Belladonna- Our 2k/HD raw data scanner

Our 2k raw data scanner - codenamed Belladonna, is just about complete. Here's some of our test scans. Thanks to Jordana Aarons and Iris Ng for the film.
You're looking at: Super 16 7222 (tri-x) 2k Raw data scan + Super 8 Tri-x (cross processed - underexposed 1 1/2 stops)
Both Shots were graded to feel like an old nosferatu style silent film. High contrast.

We're pumped about the scanner.. she's beautiful...

Super 16 - Gadfly Trailer

Click to Play

Trailer for "Unbearable Prospect".

A super talented group of dancers from Gadfly Dance Company Toronto. Shot their performance on Super 16. Edited by Ofilio Coto Portillo. Features Jesse 'Jester' Caitbog from So You Think You Can Dance Canada. Watch out for them...

Camera: Eclair NPR s16mm
Format: S16mm
Stock: Fuji Eterna 500T (expired stock)
Cinematographers: Justin Lovell

Transfer stills- Super 16

Recent short film titled "Spores". Directed by Peter Huang. Dark and bloody. Has a great look to it created by frame discreet cinematographer Barry Cheong. Peter came and hung out here supervising the transfer and the look of the images. Note to all camera assistants- be sure the lens/lens mount is seated correctly. The slightest fraction of a loose mount can throw the focus out completely.

Camera: Eclair NPR, Zeiss 11.5-115
Stock: Kodak 7219 500t
Cinematographer: Barry Cheong

Transfer stills- Super 16

Overcast rainy day held back a lot of the bboys from showin' up. Between the rain, these raw dancers were throwin down representing Toronto to the fullest. I love the tonal range that this stock has on skin tones, super sexy when exposed correctly. Did I mention you can get 1000' of this stock for under $200 direct from Kodak...?

Cinematographer: Justin Lovell
Stock: 3374 High con (processed as neg)
Camera: Eclair NPR, canon 25-100, Kinoptik 5.7

Transfer stills- Super 16

Dean and Lena Vargas' wedding day. Super couple, super day. Colored to have a vintage 16mm look.

Camera: Eclair NPR S16, Ziess 10.5-115, Canon 25-100, Kinoptik 5.7
Stock: Fuji 500D
Cinematographer: Justin Lovell

Transfer stills- Super 16 music video

Transfer Samples from a recent music video shot by frame discreet cinematographer Michael Leblanc.

On Location- Dundas Square Bboyin

Hit up Dundas square this weekend. Shot super 16 of a bunch of bboys gettin loose in a fun 1 on 1 battle on stage. Afterwards got out and shot a little more street dance of Troy Feldman and Yukon Nick. Slapped on my 5.9 angenieux wide lens shooting low angle with Toronto's mini "times square buildings" towering up the background. Fired off some 64fps and a little bit of hand cranking of the boys dancin in the street. Got some wicked Udon Noodles after the show and did some scouting for parkour filming for the upcoming summer days.

UPDATE:
Rough Cut sampler of some of the footage (May 17/08).




Stock: 3374 (black and white High Con) + 7246 250D Vision 1
Format: Super 16mm
Camera: Bolex super 16mm with POE 16-100mm + angenieux 5.9mm, 24, 32, 48, 64fps and hand cranked.
Cinematographer: Justin Lovell

Wedding Doc - Superduper 8 & Super 16

Shot by cinematographer Justin Lovell for Matt & Michelle Crowly. Mixed film formats, superduper 8 (max 8), super 16. Cross processed all black and white Tri-x as a negative. Cross processed some Ektachrome 64T on super 8 giving some crazy color shifts- also added a little more contrast in the xfer (hard to see in this version but this type of processing also makes the grain more pronounced). Custom processing carried out by Niagara Custom Lab.

The wedding ceremony and part of the reception was shot on 250D 7205 on super 16. Ceremony was fun to shoot, using our bolex S16 package. 1 man crew, Justin still managed to get 2 dolly shots off during the ceremony :) Stylistically I shot all the S8 handheld and all the 16mm on sticks. Didn't matte the widescreen, I liked the look of the frame lines composing the image. You can really see the vignette on certain focal lengths on the super duper 8 modification. This gives you a good chance to see the stability difference between Super 8 and 16mm. Oh and I shot portions of the reception at the end at 9fps with a 220 deg. shutter to get more light onto the image.

