Investing in Analog 16mm - How shooting on film changed my filmmaking.

[@CameronGallagher96]

Is that the INCREDIBLE Russell Shealy I see at 1:11? I remember seeing that project, fantastic stuff!

[@kip388]

Totally agree about film forcing a discipline into the craft. I only have shooting stills digital vs film to compare the two but even in that medium, there is a headspace that shooting on film forces you into, where you automatically consider and weigh your options and intentions before hitting the shutter button -- compared to digital where it's simply all too easy to throw everything at the wall and see what sticks. I think we can see this difference pretty clearly in old filmmaking vs film nowadays, where coverage was obviously carefully constructed, compared to the edit-fests most movies and their mise en scene are composed of these days.

[@danielmueller5284]

Been looking into this as well! please keep making more content around this! Will be watching it all as i hope to learn as much as i can

[@kaj_dickson]

Great to hear! For sure will, stay tuned

[@Theeslickness]

Props to you! I had to use 16mm (Bolex and Eclair) for film school, and it was easily the hardest experience. You need a crew and no mistakes can be made, and omg were there mistakes. Plus we didn't have cheap telecine in the early 2000s. We had to do a dirty telecine (SD), which ruined it all. We didn't have Digital Intermediate (DI) to maximize our film. Which brings me to my other point. What if we can improve film with current tech. Like a digital viewfinder (think exposure estimates), lithium batteries, digital counter for remaining film stock, speed boosters, audio recording with a digital proxy, Lidar focus, and image stabilized lenses to name a few. This gets me excited to think about.

[@kaj_dickson]

I agree! I'd love to see what modern tech can help us achieve with analog. I've seen some pretty dang good video taps - I was a 2nd AC on commercial with Rachel Morrison and we had a video tap that looked almost like an Alexa... I forget what the name of it was exactly. Either way, ironically, we've never been better equipped to shoot film than now.

[@GeffenAvraham]

the correct way to do viewfinders is to have a digital sensor an equal distance from the mirror as the film - this ensures accurate focus. now you can use an EVF that mounts anywhere, instead of wrestling with complex orientable optical viewfinders.

[@starterpvck2043]

dope!

[@alexisgoupillot4731]

Amazing ! Love your toughts and shares on this subject, wonderful choice you made on that material and great edit for your video !

[@kaj_dickson]

Thank you!!

[@user32455]

That’s super interesting, cool video! Excited to see more.

[@JonWolf]

dream camera setup! enjoy it

[@elarrioguajardo208]

Fantastic work! Consistently and exquisitely done pieces of art you've made! And I would love to shoot on film! Seems rewarding when composed and exposed properly to your desire. Also would love to try Arri/Zeiss Ultra Primes, Cooke S4I and the Angenieux lenses you use! Glad more people want to use film and/or digital! Not just saying one is better than the other!

[@nebukadnezzar3578]

Great content, curious about what's next ;-)

[@jacobhofilm]

Let’s goooo gawd dang I miss shooting film so much awesome video

[@PAKSZNFILMS]

Keep the videos coming!!

[@ShafferN]

Welcome my brother

[@kaj_dickson]

Eyy! Thanks King

[@Colin_Constance_Film]

oooh nice setup. Would love an Arri...have to make do with my little Bolex for now :)

[@MichaelCarter-g8u]

Not many people talk about film made on film and not even on KZbin, so here is my comment. I like old amateur equipment and am perfecting a couple Keystone Newport De Luxe A-15 outfits, using Elgeet and Wollensak lenses, not Switars. The Bolex from 1946 even uses a Som Berthoit and a Cine Kodak Special 15mm focusing lens. Your viewfinder is highly desirable and I did consider going that way, but opted to master parallax, measuring focus, and using a gate prism. My cameras and I are similar in age so kind of belong together.

[@DreamsI.M]

Where can I get a complete package like yours? 😮😮😮😮

[@kaj_dickson]

I found this via facebook marketplace in LA. Was able to go meet the previous owner and "test drive" the package before buying.

[@MasonChar]

good stuff man!

[@keep1t_surreal]

This rocks.

[@JulesFredericNerestant]

Not to give you homework or nothing but you could have made this video 3-10x as long and it would have played on repeat in the ears of many..! Looking forward to more 16mm content 👍🏾

[@kaj_dickson]

Dang! Thank you! I appreciate that feedback! :)

[@rupablic]

Interesting investment! And what's the net cost of film for 1 min of footage? With processing and scanning included

[@kaj_dickson]

To get 1 min of film (40') you'd need at least one daylight spool (100') for $70. Processing is usually $0.50 per foot (with some labs having a minimum of 100') = $50 Scan depends on 2K or 4K = $20-$80 You should expect to spend $150-$200 total.

[@rupablic]

@@kaj_dickson thanks! Is it true that film is being made of cow bones?

[@deshrektives]

“Analogue.” It makes me sad that, every year, fewer and fewer people are willing to call celluloid what it is, instead opting to use the term for a later era in camera technology-the era of CRT image sensors, tape recorders, etc. Cells aren’t waves.

[@PAKSZNFILMS]

🔥🔥🔥

[@johnjohn55555]

Great video but I'm sick of people saying analog, film tech is photochemical.

[@Tony__S]

Film is not analogue. VHS tape is analogue, film is photo-chemical. Before digital imaging existed, analogue existed, and was shorthand for "not film". Now analogue for amateurs is shorthand for "not digital" but that's putting film and VHS into one medium! kinda dumb if you ask me!

[@kaj_dickson]

Good point! Film is photochemical, while VHS is an analog electronic signal-but 'analog' isn’t exclusive to one or the other. Film records images continuously, like analog sound on vinyl, whereas VHS converts images into an analog video signal. Different processes, but both non-digital.

[@Tony__S]

@@kaj_dickson I disagree. Film has discrete frames, stored as images you could look at with your naked eye, 24 frames a second creates the illusion of continuous motion. Tape, whether VHS or audio, is *analogue* because it uses waves as an *analogy* of the signal it is recording. Same as a vinyl uses waves in its grooves. Digital cameras actually are analogue at the sensor level, these analogue signals just get recorded as numbers on a drive rather than physical waves in some other medium. In other words, digital cameras are much more analogue than film.

[@kaj_dickson]

@@Tony__S Heard that! I think it's okay for the term to have a common usage rather than a strictly technical definition, but this has been an interesting conversation.

[@BlaineWestropp1]

well im jealous

[@CompulsiveFilming]

Oh God yes! Film look rocks my eyes, when it's truly film. Thank you

[@RespiroOfficial]

This is a pointless discussion. As many have said before: Its not the tools, its what you do with it. Nuff said.

[@kaj_dickson]

I completely agree with the 2nd half of your sentence. Thanks for watching!

[@deshrektives]

How do you know film vs. digital is a pointless discussion? Have you shot on both?

[@RespiroOfficial]

@deshrektives Yes. I hated constantly loading the film in the mag, shooting for a while, then waiting for the lab to process this shit, and the end product was nowhere near what I wanted, because the Bolex had no viewfinder, and I just had to wing it with framing. All that hassle, all those expenses, for the "film look". No thanks, I'm sticking to my Canon M50...