E64T Processing

[sarmoti]

I've had good experiences with Pro8mm, I think their lab meets Kodak certification which is a quality standard (kinda like THX standards in theatres) maybe John Pytlak can confirm that.

If it does, I wouldn't expect their processing quality to differ from any other top lab, unless of course you were to hand them poorly exposed or outdated film.

[T-Scan]

I had bad processing with the pro8mm 100D E6 back in August on 2 carts.. I ended up biting the bullet and sending my remaining carts to Forde with much improved results. maybe now that they have a new machine, things will be better.

[DrkAngl]

Even if you are one of the lucky ones with Pro8 results, why would you pay their higher prices? E-6 processing is cheaper and more consistent at both Spectra and Yale (which are local to Pro8). It would seem better to use one of them instead.

[sarmoti]

Because I use their negative stocks and it comes with processing included. I usually have them do the telecine as well.

[DrkAngl]

Sarmoti,

If you currently use Pro8, you should consider looking into some of the film/processing/telecine packages that Spectra offers. They are less expensive, use fresh Kodak neg film and have a more updated telecine system with talented colorists.

You will also be pleasantly surprised with the customer care improvement.

http://spectrafilmandvideo.com/Film.html

[sarmoti]

Thanks, I know of Spectra,

The only neg stock they have is the same plain ol Vision 200 & 500 and I'm not sure how much fresher they are than Pro8's since Kodak does not make continuous runs of 8mm. They make a run once in a while and stock the carts till the whole batch sells. At the moment Kodak is not even producing new carts, they stopped months ago and will resume several months from now.

Pro 8 has the stocks I want to use. Unless someone else wants to start loading useful stocks into carts I'm stuck with them, at least for the stock. If I was going to telecine anywhere else it would be at Flying Spot.

Also Spectra states that they use the "latest" Rank and DaVinci gear but if the telecine they use is the one in the photo, which looks like it's a Rank Turbo that's 80's gear. Can anyone comfirm what telecine they use? If it's a plain ol turbo Pro8 has better gear, although not as good as Flying Spot.

I've seen a few companies pop up to offer S8 transfers and the common trend seems to be that they buy old second hand telecines and if it's a Rank, they throw that name around. A "Rank' transfer is a vague statement that can involve a 1960's Rank machine bought at vintage equipment dealer or a brand new million dollar machine. In the latter case, the transfer is going to cost a whole lot more than $200 per hour.

[lostinspace]

The Rank they use is newer - a Digi 4 with from the mid to late 90's with many upgrades. They also have a newer, more pricey model 888 Da Vinci with DUI and multiple power windows and frame store. Plus, they have the newly built V3 gate with better optics.

Believe me, I have seen jobs done at Pro8 and re-transferred at Spectra with far better results. Most notable was sharpness and less noise in the blacks. I am not sure if the colorist is responsible for the improved picture or if it is the better gear. I assume it is a combination of both. Either way, the difference is clear.

If you feel that Spectra does not offer what you want, I encourage you to try some of the other facilities recommended in this forum. I promise that you will not be disappointed with the improvement. Pro8mm is not hard to beat.

[sarmoti]

When it comes to unsupervised film transfer I specify parameters for it, I request transfers to be treated at the default calibration from the Telecine Analysis Film, no noise reduction, no electronic sharpness, just primary Gain, Bias and Gamma PEC adjustments. I do all real color correction myself. I'm not sure what a company like Pro8 would deliver unsupervised with their own creative color correction.

The Digi 4 is not a telecine, it's a feature for MK telecines, the Turbo being one of them. All the last of the MK telecines were discontinued well over 10 years ago. The one in the picture is from the late 80's. The URSA replaced it and now, after several versions, the URSA is gone. Nowadays, you can buy a used MK for less than $25K and an URSA for $50K, add a little more and they'll toss in a DaVinci. All the technology we're talking about here is from the age of tube cameras with the exeption of power windows, that's mid 90's.

If high quality is the concern here, for the best transfer I'd be calling:

Shadow facilities that have a Super-8 Gate include:

VRT in Brussels Brussels, Belgium
Ware House (aka Digtial Film Labs) in Copenhagen, Denmark
Photo Cinema in Rome, Italy
Technicolor in New York
Modern VideoFilm in Burbank, CA.
Flying Spot in Seattle, WA

Spirit facilities that have a Super-8 Gate include:

On Line Video, Zurich
The Farm, London
Prime Focus, London
VTR, London
Lab O Scene, Rio De Janiero
The Film Unit, New Zealand
Library of Congress, U.S.
Telson, Madrid

I'm not trying to be difficult, its just that Pro8 does provide what I need in one place and their telecine is maintained well and they deliver their product to my specs. I can't vouch for their unsupervised telecine quality, they very well may overenchance it and push the color correction too far.

