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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 :)

The Walking Dead

Erik Vanlenten

Erik Vanlenten

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The Walking Dead TV show was shot on 16mm film (Kodak Vision3 500T 7219)... Would love to see season 3 (if there is one) shot on Scarlet. I think they could achieve the same look and more with the Scarlet once it's finished.

Very excited for the cinematic possibilities of the Scarlet line for TV shows and Indie guys.

thoughts?
 
Stacey Spears said:
The new season of Burn Notice is being shot on RED. Previous seasons were 16mm.
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No way! Love that show but the image quality had been killing me. I heard they started on 16mm then went to some crappy xdcam or something...
 
Dustin Cross said:
I am pretty sure Burn Notice was F900 until this season.
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Burn Notice was on 16mm film until last season, when it was switched to XDCams, PD800's as I recall. This season they went to Red MX.
 
Scarlet would far outstrip at least the resolution of 16 mm. Even 1080p with good glass does.
 
Lawrence Bansbach said:
Scarlet would far outstrip at least the resolution of 16 mm. Even 1080p with good glass does.
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But it also has a totally different texture and thus a totally different feel. Resolution isn't everything. One of the reasons they used 16mm on that show is precisely because of the texture (i.e., grain, grittiness, call it what you will) and the feel (colorimetry is significantly different than a digital format). So for them, it was not only a good choice, it was likely the right choice given the subject matter and how they wanted it presented. Claiming a digital camera would have been "better" is to ignore the creative team's preferences. They chose 16mm for a reason. In fact, for a number of reasons. David Boyd shot the first season of this show, and although David shot "Without A Trace" for a few seasons, he also shot the first few seasons of "Friday Night Lights," a show also shot on 16mm for creative reasons.

Horses for courses, as the Brits say...
 
M Most said:
Claiming a digital camera would have been "better" is to ignore the creative team's preferences.
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I never said a digital camera would have been better. My comparison was restricted to resolution alone, and even at that, the claim was for "higher" or "greater," not "better."
 
M Most said:
Resolution isn't everything. One of the reasons they used 16mm on that show is precisely because of the texture (i.e., grain, grittiness, call it what you will) and the feel (colorimetry is significantly different than a digital format). So for them, it was not only a good choice, it was likely the right choice given the subject matter and how they wanted it presented.
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I wonder what their post process was for the 16mm stuff. All of AMC's 16mm stuff (Walking Dead, The Killing), looks amazing on a large plasma display...for some reason Burn Notice always looked very soft/low res.
 
Justin O'Neill said:
I wonder what their post process was for the 16mm stuff. All of AMC's 16mm stuff (Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, The Killing), looks amazing on a large plasma display...for some reason Burn Notice always looked very soft/low res.
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Wowzers, it really does. I always thought until now that Breaking Bad was shot on 35mm... Mind blown knowing that they shoot s16mm.
 
i think in the walking dead's case, s16 is the perfect choice, it's very grainy, and has that gritty look the show needs. unless they can duplicate that 100% shooting digital, in this cause I don't think they'd benefit as much without sacrificing the aesthetic. and even if they could duplicate it, would it be more time consuming to do so? that's debatable. processing 16 film isn't as costly as 35 either.
 
M Most said:
But it also has a totally different texture and thus a totally different feel. Resolution isn't everything. One of the reasons they used 16mm on that show is precisely because of the texture (i.e., grain, grittiness, call it what you will) and the feel (colorimetry is significantly different than a digital format). So for them, it was not only a good choice, it was likely the right choice given the subject matter and how they wanted it presented. Claiming a digital camera would have been "better" is to ignore the creative team's preferences. They chose 16mm for a reason. In fact, for a number of reasons. David Boyd shot the first season of this show, and although David shot "Without A Trace" for a few seasons, he also shot the first few seasons of "Friday Night Lights," a show also shot on 16mm for creative reasons.

Horses for courses, as the Brits say...
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Amen! Scarlet must be nice, resolution, DR, bla bla, but film's uniqueness is unmatched, never will.

Gritty subjects and 16mm were made for each other! :biggrin5:
 
Erik Vanlenten said:
The Walking Dead TV show was shot on 16mm film (Kodak Vision3 500T 7219)... Would love to see season 3 (if there is one) shot on Scarlet. I think they could achieve the same look and more with the Scarlet once it's finished.

Very excited for the cinematic possibilities of the Scarlet line for TV shows and Indie guys.

thoughts?
Click to expand...

I think one of the reasons they chose 16mm, was for the unique and "organic" characteristics. Those desired characteristics may (or most likely will) not be present if shot on a SCARLET. And processing the digital image to mimic the aesthetics and look of 16mm would probably not produce the authentic desired result.

That doesn't mean that they couldn't shoot on SCARLET - but that would likely alter the visual concept that has already been established. Question is: do they want that?

Addition: I'm far more interested and excited about new projects that utilize the SCARLET, and what results that might produce - both creatively and what effect it will have on storytelling :)
 
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Erik Vanlenten said:
The Walking Dead TV show was shot on 16mm film (Kodak Vision3 500T 7219)... Would love to see season 3 (if there is one) shot on Scarlet. I think they could achieve the same look and more with the Scarlet once it's finished.

Very excited for the cinematic possibilities of the Scarlet line for TV shows and Indie guys.

thoughts?
Click to expand...

Having watched the first season on blu-ray that was shot on S16mm I think the feel and grit of S16mm suits the show perfectly and I wouldn't change a thing. It suits the style of the books far better than any digital format would.

And as for achieving the same look with Scarlet, you might be able to come close by adding grain etc. but it wouldn't be the same. They are different formats, separate tool sets that should be chosen based on the desired aesthetic. DP David Boyd, show runner/director Frank Darabont probably chose S16mm specifically because they felt it suited the style of the books and story best.
Good on them for sticking to their guns and for AMC for having the balls to give their show runners and directors/dp's the freedom to creatively choose how they tell their stories.
 
Season 2 is being shot on S16 and it is absolutely the right choice. Generally, my preference leans far to 35mm, but S16 and film are absolutely the way to go for this project.
 
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