Industry Professionals Comment on KODAK VISION3 Film

Tim Pike, SASC, noted commercials cinematographer, on shooting the KODAK VISION3 Super 16 demonstration film in South Africa:

Cinematographer Tim Pike checks his light meter before shooting a scene with the new KODAK VISION3 Color Negative Film 7219. (C) 2007 Eastman Kodak Company

"I shot a demo film using the new KODAK VISION3 7219 Super 16 film. The story follows a long-distance runner training in a variety of outdoor and indoor locations in and around Cape Town, South Africa. Front-end processing was handled at Soho Images South Africa and release printing of the images was done at Kodak Cinelabs Romania.

"I can say that the (KODAK VISION3) 7219 is a true 500-speed film. The grain structure is less visible in night footage, and dynamic range is great in all areas. Contrast is strong and it renders true Kodak colors and realistic skin tones. Latitude is greater in the high end, yet there are strong blacks and plenty of detail. The new film definitely has more latitude in the highlights. I can see that this film would be a great help in situations with high contrast, or night scenes with bright backgrounds or bright lights. The latitude is amazing. Overall, I'd say that the 7219 is a great step forward for the future of film."

Jan van Dierman, colorist at Waterfront Studios, who collaborated with Pike on the Super 16 demo film:

Jan van Dierman

"On a day-to-day basis, (KODAK VISION3) 7219 film will provide me with more room to play. Even when the stock is underexposed by two stops, you'll be able to get good pictures. It proved to me that in all weather conditions, day or night, I'm able to grade a nicely balanced end result. You wouldn't normally expect a director of photography to shoot a 500-speed film in the middle of the day, but it held nicely with improved details in the highlights. Due to the improved granularity I was better able to isolate colors, which contributes to the creative process. Improved granularity also results in easier and smoother noise reduction, with less risk of the pictures losing filmic integrity."

Steven Poster, ASC and president of the International Cinematographers Guild (ICG):

Steven Poster, ASC Photo by: Douglas Kirkland

"I performed side-by-side tests comparing KODAK VISION2 500T 5218 and the new KODAK VISION3 500T 5219 color negative films. I followed my standard emulsion test procedure as outlined in the American Cinematographer Manual. I also shot side-by-side exterior tests that consisted of slow 180-degree pans on Hollywood Boulevard at night. "We panned through some very dark areas and some very bright areas, at various exposures, and we did it pushed one stop and normal. It was a very good test of the exposure tolerance.

"I found that the new negative has a much improved grain structure and more dynamic range. When I timed the film in a digital intermediate suite at LaserPacific in Los Angeles, the images on the new stock seemed to have a lot more integrity throughout the process. The colorist and I both noticed that it was significantly easier to get to a corrected image. Part of the test included some drugstore windows with high-contrast fluorescent lights inside and overexposure in the frame. We were able to quickly bring those areas down to normal, and the images held up very nicely without getting grainy. Adaptability is very important to me. I need the freedom in postproduction to control and manipulate every aspect of the images and this film brings me closer to that. All in all, I'd say it's a very tasty emulsion that will integrate beautifully with today's digital technologies. It's a very exciting step forward for Kodak."

Chris Seager, BSC:

Chris Seager, BSC

"I did a test in London comparing the (KODAK) VISION2 500T 5218 to the new (KODAK) VISION3 stock. We used the 35 mm format in 1.85:1 aspect ratio. We shot daytime exteriors in the gardens of a countryside hotel. In particular we looked at the overexposed areas of the sky and the shadow detail under the shade of trees. We also filmed two people on a stage set in the local village theatre. Here, with our actors, we concentrated both on overexposed top and backlight as well as the underexposed areas. We made notes of lighting positions, exposure readings and contrast, and monitored how it came together when we put it through telecine. The telecine was done at Ascent Media Group in London on a Spirit DataCine. I looked at the images on a calibrated monitor directly off the telecine.

"I love the 5218 stock, but the new 5219 film was certainly sharper and had more definition. It had amazing latitude. In the mid-tones there was more detail, yet still with solid blacks, and there was certainly much more detail in the overexposed areas. You could say that the dynamic range was greater, which to me is fabulous. If you liked 5218 then you'll find the 5219 film remarkable.