[DrkAngl]

Sarmoti,

I am sorry to report that you are mistaken about Spectra's rank in that picture. I know quite a bit about Ranks from prior post jobs I have held. The Rank Spectra owns was manufactured no earlier than the mid 90s. I can tell with a quick glance at the frame store card array on their system. So, you should do some more research on the subject.

Also note that the DaVinci that Spectra uses (pictured on their site) is a late 90's model worth at least 50K on its own with DUI option they have. Pro8mm is rather primitive by comparison. They do not even have a basic frame store!

Really, though, I do not care how old the equipment any given telecine room has. What I care about is the end result. And, because I have used both Pro8 and Spectra I can say without doubt that Spectra delivers a superior picture - period. I suggest you do the same before making assumptions that could mislead.

[reflex]

I am sorry to report that you are mistaken about Spectra's rank in that picture. I know quite a bit about Ranks from prior post jobs I have held. The Rank Spectra owns was manufactured no earlier than the mid 90s. I can tell with a quick glance at the frame store card array on their system. So, you should do some more research on the subject.

Also note that the DaVinci that Spectra uses (pictured on their site) is a late 90's model worth at least 50K on its own with DUI option they have. Pro8mm is rather primitive by comparison. They do not even have a basic frame store!

Errm... Doesn't this belong in a RankDaVinciSpiritShadow thread, rather than one about where to get Ektachrome processed?

That is, unless they recently installed DUI confabulating polychromatic frame stores capable of developing film while they make the colourist's espresso.

[John_Pytlak]

I think their lab meets Kodak certification which is a quality standard (kinda like THX standards in theatres) maybe John Pytlak can confirm that.

For motion picture film, the only labs that are "certified" by Kodak are those that are part of the Kodak "ImageCare" program:

http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/suppo ... .4.7&lc=en

http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/suppo ... .7.4&lc=en

Most of the ImageCare certified labs are located outside the USA, where they feel paying for additional Kodak help in maintaining processing quality is a worthwhile investment.

However, most motion picture labs do a fine job, even if Kodak does not formally "certify" them.

[sarmoti]

Dude, DrkAngl,

As some people here know, I spent several years working with the gear at two high end post houses in the mid 90's. Back then the MK series was outdated and I worked mainly on two URSAs with Poggle and Davinci color correctors.

A framestore does nothing but save stills that you can use to compare correction between non-continuous scenes. Not truly a necessity in most cases.

The Davinci controller on the photo tells me nothing, it's the same controller they used with all their systems for a long time. I'll take a DaVinci from the early 90's or a new Davinci 2K, for SD video, they all do the same thing unless you're specifically going to use it's bells & whistles, and nobody has the budget for that extended time except for music videos or commercials.

As I stated before I use Pro8 because they sell the stock I use, It has processing included so I let them do that and to streamline workflow, I let them transfer it. For the purposes I use S8, mostly as cutaways or FX shots, it's supposed to have that weird asthetic. If quality of transfer was my main concern, I'd be transfering on a Spirit in a $3 million suite at $1000s per hour but I'm not going to go through the additional complications of building a relationship and explaining my workflow to a colorist in another company that has pretty much the same setup unless I was dissapointed with the results I was getting, and I'm not.

[Justin Lovell]

nice follow up.

beat that....

[Aseesl8er]

Dwayne's processes E-64T for $9/roll.

Their order form [pdf link]: http://www.dwaynesphoto.com/movies/k14m ... r_Form.pdf

You can also drop your film off at Wal-Mart or several other dubiously-named chains (Ralph's in Southern California apparently charges a mere $3.99) and they'll forward it to Dwayne's.

Nice! Can you narrow it down to which Ralphs or wal-mart that does 64t processing? I'm in the LA area and it would nice to know that I can just drop it off for them.

I called a few wal-marts and the photo people there seemed to be clueless about super8 processing. Any leads to any wal-mart or ralphs

[Evan Kubota]

For the (insert number) time...

Don't... ask... the... idiots.. at the Wal-Mart photo counter... anything.

They don't know, and it doesn't matter. The only interaction you will have with them is to pay for the processing after the film comes back.