super 8 lighting lighting

[Mark357]

Do I have to worry about overexposure shooting outside. I am very familiar with video but not film. Does film "blow out" at a certain exposure level?

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[Matt Pacini]

Boy, does it ever!
There are many posts dealing with this, including some pretty famouns arguments, (I'm sure I'll start one here), but I'll re-state my opinion anyway.
I should ad, that if you read up on this, you will find my take on this to be supported in the literature.

It looks best to underexpose reversal film.
The one thing that looks the worst on reversal, is overexposing it, because the highlights blow out, and your color saturation goes away, to give it that stark, home movie/drab British TV series look.

So, I would underexpose 1/2 to a full stop, and ALWAYS shoot on Kodachrome, if you're looking for the least amount of grain, and the most sharpness in Super 8.
If you want a grungy, grainy, crusty look, then any of the Super 8 stocks are OK.

Matt Pacini

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[mattias]

matt is right. i would like to add though, that compared to video blow outs, film doesn't clip but gradually fades to white.

/matt

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[crimsonson]

YES!
Film can overexpose/underexpose.

HOWEVER, Films latitude and the way it handles over/under is superior to video. Though reversals' latitude is not as good as negative stock but still better than video's.

Use ND filters. Always put on in your bag, along with UV/Polarizer/Skylight.

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[This message has been edited by crimsonson (edited September 26, 2001).]

[Matt Pacini]

Shoot Kodachrome 40, and you don't need ND filters, because it's unlikely you'll ever get over F8, even in direct sunlight!

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