8mm Forum: Can Lamps affect projected film color?

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Topic: Can Lamps affect projected film color?

Osi Osgood
Film God

Posts: 10204
From: Mountian Home, ID.
Registered: Jul 2005

posted December 07, 2009 08:42 AM

I recently bought a print from a fellow forum member and ebay seller. Now, I know for a fact that this seller is very reliable and even puts up accurate screenshots. I knew the print would be slightly faded ...

I was unfortunately disappointed to find that the print was more pinky than the screenshots alluded to.

My question is, can lamps or screens affect the color of a screened film print? Another question, can the digital camera also affect color that is projected?

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"All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "

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John Whittle
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 791
From: Northridge, CA USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted December 07, 2009 08:51 AM

Light source has a major impact on the picture. A typical tungsten lamp is in the range of 3200 to 3200 degrees kelvin (reddish) while a xenon lamp is in the area of 5000 degrees which is bluer. Daylight can be as high as 10000 degrees kelvin. That's why you need the 85B filter when you shoot indoor film outdoors (which is a heavy salmon color) to filter out all that extra blue part of the spectrum.

And of course a digital camera can be adjusted for "white balance" and will then record the picture based on what it thinks "white" should be. So if you set the camera for outdoors and took a picture off the screen, it would be a lot bluer than if you set it for indoors.

Then again there is Photoshop ....

Back in the 1970s, TV prints were made for xenon projection which meant that they had a heavy red/yellow balance to make up for the then standard tv picture tube color balance of 6000 degrees kelvin. Prints for screening were marked "inky" and for tv "xenon". The "inky" prints were balanced to be projected with regular lamps. I would think that all Super8 prints would have been made for "inky" projection--the possible exception would be super8 optical for airline use.

John

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Chris Smith
Film Handler

Posts: 67
From: Aston, Pa. USA
Registered: Dec 2003

posted December 10, 2009 09:06 AM

I agree with John's excellent points, Osi. Digital cameras are tempermental when it comes to screen snaps. I once projected a beautiful LPP print and the digital camera snaps were all orange! It took a bit of getting the white balance in order to even approximate the color. More important, how did the seller describe the color in the written description? I put more trust in that thyan I do in any photos. By the way, any sign of those Popeye reels?

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Osi Osgood
Film God

Posts: 10204
From: Mountian Home, ID.
Registered: Jul 2005

posted December 10, 2009 09:16 AM

Unfortunately, the Popeye films have still not arrived.

This series of posts are not complaining about the auction. The seller honestly said that this print was pinky, and I carefully compared my print that I owned to the print being auctioned and there was enough of a difference to go for it. Sadly, the print turned out to look almost exactly, (I could barely tell the difference) the same and not like the screenshots.

Actually, I thought that there was a chance that the print was a faded kodak SP, as the screenshots had a more "orangish" color instead of pink. That may be exactly what you were talking about. The digital screenshots may have an added "orange".

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"All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "

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