lighting for Reversal and Negative question?

[Guest]

Hello Everybody, this is my firs super 8 project and want to make sure the lighting is the best so my qustion is , do I light the same for Negative stock as I do for reversal? , I know that negative stock has more latitude than reversal , I just want to know the best way to light bouth , with out any espetial process (push or pull), another question is what is best when lighting is right, negative or reversal?, any opinions will be apreciated :lol:

[christoph]

Hello Everybody, this is my firs super 8 project and want to make sure the lighting is the best so my qustion is , do I light the same for Negative stock as I do for reversal? , I know that negative stock has more latitude than reversal , I just want to know the best way to light bouth , with out any espetial process (push or pull), another question is what is best when lighting is right, negative or reversal?, any opinions will be apreciated :lol:

lighting for reveral and negative is essentialy the same, but negative stocks do not only have better latitude (room for under and overexposure) but also more detail in the shadows and in the highlights when printed... so you might want to use more fill light if shooting on reversal.

as for "what is best?"... both have their strenghts, but in todays filmmaking 99% of the stuff is shoot on negative for several reasons.

if you're just shooting for fun, you'll have to ask yourself:
- what do you want as a final product (if you want a final print, go negative)
- what should i look like (negative looks smoother, reversal more documentary)
- how good are your exposure readings (if not so good, shoot negative ;)
- and how much can you pay (reversal is cheaper for amateur use, more expensive for pro use)

++ christoph ++

[mattias]

the best way? you're kidding, right? are you suggesting that the reason some movies aren't as nicely photographed as others is becasue the dp somehow didn't know this magic formula? :-) come on, let us know what you're shooting and what you're working with.

/matt

[Paul Costello]

...more fill light if ...

What do you mean fill light, in this context?

This is great, this forum is like techie school for the uninformed like myself..

P.

[mattias]

What do you mean fill light, in this context?

the light on the shadow areas so they don't go completely black. usually from a soft source to avoid further shadows. with negative film you can use much less, or even leave it out completely if there's some ambient light, since negative sees much further into the shadows. with reversal you need to bring the shadows up to at least three stops under they key or they will be black, or even to just half a stop under if you want a natural look.

/matt

[Paul Costello]

So if I understand you correctly in film Noir they wouldnt use any fill light. Maybe film Noir isnt specific enough. Can I say the new batman cartoons? The long fully black shadows etc.?

P.

[mattias]

you would still use fill, just less. complete black doesn't look like black but more like void -- it's a very particular effect. set your fill at three stops under and you'll get the film noir look.

/matt

[calgodot]

Isn't strong key light also a component of the "film noir look?"

[christoph]

Isn't strong key light also a component of the "film noir look?"

well, it's hard to describe *the* film noir look, but a lot of them have in comon that there is very little fill light and that the key light is kinda hard (ie not softened by diffusion).. i guess that's what you meant with strong?

++ christoph ++