"I do all of my films with a DI now. DI often tends to lose details in the overexposed areas. What I like about the new film is that its roll off at the high end just keeps going. You get details in the overexposed areas that you just wouldn't anticipate getting with the speed of this stock. It's great to see.

"One situation where this would be helpful is when you're shooting a typical bright daylight scene with blue sky and fluffy white clouds with your actor backlit by the hot sky. If you expose for the person's skin tones, the sky would naturally go white, it overexposes. In our test, the face tone was probably a stop under, and I was finding much more detail in the sky compared with the 5218 stock. I could get color back into the sky quite easily in telecine, and naturally, without putting a Window over it. A stock that will resolve in overexposed and underexposed areas, and which I can manipulate easily in the DI process, is definitely a great advantage. It allows me to work more quickly both on set and in post.

"To me, it's great that Kodak is pushing film to the point where it's unbelievable what you can do with it."

Mike Sowa, senior digital intermediate colorist, LaserPacific:

Mike Sowa

"I collaborated with Daryn Okada (ASC) timing the test that he shot comparing the new 500-speed film (KODAK VISION3) 5219 to (KODAK VISION2) to 5218. Daryn compared how the two films performed in challenging environments.

"The images he rendered on the new stock and 5218 would intercut seamlessly in normal circumstances, but there was much more latitude in low-key shots and more details in the brightest highlights. I also didn't see any build-up of grain when he pushed the film a stop or two to probe deeper into shadow areas. Colors also looked very rich.

"Because those details are on the negative, we were able to scan them onto the digital file. That gave us more flexibility while we were timing the DI for enhancing details in highlights and manipulating colors and contrast. I found there was less need to spend time using Power Windows and color correction tools to dig details out of the highlights. I believe that there are situations where this new negative will give us more flexibility, and allow us to help directors and cinematographers realize their visions in less time. This was a 35 mm test, but I believe that the technology designed into the new negative will make the Super 16 film format an attractive alternative."

James Chressanthis, ASC:

James Chressanthis, ASC

"I tested the new film on a stage in Hollywood in various mixed lighting situations. We were shooting with two cameras. One was loaded with (KODAK VISION3) 5219 and the other with (KODAK VISION2) 5218. We had a shot with a stage door open looking out onto a very bright, sun-lit parking lot. It was a short pan with an actor walking through the sunshine into a very dark interior. I set the exposure at E.I. 1,000 so the sun-lit part of the frame was extremely overexposed. When the actor landed at his final mark inside, he was one to two stops underexposed. The new film held all the details with a very moody look. The film held great highlight detail in the exterior portion of the shot as well. The actor looked really good with natural skin tones and subtle details in the shadows.

"The second scene was an interior with a character walking down an intentionally underlit fluorescent-lit hallway. I shot it in practical light. I didn't see an appreciable difference between (KODAK VISION3) 5219 and (KODAK VISION2) 5218 until the character walked into a darker part of the hallway, where the film was two-to-three stops underexposed. I instructed the color timer to bring that portion of the shot up to a 'normal look.' The 5219 film looked totally natural with a pleasing grain structure that gave no hint of being 'saved' in post.

"The third scene was kind of a film noir shot with a character seated at a desk with a gooseneck lamp on it providing a single source of light. I shot takes both under- and overexposing the negative. After the new film was scanned and timed in DI, we got a consistent, seamless look in terms of colors, contrast and grain when we compared under- and overexposed images. That speaks to the latitude of the new film.

"5218 is a marvelous film, but the new stock is exponentially better. It had more latitude, so you can push it a stop or two with very little appreciable increase in grain. I've concluded that you can confidently rate 5219 at E.I. 1,000 if necessary. I believe this new stock will be a blessing for filmmakers who are shooting in Super 16 format for aesthetic or budget reasons. I'm sure that the blow-ups to 35 mm or digital release will surpass any previous use of Super 16 mm.

