Motion Picture Film...

[Ara Ghajanian]

A friend of mine wants to try to use motion picture film in his 35mm camera. He says it will work, but I'm wondering if the sprocket holes are set up the same way. One of the benefits he mentioned was higher speed films with higher acutance. Any thoughts?
Ara

 

[Nick Zentena]

If it's colour film make sure it's the right process. If it's got remjet backing you'll have to find a movie lab to process it or do it yourself I bet. It seems Kodak and Fuji both have one E-6 process film. The thing is both seem to be the same film provided for still camera use. Velvia from Fuji. I don't remember the Kodak film.

 

[Eric Jones]

99% of motion picture film is Color Negative Film. It is designed to be processed in Kodak ECN-2 chemicals. You can develop it in C-41 but it has a much shorter archival life than if you used the ECN-2. The difference in pitch between the sprockets has no effect on using it in a still camera. You can buy a 400' or 1000' roll and spool it yourself or there is a lab located in Hollywood called RGB Colorlab (www.rgbcolorlab.com) that sells it prespooled. They will also process it in ECN-2 and send you back a replacement spool. Cinematographers often use motion picture film splooled to shoot tests, etc. In my opinion after shooting allot of it is that it is no better in terms of accutance or grain structure than standard photo color negative. Where it is different is in color saturation and contrast and this really depends on what stock you shoot.

 

[removed account4]

ara

there is a company out of washington state ( seatle ) that sells motion picture film in 35mm canisters. you shoot it, and send it back to them for processing. from the same roll you can have it processed for slides or for prints. they used to be called seatle filmworks, now they are photoworks.

http://www.photoworks.com/

a friend swears by them and i have seen the results, they do pretty good work ...

from what i have read + heard they use the "ends" from the film industry.

-john

 

[Tom Hoskinson]

A friend of mine wants to try to use motion picture film in his 35mm camera. He says it will work, but I'm wondering if the sprocket holes are set up the same way.

Ara

Yes, the sprocket holes are the same and the film will work. I shoot motion picture color negative in 250 frame cassette loads in my long roll 35mm Contax RTS SLR (data recording applications). I have it processed by Fotokem in Burbank, CA.

...One of the benefits he mentioned was higher speed films with higher acutance. Any thoughts?
Ara

For the highest quality 35mm pictorial photography results (in any film speed), stick with conventional 35mm (not motion picture) film and processing.

 

[Joe Symchyshyn]

I'm assuming that the backing that was described above is the oil I've heard about...

Every once in a while at the lab I used to work for, someone would show up with this mystery film... They didn't know where they got it from, but would ask us to process it. We would flatly refuse. From WHAT I WAS TOLD, it has to be processed differently because this backing becomes like an oil in normal chemistry contaminating things.

Make sure you can get things processed before you invest in any specialized films...

joe

 

[Tom Hoskinson]

Kodak uses remjet backing on their color neg movie film (ECN). Remjet is basically a black carbon coating that serves as both an antihalation coating and as a film transport lubricant. Remjet must be removed by the movie film processing equipment (or by hand - which is very messy).

Movie film processing equipment is designed to remove the remjet coating from the film automatically. Conventional film processing equipment is not designed to do this and the remjet coating will contaminate the processor and any film it is processing.

 

[jason314159]

Ara,

The company your friend should contact is RGB Labs in Hollywood, (323)469-1959. Look at the Kodak website and have an idea about what stocks to order (I recommend 5205). I've used RGB in the past, although I haven't sent film in for a while, I saw they were open when I went to calumet in LA last month. As far as I know, RGB are the only people who will re-spool movie film and process it for you, unless you are Vittorio Storaro.

regards,
Jay Cordaro

 

[bjorke]

Movie film, besides being lubricated for spooling rapidly through movie cameras, is designed by the creation of a color posityive transparency (that is, a film print). As such it has different contrast characteristics from color print film (some stocks, like the newer Vision SPFX films, are designed not for printing, but for scanning). It's up to you about whether you like it.

In normal use, color movie neg is treated like a pro film -- stored cool, etc. Short ends sold to labs are not treated that way -- in fact you never know, they may have been sitting in the back of a grip truck parked in Van Nuys sunshine for a couple of days before being sold to the lab that respooled it and sold it to you. Or not. But you don't know.

 

[Tom Hoskinson]

When I use motion picture color neg, I buy a fresh 1000 ft roll directly from Kodak, spool it onto my 250 frame Contax cassettes and store it cold until I use it.

Fotokem in Burbank processes it (including a single light work print) for me.

I do not use it for normal 35mm pictorial work, just data recording.

 

[gma]

If I am not mistaken the very first Leica was made for the purpose of testing b&w negative motion picture film. Because of sensitivity variations between emulsion batches, testing was essential to avoid surprises when the film was developed. Leica made their own brass cartridges for loading ( and reloading over and over ) cine film before Kodak introduced pre-packaged "135" film in 1935. And don't forget the 1936 first Exakta model was called the Kine Exakta. The difference in the sprocket shape is of no consequence as far as I can determine. In the 60's it was common to purchase motion picture film in a variety of emulsions in bulk from Freestyle and other mail order retailers.

 

[FilmIs4Ever]

Unfortunately, I believe that RGB Color has just closed due to an unreasonable leasing agreement. Business was good, but they couldn't come up with the increased rent money. I am in the process of looking for movie labs willing to take up the slack though. I'll keep everybody informed. One can still obtain slide prints from negatives (although only C-41 or already-processed ECN-2 I believe) through a lab in Florida, forget the name right now. I'll let you know when I think of it.

Regards.
~Karl Borowski

 

[Zach-Edwardson]

I think the florida lab is Dale labs (http://www.dalelabs.com/) but i might be wrong....

 

[bjorke]

BTW if you look at the Kodak Professional web site, click on "cinematography," you'll find in their collection a white paper on why doing this is a bad idea.

YMMV of course - Kodak has a financial interest in your decision. But their issues cited were the same as the ones I mentioned earlier.