How To Make Your Own 16mm Black and White Film Like They Do In An Expensive Film School
Article by Seth Hymes
New York Film Academy and NYU Film School charge students ,000 to ,000 a year for their programs. But most people don't realize that the actual filmmaking exercises done in these schools are very primitive and can be replicated very simply. NYU's "Sight and Sound: Film" course, a 2nd year Fundamentals Course costs about ,000 in tuition. New York Film Academy's year long filmmaking program costs about ,000.
In each of these courses, students make about 5 to 6 black and white reversal 16mm films. These are the kinds of movies you expect to see in a film school. Black and white, no sound. As a learning exercise, these movies actual do more damage than good because the techniques used are so out of sync with how things are actually done on a real movie set. Certainly, one need not spend this much in tuition to make movies like these to work with this level of equipment.
The camera used by these schools is the ArriFlex-S. This camera was invented in 1952. It became very popular in the 1960s, the heyday of 16mm film news shooting. However, nobody in the film business uses this camera anymore: except for film students. The camera is "non sync" meaning that you cannot shoot characters speaking dialogue; the film will not keep the same rate as the recording tape and the dialog starts to go out of sync with the mouths of the actors as they move.
Arrifliex-S cameras, where available, rent for about 0 a day. There are two rental houses in New York you can go to instead of paying thousands in tuition. Go to Hit and Run Productions in Brooklyn http://www.hitandrunproductions.com. Or Cinema Astoria Queens in http://www.cinema-astoria.com. Then go to B and H Photo and Video on 9th Avenue and 39th Street in Manhattan. Ask them for Tri-X or Plus-X Reversal Film. While you're at B & H also pick up a cheap "light meter".
Reversal film is like slide film. The image goes right on the film itself. It's the cheapest film you can shoot on which is why film schools like it. When you go to the camera rental house you just ask them how to load the film. They will show you in about 5 minutes. You can also ask them how to operate the camera and if you can rent some lights. You can get some film lights for about a day.
When shooting, you simply point the light meter at your subject. You punch in the speed of your film (Tri-X is 400 and Plus -X is 200) and it will tell you what "f stop" to put your camera at. The f stop is just a little ring around the lens that lets in more or less light.
It's so simple. Basically, the brighter it is outside, the narrower the f stop needs to be. If it's really dark, then the f stop has to be completely open. The light meter does it all for you.
Then once you are done shooting you go to http://www.colorlab.com. Give them your film they will develop it for you and put it on a mini dv tape.
Then you can edit it on your mac.
If you can't get to New York simple google the following. "Arriflex-S camera rental" or "Bolex camera rental". You can also mail order the Reversal Film from B & H and also mail film into colorlab or find a lab near you.
Or you can skip this exercise altogether and make some movies with sound and color!
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