Robert Harris on The Bits - 1/21/03 column - OFFICIAL THREAD (1 Viewer)

[Patrick McCart]

More 16mm/Super-16:

Best In Show
Bad Taste
Hamlet (Ethan Hawke)
Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels

 

[Charles Ms]

The Mini-TV Series "The Stand" (Stephen King) was salso shot in 16mm.

 

[Charles Ms]

Can anybody explain to me, why and how the "shimmer" effect occurs? Is it already inherent in the original negative (a sign of duplicating, age, ...), or does it occur during the transfer ?

A recent example: The transfer on the Criterion Collection Edition of "Down by law" is excellent, but nevertheless there is always a light shimmering in the lower part of the picture that annoys me.

Any comments ?

 

[Kevin M]

I believe American Graffiti was shot on Super-16 as well.

 

[Michael Coate]

I believe American Graffiti was shot on Super-16 as well.

Close...it was shot in Techniscope.

 

[Kevin M]

Yes, it uses half of the 35mm frame. Just a slight step up from 16mm...17 1/2mm sort of..

 

[Adam_S]

As always this was a great column, I just have kept forgetting to getting around to saying so. I'm dropping in now because I have a suggestion/question for perhaps a new column. I saw two films at the Egyptian theaters Dye Transfer technicolor festival. The Ten Commandments, which was so good I've no desire to watch the film on hom video again, and a nitrate print of The Red Shoes (which was followed by 40 minutes of dye transfer nitrate trailers). Sadly this was the last time the print of The Red Shoes will be playing as we were told the print was just beginning to deteriorate (and its probably only one or two such prints in the world). Red Shoes was far and away the superior experience, and while I thought that The Ten Commandments colors were amazing, I was blown away by The Red Shoes. much of this is due to the differenet Cinematographers, but some of it, especially after seeing the trailers, seemed to me because it was on nitrate. I seemed to see a glamour and rich intensity in the colors that I've simply never seen before. This was my first time with both The Red Shoes and nitrate stock by the way.

so my question is (and I know it's big so if you prefer to address it in a column that's fine with me). What was it about the Dye Transfer process that made them superior to other prints? and What is it about Nitrate stock that it seemed to have more capacity than modern stocks we're familiar with?

Adam

 

[Robert Harris]

Dye transfer prints are made using color dyes, via which one can totally control color, density, etc. There is a purity and density of color which cannot be replicated in direct positive printing.

Nitrate has a totally colorless base, which allows the full saturation of the dyes to come through without filtration or (in effect) a colored base acting as a filter.

The Red Shoes shines as a three strip Technicolor production, but not far behing are the other Powell/Pressburger/Cardiff collaborations.

See Jack Cardiff's book: Magic Hour