Is leaving digital going to be hard? Bolex H16 questions

I own a Bolex H16. The FPS (frames per second) is 24. It will aslo
shhot at 8, 16, 32 and 63 FPS
The maximum load it can take is the 100ft (30m) daylingt loading
spool. This has nothing to do with the diamater of the film - it
is based on the size of the camera. Running at the standard 24
FPS you will see about two miuntes, thirty seconds from a 100ft
reel.

To shoot thirty minutes you will need 12 to 15 reels.

http://www.yalefilmandvideo.com/filmsales.php?expandable=3

1. Does it only record 30 seconds at a time? I read that somewhere

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I think you're getting that from a different situation.

If a camera is not crystal-synced (running on a special motor that ensures it runs at exactly 24fps), then the real speed will drift a bit. That makes it difficult to sync up the externally-captured audio.

The longer a single take is, the more drift builds up - until it eventually looks like a badly dubbed Chinese kung-fu flick.

Rule of thumb is don't shoot longer than 30 secs, on a non-crystal camera, if syncing to recorded audio.

If you shot is MOS, then it doesn't really matter.

Wish I had a Bolex

It can be hard for a video person to migrate to film, and even vice versa. I have a Bolex with parallax lens (on the side). Nice to have varying lenses on the mount, but I prefer the through the lens viewing of my Canon Scoopics. They are also motorized, so I can shoot one long take, if necessary. I have two of those. One to hold 500T night stock and the other for the 50D daylight. In your case, you may have to use a Tiffen filter (or gel) to correct when going from Tungsten to Daylight. If you have daylight stock and decide to shoot indoors, an 80A filter will correct the look, or just use 80A blue gel on your lights to make it look like daylight. Conversely, if you have Tungsten film and need to shoot in daylight, an 85B filter is recommended to correct the look.

Get a decent light meter (I use a Sekonic) and a tape measure for focus. The HVX is a light hog, so you are already used to using extra light, which film also needs. Your workflow will usually go like this:

Load film
Meter and measure your subject and focus points (particulary for follow focus in a shallow depth of field).
Slate and clap
Shoot 2½ minutes (100 feet), then head to a dark bathroom, or other room, to change film. Be sure to label your film cans and tape them shut.

If you don't have a dark room, you can use a changing bag or something to keep the camera in the dark, when you take off the cover and reload. You will also want to run off a couple of feet on the front and back ends of a roll, since those spots may have flare ups from stray light.

Also, Bolexes (and Scoopics) are very noisy! You will need to blimp your camera and/or record practice takes, when the film isn't rolling.

Send your footage to the lab and they can transfer right off the negative to the format of your choice. I don't have matte boxes and all my film cameras shoot a 4:3 image. You may need to tape your viewfinder to properly frame for widescreen, if you want that result. You can add black bands later, or your lab may be able to do it during transfer.

Why bother with film? Well, the image will be amazing - deep blacks (if you expose for lit areas), lamps and bulbs won't be blown out, like they are on video. Shallow depth of field, which will make your sets and props look more realistic. It's more work, but the results are magic.

Since film costs a lot, you will probably notice that every single shot gets a lot more care (and prep), than if you were shooting on video. Your quality should go up, just for that reason.

Wow, thanks for the replies. I was expecting a small dose of snobbery as this was also my first post.
Thank you very much for proving me wrong!

After much reading I feel it may be better to hold back and go for something else, like the Scoopics.
Ive already ran into the sync drift problem with DSLRS and I do not wish to have a repeat of that
I also read the none reflex versions of the Bolex are hard to view when shooting, as the viewfinder switches off? Making focusing a nightmare. The Reflex versions apparently still have viewfinder issues.
The Scoopic is battery powerd I take? Has this ever caused any issues, how easy is it to find secondary battery packs to switch over to etc?

directorik said:

The maximum load it can take is the 100ft (30m)

To shoot thirty minutes you will need 12 to 15 reels.
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Holy Crap! So shooting a 6min short using the recommended 5:1 ratio of extra takes/footage could mount up to around £1050. Jesus. Im gonna end up beating my actors to death if they slip up haha. Then there is proccessing to come on top of that. How eh...exciting.

What is the scoopics maximum load?

Scoopicman said:

One to hold 500T night stock and the other for the 50D daylight. In your case, you may have to use a Tiffen filter (or gel) to correct when going from Tungsten to Daylight. If you have daylight stock and decide to shoot indoors, an 80A filter will correct the look, or just use 80A blue gel on your lights to make it look like daylight. Conversely, if you have Tungsten film and need to shoot in daylight, an 85B filter is recommended to correct the look.

