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!
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!!
Wild Sound with the Arri S
I do not have a problem shooting with an arri s and recording sound "wild"-in fact if you transfer film to vhs you can do all sorts of things with sound while you edit-re record dialogue, add ambient sound, add music,etc-crystal sync is great but it is not the only way to go as i see it.
Regarding the best camera you can get for $15,000, we would recommend an Arriflex BL or SR I if you can find one. The bolexes are excellent cameras but are manual wind (30 second shot duration on one hand crank) and are not crystal sync, making them unsuitable for sync sound work. They have become the symbol of indie film makers for their durability, simplicity and low operating costs but are not useful outside of shooting wild sound short films, stock footage or documentaries.
The Arri S is an good camera but unfortunately does not have a crystal sync motor for doing sync sound. Arriflex BLs can be found starting at around $4500 for an older package in fair condition. The only BL that we have at this time is a late model with a new motor and Tobin crystal sync system in excellent condition for $8700. The only other camera that we carry that would be suitable for sync sound feature films would be the Arri SR III but it may be a little out of your price range at $24,000. You may be able to find a used 35mm camera package for under $15,000 dollars, we recommend that you do a little research into different cameras.