Editing has a rough, raw feel to it, asserting most of the edits in camera. Enjoy the collage of formats and processing techniques :)

Stock: Super 8- Kodak 7217 (200T), 7218 (500T), Ektachrome 64T, Tri-X 16mm - 7205 (250D).
Format: Max 8 (super duper 8), Super 16
Cameras: Canon 1014xls Superduper 8mm, Bolex Super 16 (POE 16-100 Zoom)
Cinematographer: Justin Lovell
Transfer: Justin Lovell @ Frame Discreet

Music Video- Hayden (super 16)

Click to play

"Where and When"- Hayden

Shot on location in stunning Brussels. It was an awesome experience shooting out there. Tried and true the bolex was great for this shoot as a lightweight workhorse. Little note, on super 16, daylight spools must be loaded in the dark to avoid light leaks.

Technical:

Camera: Bolex Rex 4, Super 16 (lens Switar POE 16-100, 10mm switar)
Stock: Kodak 250D 7205 & Fuji 500T

Director: Scott Cudmore
Producer: Mike Smith
Director of Photography: Michael LeBlanc (Frame Discreet)
Editor: Matthew Hannam
Camera Assistant: Justin Lovell (Frame Discreet)
Produced by The Field, 2007.

Super 16/Super 8/Max 8 Comparisons

Nice test for you to see how the different formats compare when using the same stock. (Click images for larger versions). FYI Max 8 is a modification made to widen the gate of the camera allowing image to be recorded where sound used to be recorded. In the transfer you are able to 'zoom out' and see more of the image resulting in tighter grain and a 16x9 image area. There are some limitations to this modification though as you're not able to see the extra are in the viewfinder of the camera and certain focal lengths will vignette.

Stock: Kodak 7218 500T
Format: Super 8, Max 8 (super duper 8), Super 16
Cameras: Canon 1014xls S8, Eclair NPR 16mm (lens Zeiss 11.5-115)
Cinematographer: Justin Lovell
Transfer: Justin Lovell @ Frame Discreet

Frame Discreet on Location

Guy Godfree and Justin Lovell teamed up to shoot a documentary on Super 16 and 35mm capturing the Parkscapers snowboard park rebuild at Devil's Glen. Was an awesome experience covering the complete reconstruction of the park into one of the best in Ontario. We had a jib arm setup and dolly track on hill getting some slick moves on the riders rippin it on the new features. Thanks to Chad, Chris, Doug and the rest of the team for all the wicked support. JTK photography was on site for the night photo shoot, alongside the quicksilver snowboard team.. it was craaaazy... some stills to come!

Shooting a Jib Jam on Super 16mm- Bleach Bypass S16mm

Cinematographer Justin Lovell got out to Osler Bluff's no Guff Snowboard Jib Jam this weekend. Shooting with our Super 16 Bolex package to capture some high speed and 45 Degree shutter angle shots of the event going down. Used Kodak 250D 7246 & Fuji 500T when the sun started to fail. Plan to have it processed with a bleach bypass at Niagara Custom Lab to give it a desaturated more snappy contrast. Doing this process will also push the film 1 stop to help with underexposure. If all goes well with the sound design and editing, it'll be screened at the Blue Mountain Multimedia Showcase this weekend.

UPDATE!
Stills from the transfer- Bleach bypass processing on 250D(7246) & Fuji 500T by Niagara Custom Lab, Transfered here at frame discreet. Top Sample is the 500T without 85 filter & corrected in transfer.



UPDATE!!
Here's the video, music composition courtesy of Adam "pink socks" Barnes.

Shooting a BBOY battle on S16mm

Frame Discreet Cinematographer Justin Lovell attacked the scene with 400' 500T Fuji and our S16mm Eclair NPR package. He discreetly lit up the main floor with 2 1k Fresnels. May have to push this stuff 1 stop in processing as I was shooting 40fps ramping in camera leaving me underexposed by a stop. Will post the results once its transferred next week. This is all part of a much bigger project that I'm keeping under my cap...

UPDATE!!
Stills from the frame discreet transfer. 500T Fuji pushed 1 stop. 3rd image has been Bleach Bypassed in the processing at Niagara Custom Lab.