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Thanks for that, totally forgot about this side of things? I take it film cameras don't have a white balance button??

Scoopicman said:

Also, Bolexes (and Scoopics) are very noisy! You will need to blimp your camera and/or record practice takes, when the film isn't rolling.

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Are you implying that I will have to use these 'practice takes' instead of the sound recorded during a proper take? Oh my.
Looks like Im going to have to only use zoom lenses to keep my camera as far away from my actors and microphones.

Scoopicman said:

Why bother with film? Well, the image will be amazing - deep blacks (if you expose for lit areas), lamps and bulbs won't be blown out, like they are on video. Shallow depth of field, which will make your sets and props look more realistic. It's more work, but the results are magic.

Since film costs a lot, you will probably notice that every single shot gets a lot more care (and prep), than if you were shooting on video. Your quality should go up, just for that reason.

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YES! I hate anything even slighyly overexposed on video. Makes me sick. The footage Ive seen of the scoopic hasn't really had the same DOP as the bolex but Im sure this has alot more to do with the lens used in the footage than the camera. I take it the scoopic fits any manual canon lens?

and yes thats my philosophy. If it aint shot on film then it must not be worth shooting on film.
I plan to keep my 5d and prep as much as possible with that before I hit rec on my 16mm film camera.

Shoot for more of a 3:1 ratio to save more on cost.

To white balance film, change to an indoor film, then move indoors or change to outdoor film and move outdoors

Cost is really my big turnoff with film... I wouldn't be able to pursue filmmaking if I had to shoot film, I can no longer afford to do so. You can save some cost by learning to develop your own film. THere are tutorials out there on the interwebs you can find using our friend google.

DavidAntony said:

I was expecting a small dose of snobbery as this was also my first post.
Thank you very much for proving me wrong!

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Au contraire!



Woop! Woop!


Heh... just kidding.



Good peeps here.

Always happy to help, advise... and also learn, ourselves.

The Scoopic is battery powerd I take? Has this ever caused any issues, how easy is it to find secondary battery packs to switch over to etc?

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Yes. They are not easy to find, either. This is one of the reasons I have 2 Scoopic cameras. Actually, the first one fell off the car, during a stunt for my short movie, ROADKILL. If you are interested:

http://www.vimeo.com/1584042


Anyway, the camera still works, but I wanted a second camera, since I was going to be shooting a feature with them - TERRARIUM (aka WAR OF THE PLANETS). Here's a TRAILER narrated by the guy from SyFy Channel.

I'm convinced that being shot on film was half the reason the movie got picked up. I shot 6½ hours of footage for an 84 minute movie. The original cut was around 100 minutes. Scoopics have nice glass, but only a 6:1 zoom lens. You can't switch lenses. The cameras are very simple, in a good way, and take 100' loads, just like the Bolex.

Have you ever thought of hiring a Director of Photography? You can perhaps find someone who has a nice 16mm setup, like an Aaton A-Minima (Super 16mm in 200' loads) and hire them or make them a co-producer. This kind of person will probably have the blimp and mics, too.

DavidAntony said:

Im planning on getting a bolex H16 Reflex.
I have a few questions however that I am having difficulty finding answers to.

1. Does it only record 30 seconds at a time? I read that somewhere
2. What is the maximum length of film you can load into a h16? Is it 100? Im guessing this has something to do with the Diameter of the film
I am confused about the length the reels come in. I plan record around 30mins of footage, and convert it to Standard Definition.

Am I correct in thinking this is 200ft /8mins long?

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As someone said upthread, you can shoot a whole roll of film -- if you have a motor. If you're using the spring motor, then you get about 28 seconds per wind if I recall correctly. Two of my Bolexes have Tobin crystal motors.

All H-16s accept 100' internal loads. Some of them have 400' (11 minutes) external magazines. You'll need an electric motor if you want to run 400' mags. (And you'll have to choose a camera that accepts them, of course.) The motor will need a connection point for the torque motor on the magazine.

100' rolls come on daylight reels, which means you can load the camera in light. 200' rolls come on daylight reels or cores. 400' rolls come on cores. If you get core-loaded film, you must load and unload the camera in darkness. You can use a changing bag, but I like changing tents better.

You can use a Bolex to shoot with audio if you can swaddle it enough to deaden the noise, but you'd be better off with a silent camera like an Aaton, Arri SR, or Eclair.

If I may suggest something that would cut down on film processing costs and stuff...
Learn how to hand process your film.
It's fun and it costs about $1 (sorry about my american dollar signs and stuff, I don't know the conversions!) a roll in chemicals.

If you need help, advice on chemicals, or really anything, feel free to PM me... I can give you lists of stuff you would need, where to get it all, and instructions.