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Technicolor dye process, something similar in photo world?


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Are you interested in just the look or the process itself? There was the dye transfer process for still photography, which is practically identical to the Technicolor process. Kodak discontinued their dye transfer materials years ago. Maybe someone else around here knows if other suppliers have picked up the ball.
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About 10 years ago I saw an advertisement by a color laboratory for Kodak Dye Transfer prints.

There are still a few individuals that make the "Carbro" (spelling?) style transfer prints. Do a look up for

"alternat non-silver printing".

Kodak used to manufacturer a product called "Flexichrome" film. This was a black and white film that after

processing yielded a non colored gelatin layer that was proportional to the exposure. This film was transferred

to a white paper support and then hand colored with Flexichrome dyes. The result was superior to an oil-colored

print.

 

Yes: one there was a color transparancy film that was processed by Technicolor Inc. that was identical to

Kodachrome. The slides from way back (1960) are still as vivid as my Kodachromes.

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I believe the closest thing that you can use is Kodachrome 64. The colors are added in the processing. It has a very old look. The only problem for you is (if you are going to use it to film a movie) it is only available in 35mm 36exp. casetts. I suppose that you could put a bunch of rolls together or you could see if Kodak would sell it to you in bulk. Dwayne's(The last processor in the world! for Kodachrome) can process a long roll at once as their processor is like a cine processor(?) as all of the film that they recieve it put together as they process it all at once, not one roll at a time. Good Luck
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Hi All,

I checked out Dwayne's and the prices are a bit expensive .29/ft. normal prices in major labs are between .10 and .16/ft is it possible to process this by hand with 100ft rolls? or is it possible to modify another process to get similar look to E6?

 

many thanks.

glen

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Glen, are you planning to shoot in 35mm or 16mm?

 

The last 16mm cine film I shot was Fujifilm 64. It is negative film and the projection print I got was reasonably

saturated, but the video transfer was done (at my request) to look like Technicolor. That look is relatively easy to

achieve in a video transfer.

 

Reversal cine films usually have a higher saturation than negative films. But you might want to look into Fujifilm

Eterna Vivid 160 negative stock, which is supposed to give a similar palette as the highly saturated Velvia.

 

Another key to that Technicolor look is the lighting. Throw plenty of light on the subject so your film can get a good

fat exposure (but not overexposure!). Movies like "My Favorite Year" and "The Rocketeer" both had sequences that

recalled the old Technicolor "The Adventures of Robin Hood." And they really looked authentic without any digital

trickery. It was all in the lighting.

 

Hope this helps.

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Hi,

 

I can go either but probably with 16mm as I'm thinking of modifying a camer to shoot mini-VV, one big horizonatal frame equivalent to 2 normal 16mm frames.

 

To me, the key is shooting at sunrise and sunset to get lots of saturated colors in the sky as well, so going with Fuji 64 presents a problem to keep the frame rate at 1/50th. I can go with Nikon lenses and get f1.2, 1.4 etc, but am unsure if the stocks will be fast enough with saturated colors.

 

I did some test shots with Fuji Reala 500D, it can grab the low lights at sunrise and sunset but the colors are not saturated.

 

Digital and artifical lighting are not tools that I want to use. Which is why I want to go with color reversal, shoot, develope, edit, project.

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Glen--making your own 16mm VistaVision rig. Sounds like a fascinating project. I wish you the best. Since you

want to be shooting during "magic hour," have you researched how the beautiful "Days of Heaven" was filmed? There

might be some useful info there. Once you find a filmstock that best suits you, maybe try a Tiffen enhancing filter.

It's selective in that in really enhances the red end of the spectrum, and only mildly warms the rest. I use it for my

Velvia sunsets and the effect is stunning.

 

And I suppose you'll be making a 16mm VV projector?

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> <em>The closest thing you can get today to the retro look of Technicolor is Kodachrome 64. It is not the same look, but it is a unique look that evokes a bygone era. The images last longer than the Technicolor motion picture prints.</em>

<p>Ron, what are you basing this on? The Technicolor dye transfer process is usually considered <em>the</em> most stable of all motion picture stocks. I have several 16mm Tech prints, the oldest being from the 1950s, and the color is perfect on all of them.

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Larry,

No clips at this point, I shot the film 'old school' and post has also been 'old school', cut negative, 1st light timed print, do a 2nd timed print then answer print. Nothing digital has been involved or touched my film from shoot to projection.

 

There will be a low resolution clip made after the final timing and answer print is finished. You can get an idea of the film at www.thejourney.ws

 

but I have a real aversion to putting my film on the net, I want people to go to the theater and sit in the low light and ponder their humanity.

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Glen, there's a great section on Technicolor (with some good frame scans) at the American Widescreen Museum:

 

http://www.widescreenmuseum.com/oldcolor/technicolor1.htm

 

Some of the better scans are on the latter pages of the Technicolor section, but the whole story is fascinating.

 

And I'm with Fredrik regarding the stability of Technicolor dyes. I have IB Technicolor trailers from the early 1950's

that look gorgeous, and have seen reels of nitrate Technicolor going back to the late 1930's that still look great. I

can't say if Technicolor can last longer than Kodachrome, but they at least share a similar stability.

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One thing to keep in mind that any single frame of a movie film only receives that light and heat for no more than 1/48th of a second, broken up a couple times by either a two- or three-bladed shutter to reduce flicker. A given slide will be projected (albeit with a less powerful and potentially destructive lamp) for anywhere from a couple of seconds to a couple of minutes. Perhaps the ravages of projection more or less even out, given those considerations.
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