Roberto Schaefer, ASC:

Roberto Schaefer, ASC Photo by: Douglas Kirkland

"I tested (KODAK VISION3) 5219 against (KODAK VISION2) 5218 in exterior and interior situations. I shot an exterior scene with hard light and an overcast sky, a high contrast interior and one in low light, and a night exterior in available light. The cameras were mounted side by side on a single head with identical ARRI Master prime lenses. I shot film of people walking and running, cars driving in daytime and at night, and a daylight scene inside a car while it was being driven. I rated both stocks at an exposure index of 500 and at 320 when there was a (number) 85 color correction filter(s) on the camera lens(es). I timed the DI and followed through with a film out at DeLuxe London. My reaction is that 5219 has noticeably more latitude than 5218. It held more details in both the highlight and shadow areas without looking flatter. The color rendition and apparent granularity was the same with both stocks. My conclusion from these tests is that 5219 is a definite improvement over 5218 ..."

Hank McElwee, NFL Films director of photography, on using KODAK VISION3 500T 7219 color negative film for an episode of Greatest High School Football Rivalries on the Versus network:

Hank McElwee

"High speed stocks are very important for sports photography. Often in the high school stadiums we're dealing with bad lighting conditions. The classic NFL Films look is slow motion at 120 frames per second, but in these situations, the low light levels often limit us to 60 frames per second.

"We were extremely impressed, even astounded, with the 7219 stock. We're very excited to have a stock that, grainwise, consistently makes our footage look exactly the way it should in spite of very low-light conditions. We usually expose for the field, but the backgrounds and the crowd in the stands can be as much as three stops under. This new stock digs into the stands and captures an amazing amount of detail with extremely tight grain structure.

"I'm switching. All our NFL Films high speed cameras will be using the new 7219 stock as soon as possible."

Bob Johanson, NFL Films telecine manager:

Bob Johanson

"Because of the varying weather and light conditions, it's important for us to have the tremendous headroom that film gives us. And this new 7219 film stock gives us increased headroom in the top end highlights as well as the bottom end shadows. In daytime situations, our cinematographers are often shooting from the shadow side of the stadium, and the crowd in the background can be five or six stops over the players in the foreground. This film, along with the Spirit DataCine, gives us greater ability to handle that kind of contrast range. It means that we can achieve our consistent, signature NFL Films look more quickly and efficiently."

Jeff Stonehouse, cinematographer:

Cinematographer Jeff Stonehouse (left) with director Andrew Walton (right) in West Virginia at a coal mine for a commercial shoot for Carthartt clothing.

"We were a mile and a half underground in a West Virginia coal mine for a commercial for Carhartt clothing. We couldn't bring in a lot of lights. It was claustrophobic and dark. I shot the new film side by side with the older (KODAK VISION2 500T) 7218 stock. I'm a fan of the 7218, but the new film blew me away. The grain just disappeared, in spite of the images being three stops underexposed. The new film rendered the mid-tones beautifully, and I couldn't believe the detail I was getting out of the black coal on the mine walls. I used a Tiffen Storm 1 filter to bring a little coolness to the images, and the resulting flesh tones of the miners' faces had a gorgeous, creamy, pastel quality that I thought was beautiful. I expected to see just teeth and eyes, given the extremely, low-light levels. But the results completely exceeded my expectations."

Nico Ilies, chief colorist, Technicolor Creative Services Montreal:

Nico Ilies

"I worked on test film of 5219 images that was scanned and converted to digital files at both 2K and 4K resolution. I also analyzed the same images transferred to HD format in a telecine suite. The latitude of this new film is extremely wide. It has the fine-grain structure of a 200-speed film. I was struck by the amount of detail the stock maintains in shadow and highlight areas. I can take the pictures in any direction the director of photography desires - pastel, contrasty, saturated, desaturated - without any restrictions. As contrast is manipulated, skin tones remain soft and realistic, and the images don't take on strange color biases. You can achieve very nice blacks and still maintain a smooth, buttery contrast. The grain is extremely fine, but the images still have an organic, soulful, filmic quality. With this film, I see a gate opening to more freedom and creativity."