I want to film with film

[emjen]

Really. Fuck all the film vs video discussions. I want to film with fucking 35mm (or 16, don't care. Is there a difference except picture quality between them?)

I've searched around on the net for camera rentals. That shit is way out of my league moneywise. Goddamn.

Now, lets say I get my hands on a 35 mm cam with of course 35 mm film. Will I be able to just sit down and film? Is there a viewfinder or anything like that, which will give a bit of an idea what it will look like?

The way I see it, if I ever get my hands on a film camera, I'll probably have to money to hire some kind of film expert as well and just use him to do all the difficult stuff.

I mean, how do you edit the stuff?

I'm asking anyone with some film experience, nigel, alex, skinhead, anyone.

Oh and another thing. If I'm going to film my short, which is 10 minutes long, how much film will I need? (based on averages of course) How much does a strip of film cost?

It's neat and all that, but video is just so much easier. I want to learn how to film, but I don't have the requirements [img]frown.gif[/img]

[Nigel]

Well, let me start by asking you a few questions......These will help you figure out what you will need and hopefully get off on the right foot.

How much money do you honestly have or are willing to spend to see your vision to the screen??

Will you be shooting this or will you have a DoP??

What are your plans for your movie when it is done--DVD or Theatrical??

Now, that being said.
Yes, film cameras have viewfinders....I mean they are far more sophisticated than your video camera. They just rely on more on mechanics instead of electronics.

16mm will be cheaper--for everything(Film, Processing, Rental). Post-Production can be done with FCP or any other software that can generate an EDL for matchback.

If you have questions feel free to email me and I will answer them as best I can. It is not hard to shoot film.

Good Luck

[Initiate]

One thing im really intreasted in seeing is a Film VS Digital Website, or Comparison table. One that shows all pros and cons, soem examples of pictures quality, ect.

It would have to be done by sombody who has tried on both. I would love to see that, i think every one would...

[GREATwarEAGLE]

BOLEX and BELL & HOWELL are good 16mm cameras for beginners just learning the format. They're relatively simple to operate. Both can be found with wind-up motors, meaning you don't need a battery - you literally wind-up the camera, which generally gives you around 20 - 40 seconds of filming per shot (per full wind). I know, this sounds "cheap" - "A wind-up camera?!?!" But it's not. Much of the WWII footage you've seen was shot with Bell & Howell wind-up cameras. The "look" is the same. And the B&H are some solid cameras.

These types of cameras can be found on ebay for between $100 - $300.

Of course they're gonna be old, but this doesn't necessarily mean they won't work. Like I said, many of them are built to last - but buy at your discretion.

The one thing you'll need is a light meter and learn about f-stops. But don't be intimidated - it's easy to learn.

One thing about wind-up cameras is that you won't be able to sync the footage up with spoken dialogue. Wind-up cameras are just for images. If you want to snyc sound with your footage, your camera require a crystal sync motor. This is when things get expensive.

In case you don't know - film cameras don't record sound. Some old super-8 cameras do, but sound super-8 film is no longer manufactued.

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ February 13, 2004 10:23 PM: Message edited by: GREATwarEAGLE ]</font>

[GREATwarEAGLE]

One thing im really intreasted in seeing is a Film VS Digital Website, or Comparison table. One that shows all pros and cons, soem examples of pictures quality, ect.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">One comparison, although it isn't a side-by-side, is sporting events, like the NFL. I apologize for you non-Americansm but maybe you might understand what I'm getting at anyway.

Watch a sporting event live, on video, then watch the same sporting event on film. BIG DIFFERENCE. I think it's a fair comparison because it's under the same lighting circumstances.

In America , the NFL is a great example because you watch shows like HBO's INSIDE THE NFL which shows the previous games of the week on film.

[Alex]

I distinctly remember a running back breaking off an 85 yard run the last week of the NFL football season. There was this hideous blown out portion of the field where the sun was blasting through and the grass was completely white, well, on the telecast it was completely white because the contrast was too much for the video camera to handle.

When I saw the same play shot with film on the NFL week in review, which is shot with film, it was absolutely unbelievable how the film handled both the hard sunlight right in the middle of the field and the shadow areas all around that spot on the field, both parts of the field were properly exposed.

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ February 19, 2004 01:24 AM: Message edited by: Alex ]</font>

[Initiate]

i meant on the internet...An im australian, and hate sport...lol sorry to be annoying!!

[emjen]

I am willing to spend something like 500 euros (thats about how much I can spend) but perhaps with a few motivated parents I can get a little bit more. 500 euros is a shitload btw, I need that for my holidays:S. Money is the biggest issue here.

I'm going for dvd, because that's a certainty, but it will be awesome if it'll go theatrically. But that will probably be a one timer, so dvd, and internet broadcasting that's what will definetely be happening. And festivals of course.

Don't have a DOP.

The windup camera sounds nice. Can i get some decent 16 mm film with that? HOw much does film cost nowadays?

[GREATwarEAGLE]

16mm film is 16mm film - regardless of what kind of camera you use.

But you should do a little internet research. Do some searches, look up and learn about the following:

-single perf and double perf film
-light meters
-f-stops
-negative and reversal film

And unless you're gonna immediately trransfer your film to video, you'll need a projector and/or little editor/viewer. Look these things up.

16mm film goes for between $30-$60 per 100 foot roll. (unless, again, you search on ebay where you can often find a deal) 100 feet gives you about 2 and a half - 3 mins of footage.

Seriously, man, spend an hour or two doing a search on the net or go to a bookstore and buy THE FILMMAKER'S HANDBOOK (this book has been recommended on this forum in the past, I used to have it) - It'll answer your basic questions.

Here. I found it at Amazon. Look how cheap it is!!! Filmmakers Handbook

I oughta charge a finder's fee.

DONT BE INTIMIDATED!!!! [img]mad.gif[/img]

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ February 14, 2004 10:19 AM: Message edited by: GREATwarEAGLE ]</font>

[GREATwarEAGLE]

I mentioned 100 foot rolls because that's what the wind-up cameras take. I don't think any of them can take 400 foot mags. [img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img]

And, I was wrong about the shot duraton. I said a full wind gives 20-40 secs. Some Bell&Howells can last for a minute @ 24fps, which is of course much better.

But the Bolexs are limited to like 25 secs. That's terrible.

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ February 14, 2004 01:15 PM: Message edited by: GREATwarEAGLE ]</font>