Flying spot overkill?

Post by **scottbobo2** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 4:41 pm

In reviewing some of the old posting it seems that Nigel feels that Digibeta is the top level that a K-40 transfer should go even for a future possible blowup to 35. In the opinion of the shooters here,Why spend the extra money on a flying spot transfer if Cinepost and Transfer station is doing such excellent work at half the price.Correct me please if i'm wrong but wouldnt Flying spots Digibeta look the same as Cinepost or Transfer Station? Would going to film from HD look any different to an audience as opposed to Digibeta? (I am talking positive stock not negative stock)
I saw Tarnation last week and the off the wall transfer k-40 looked great on the big screen ,surprisingly!!! ,so is the extra HD price worth it?

Post by **S8 Booster** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 5:12 pm

Oversampling is allways better and more is even better. But you may not need it. However if you can afford it just do it.

As can be seen from this audio digital sample subtle neuances will be resolved far more accurate by 168 times oversampling rather than the std 2x:
2x left - 168x right

No doubt the same is true for imaging.

Blow up should benefit significantly.

R

Post by **mattias** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 5:25 pm

indeed. a digibeta scan most likely captures most or all of the detail in the super 8 frame, but digital blow ups are always done at a higher res to avoid pixels and lines shoing in the image. this means the digibeta has to be digitally upsampled, which probably doesn't look as good as if you scanned at full res to begin with.

/matt

Post by **Nigel** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 6:27 pm

Let me clarify slightly...

Yes. DigiBeta from FSFT and from Cinepost will look very very similar. So why pay more for FSFT?? That is up to you the consumer--All of my S8 goes through Atlanta.

I did say that one reason for going S8 to HD would be for Blow-Up. I fell short of the scanning which is overkill fully in my mind.

Good Luck

Post by **tacotim** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 6:32 pm

The one variable no one is mentioning is the colorist. I have had 16mm and super8 xferred at Flying spot over the last several years and I had some super8 xferred at cinepost, and Eric at flying spot has truly generated masterful work, transfering is more art than science, and Eric at flying spot is a fellow artist I can trust with my work. Just my .02

-Tim

Post by **reflex** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 6:39 pm

tacotim wrote:The one variable no one is mentioning is the colorist.

This may be slightly OT, but how do the rest of you usually provide directions to the colourist when you aren't able to attend the session? Much as I'd love to be able to fly to Seattle at the drop of a hat, that's completely out of the question.

Post by **mattias** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 6:52 pm

tacotim wrote:transfering is more art than science

while i fully agree with that i'd always choose a one-light spirit scan over a fully corrected rank transfer, even if a master operated. a technically great transfer allows your online colorist to do pretty much anyything.

/matt

Post by **Nigel** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 8:07 pm

No matter where I am I try to sit in on my transfer and make corrections with the colorist.

I haven't been in Atlanta for about 6 years so notes is all they get from me.

The thing to remember is that a colorist that is worth their salt will work their mojo on your film in no time. It is the small details that that I want them to bring out that they may not be aware of. Adding shadows--taking shadows away. Boosting the red of the Sunset to make it just right. Details that can't truly be captured without me sitting on the leather lounge drinking an espresso and looking at the monitor. This is why it is important that I be there.

Mattias--
When it comes to scans you are right the correction comes after you capture. For Xfer to tape the best correction comes before...

Good Luck

Post by **shralp** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 10:12 pm

Yup, I gotta go with Tim on this one. Not only is Flying Spot close to me so I can sit in on all my sessions, (a truly adventageous convenience for sure), but Eric Rosen, (and Jeff Tillotsen), do outstanding work. Since I've gone to them for almost 10 years now, they know what I'm usually looking for in my transfers. This and the fact that the majority of 16mm and 8mm that I bring them is sports and they pretty much do all of the Xfers for most of the action sports filmmakers out there, along with lots of big commercials, indies, and other dramatic narrative content. Can CinePost do a good job? I'm sure they can. Its just that the S8 that I sent them to xfer for me wasn't quite the look I was after and this was more a function of me not being there than CinePost doing a poor job. Once you have an established relationship with a transfer house, its hard to switch. Plus its easier to get better pricing with people once you do fairly regular work with them. Flying Spot isn't cheap, but its worth every penny to me.

I think that their one light option is pretty darn reasonable for most people and if you can learn to be pretty consistent with your exposures then this can render great results from these guys. Something like $20-$25 per roll I think? Not bad for a REALLY nice Philips Telecine.

Post by **Nigel** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 10:18 pm

According to Eric Rosen FSFT gets very little Narrative work...

Good Luck

Post by **T-Scan** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 11:00 pm

For an amature like myself, I agree that FSFT may be overkill. they do good work, and have done all of my neg S8 transfers so far. however, Nigel made a good point about MiniDV. thats what I'm using so it may be wiser for me to try Cinepost next time at half the cost.