Storing Film Stock
If I use reversal film, contrast would decrease when I do push process. Is it true? I heard from a friend of mine he said he read contrast decreases. Please let me know the answer. I am sure I know the contrast increases when I use negative push process.
Second, usually, I think people keep raw stock in refrigerator if they don't have real stock place, stable humidity and temparature. I should do same thing? I really care about food and drink in refrigerator making film so bad. How can I keep raw stock? Do you have any recommendation?
Syncing without Timecode
I'm shooting a film, and wanted to know if I could record dialog on a non timecode dat or even a minidisc recorder, and rerecord the sound in bulk to a timecode dat, then sync up the video transfer of my film with the sound on an avid. Is that the way to do it cheaply but effectively? I've heard conflicting reports as to how well sound can be synced to a video transfered picture because of the change in frame rate. Also, when people refer to sound needing to be resolved, is that just aligning the sound speed to picture speed? We would really appreciate your consultation, so when we start filming next week everything will be fine, and we can shoot in confidence!
1st 16mm camera
I will be purchasing my first 16mm camera, and I had some questions. I have a budget of $15,000 through American Express Equipment Financing,
and I am interested in getting the best package I can for the purpose of making 16 mm (or Super 16mm) indie films.
I own a recording studio, so I knowledge about recording
sound just not in terms of cameras (sync etc.)
I know Arriflex, but I have little experience with the 16S, 16BL, and SR3.
I have even less knowledge about Bolex.
So ultimately my question is this ... can you suggest the best set up with these budget requirements?
Negative Transfer
I´m an independent filmmaker in Mexico and I´ll be making a b/w 16mm short film. Some people have said to me that there are film labs that transfers the negative straight to video making a positive image on video without the extra cost of having to make a positive film print first. I´d like to know if this is correct and what the transfer quality would be. I hope you could help me.
Post Syncing for Film
Again, thank you for the wealth of advice you've been giving me on my short film. I am two weeks away from shooting. Here in NY I'm thinking to process the film at DUART, because they do cater to NYU students by offering a discount. It's also good to introduce yourselves to a sales rep. I don't know how are they going to be taking care of my film when it moves to post. I'll let you know. But, meanwhile, burning question. I'm gonna be developing the film and transfer it to video dailies with Timecode for the eventual negative cutting. However, when it comes to syncing sound DUART will do it for video dailies at a rate of $110/hr. That is a lot!!!! Is there any other way beside syncing on a flatbed? I mean for 6000 ft of film at $110/hr that's gonna be about $1,100.00!!!!! Non-discountable!! Help!!
Actually, the way that you are planning to post your film is probably the most economical and
will yield the best results for your money.
Some things to keep in mind, however:
Cutting on a flatbed is slow and time consuming unless you are experienced. However, if you
are like most indie filmmakers, what you have is time and what you don't have is money. At $8
an hour you can afford to be a little slower. Unfortunately, because the process is so time
consuming few editors will take the time to experiment with the footage like you would on a
computer. At least you will have a projectable print when you finish your film.
Another thing to consider is how you will be editing sound. Are you going to transfer to
Magstock and splice tape? It is far more difficult to obtain a high quality soundtrack using
splicers and a squawk box and you might want to consider other options.
Remember that before you enter any festival, they will want to see a VHS preview so you will
have to have your film transferred to video at some point. If you hit your exposures right on
and you take good care of your workprint, there is no reason you can't have it transferred one
light to tape.
In cases similar to yours, we advise people to have all their footage transferred one light
to 3/4" tape with KeyKode and Timecode windowburned outside of the Video Safe. The numbers
will appear on an overscanned screen (your editing monitor) but not an underscanned one
(a regular television). Then you edit picture and sound on AVID and dump your finished copy
to VHS and create a cut list for your negative cutter. The transfer to 3/4" is far cheaper
than Beta and if you plan on finishing on film, you don't need the quality of Beta for offline
editing and 3/4" will provide more than adequate quality for a preview. Believe it or not,
this is how editing is done on Hollywood features. Why pay for Beta when you're not going to
use it? If someone decides to use your film for broadcast or cable, let them pay for a
retransfer to Digibeta. You can even postpone having your negative cut and getting your
answer print and final mix until you know what festivals you've been accepted to.
The last method may cost more money but it is something to consider.
When budgeting, make sure to take into account the time you're spending with your film on
the flatbed in terms of what your time is worth.