin of human error in exposing shot by shot.

 

[Marc Wielage]

I often make up signs that I shoot after the grey card with big letters that say simple things like COLOR: BLUE MOONLIGHT / KEEP DARK or COLOR: WARM GOLDEN SUNSET or COLOR: SLIGHTLY COOL (BLUE) CAST so that the colorist knows the creative intent of the footage. You can also put that on the camera report.

Very handy. At the bottom, you can add "<name of colorist> Don't F this up!" :blush5:

The worst thing the dailies people can do is to regrade a shot and make it normal, when the intent is something way different from normal. Some DPs will shoot charts with the colored gels pulled so we can check normal color & density, then when the scene begins the gels go back in and now we see the colored fill or key lighting as the DP intended.

Our advice at Technicolor for features, TV series, and shorts shooting on film and intending to finish digitally was usually to overexpose between 1/3 and 1/2 a stop. The whites come out a little bit noisier, but everything else has less grain. A small amount of NR makes it perfect. Push-processing is not recommended, IMHO; I think you can already do a stop or so of correction in the scanners with fewer problems.

 

[David Mullen ASC]

I don't blame colorists if the first shot on a roll is an orange-lit or blue-lit scene with no notes or charts and they end up making it neutral -- how are they supposed to know that the color cast is intentional? At least with a white-lit chart followed by an orange-lit scene, they know the orange is supposed to be there.

The other advantage of the charts and notes is that if the scene is corrected to neutral anyway despite what the chart says, you have some recourse to get them to redo it. Of if they correct for the chart and let the scene roll from there and some light source is doing something strange with the color, you know it's not a timing issue.

 

[Karim D. Ghantous]

As I said before, Kodak being the only player with only one type of film stock is also a huge setback. The "film look" is now just one flavour, and not as diverse as before.

Maybe Ferrania will release a film stock that will add a refreshing new look. I love the look of Kodak stock but one can not eat only chocolate!

 

[Marc Wielage]

The other advantage of the charts and notes is that if the scene is corrected to neutral anyway despite what the chart says, you have some recourse to get them to redo it. Of if they correct for the chart and let the scene roll from there and some light source is doing something strange with the color, you know it's not a timing issue.

These days, we're lucky to see charts at all in post. Way too many people eschew charts completely these days.

 

[justin lovell]

Another nice option is 2 perf 35mm. We scanned some of that for a cinematographer recently and it looked awesome (and cost effective! (and you can use your 35mm lenses

WWW.FRAMEDISCREET.COM for info on our new 8/16/35 lasergraphics scanstation in Toronto.

Lil scanning studio created by cinematographers.

 

[dio Zafi]

Another nice option is 2 perf 35mm. We scanned some of that for a cinematographer recently and it looked awesome (and cost effective! (and you can use your 35mm lenses

WWW.FRAMEDISCREET.COM for info on our new 8/16/35 lasergraphics scanstation in Toronto.

Lil scanning studio created by cinematographers.

....also short ends for shooting in 35mm....also try to shoot a spot with just one roll of 16mm..you'll save money on production ..and later on in post...

 

[Douglas Underdahl]

I put a lot of helpful stuff in this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/231691969649?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

 

[Michael Lindsay]

Good luck... I don't often regret not shooting 35mm anymore but I really miss 16mm. It really is unmatchable with current teck.

S16 on old zeiss distagons creates a really particular look. I didn't appreciate it enough at the time.

i would also give 16mm a 1/2 stop (sometimes 1stop) extra.

 

[dio Zafi]

Good luck... I don't often regret not shooting 35mm anymore but I really miss 16mm. It really is unmatchable with current teck.

S16 on old zeiss distagons creates a really particular look. I didn't appreciate it enough at the time.

i would also give 16mm a 1/2 stop (sometimes 1stop) extra.

+1
..an unexplainable feel..like etched in immortality ..[FONT=Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]
[/FONT]

 

[Ezequiel Romero]

Done! I shot it last weekend. And it looks awesome.

Thanks everybody for your advice. I'll keep posting stuff.

 

[Ignacio Aguilar]

Well done, Ezequiel!
Which film stock did you use?

 

[Ezequiel Romero]

I talked to the Fuji guy you recomended, but he didn't have the kind of s16 stock that I needed. It's Vision3. 5 rolls of 250D and 1 500T.

 

[Aaron michaels]

It is amazing how we all were using film back in the day before Red changed everything but after listening to you guys it jump started me to pull out my super 16mm film cameras. Eclair NPR & ACL I think I want to shoot shorts and music videos again in film and now that we have resolve it will be interesting to create something new with 16mm.

 

[Ezequiel Romero]

It is amazing how we all were using film back in the day before Red changed everything but after listening to you guys it jump started me to pull out my super 16mm film cameras. Eclair NPR & ACL I think I want to shoot shorts and music videos again in film and now that we have resolve it will be interesting to create something new with 16mm.

YES. PLEASE.

It's not the best choice for everything, but it is A choice. For all that I love my Red, film IS unique in many ways beyond the actual image.

Let's not let it die. It is awesome and not at all expensive

 

[dio Zafi]

YES. PLEASE.

It's not the best choice for everything, but it is A choice. For all that I love my Red, film IS unique in many ways beyond the actual image.

Let's not let it die. It is awesome and not at all expensive

that's what i found too...working on a number of spots in Europe with film..keep using both film and digital...keep them both competitive and evolving

 

[Karim D. Ghantous]

Those frames look so lovely. Arguably as good as a lot of 8-perf 35mm scans from photo scanners like the Kodak Pakon or the Noritsu. The Pakon gives beautiful colour but exaggerates grain. The Noritsu is worse and produces very brittle grain that would not be there if you just projected the film onto a wall.

Almost a year ago I posted a thread pointing to scans of 16mm 7219 pushed a stop. They looked amazing considering how grainy you would expect them to be. Sure, you'll not get 4K out of 16mm film but one could argue that film transcends resolution.

I note that the face of the male actor is underexposed by about a stop compared to the background exterior. Was this deliberate? Of course one has to watch the frames in the context of the scene to make proper sense of them, but this detail was the first thing I noticed.

 

[Ezequiel Romero]

Those frames look so lovely. Arguably as good as a lot of 8-perf 35mm scans from photo scanners like the Kodak Pakon or the Noritsu. The Pakon gives beautiful colour but exaggerates grain. The Noritsu is worse and produces very brittle grain that would not be there if you just projected the film onto a wall.

Almost a year ago I posted a thread pointing to scans of 16mm 7219 pushed a stop. They looked amazing considering how grainy you would expect them to be. Sure, you'll not get 4K out of 16mm film but one could argue that film transcends resolution.

I note that the face of the male actor is underexposed by about a stop compared to the background exterior. Was this deliberate? Of course one has to watch the frames in the context of the scene to make proper sense of them, but this detail was the first thing I noticed.

Yes, I tend to go under a lot. And when I have a bright background I don't care so much, and I like the feel. Also, the shot asks for it, for that particular moment. As you say, everything in its context.
I find that exposing a shot is not so much as nailing the light meter readings, but to go with the scene, the shot, the frame and the context. It's hard as hell