differences between Negative and Reversal

[mcarter4121]

Sounds like a good subject for your master's thesis.

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[MovieStuff]

In any format, reversal is going to be finer grained than negative. The difference between the two will less apparent on larger formats but will surely be hightened in a small format like 8mm. If you are considering negative, I would limit your choice to the 50 asa neg from Pro8mm as anything else is going to look like a swarm of gnats. Even then, the 50 asa still has grain that exceeds K40 but you do get an increase in latitude that helps with contrast.

Now, grain issues aside, here is the best way to describe the difference in the "look" between negative and reversal:

IF you were able to have a projection print made from your super 8 negative (like in 16mm or 35mm) you would find that the color would be much more saturated and contrasty than the same footage transferred to video directly from the negative. This is because print stocks are designed to give you "projection density" with snappy colors and deeper blacks. Now, K40 was never designed for duplication of any kind; print nor video transfer. It has "projection density" built into it as do all reversal stocks currently available. As such, you would find that transferring a projection print or K40 reversal to video would look very similar, in terms of contrast and color saturation.

Now, you can increase the contrast and color saturation on a transfer from negative to emmulate the look of reversal or a projection print but the grain factor still exists.

In short, I would go with K40 and use plenty of fill light to help the shadow areas and prevent highlights from burning out. I don't think the neg will give you the look you want in super 8 as it will be much flatter and the grain will be the focus of attention since the tiny white dots will break up any solid color areas and dilute the effect of saturation.

My two cents....

Roger

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Roger Evans
MovieStuff http://www.afterimagephoto.tv/moviestuff.html

[This message has been edited by MovieStuff (edited February 23, 2002).]

[xclark]

hey there. i'm slowly learning more and more about the behaviors of different film. i'm close to shooting a film school project and i'm considering using (ahem) pro8mm negative stocks.

i'm not sure if anyone will know these movies, but i'm going for a super colorful saturated look like Wong Kar Wai's films (very beautiful stuff).

basically, i'm wondering if anyone can outline the basic differences between Negative and Reversal stocks as far as color saturation, grain, latitude, etc.

thanks!
clark

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