8mm Forum: My Short Film in 16MM!

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Posted by Evan Samaras (Member # 5070) on April 22, 2019, 09:09 PM:

...well, not exactly my short film.

Warning: Mature for Language and Content!
Plot: Four men. Four perspectives. One game

This is a film in which I played the roles of: Actor, Cinematographer, Producer, Editor, Composer, so it very well feels like my film too!

It was shot on Expired 16mm Fuji Eterna 250 with an Arri SR3 HS through an Angenieux 17.5-70mm lens.

All feedback and questions are appreciated and welcomed!

LINK: POKERS

*I probably should have posted this in the 16mm Section - sorry*

Posted by Joe Taffis (Member # 4) on April 23, 2019, 02:40 PM:

I enjoyed it Evan [Smile]

nice work!

Posted by Tom Photiou (Member # 130) on April 23, 2019, 02:57 PM:

Thats pretty good, very "Tarrantino" style too. [Wink]

Posted by Clyde Miles (Member # 4032) on April 23, 2019, 03:44 PM:

foul langauge spoilt the effect, blah

Posted by Winbert Hutahaean (Member # 58) on April 23, 2019, 05:06 PM:

Good one Evan,

quote:
It was shot on Expired 16mm Fuji Eterna 250 with an Arri SR3 HS through an Angenieux 17.5-70mm lens.

How long it has been expired? because the colors just look perfect to me. Is it negative stock or reversal?

May I know for this 9:20 film, how many feet did you spend for the shooting (include the raw footage)?

And in total (film stock, processing cost, if any actor fees, etc), if you don't mind to tell, what is the budget?

cheers,

Posted by Evan Samaras (Member # 5070) on April 23, 2019, 05:38 PM:

Thank you Joe, Tom and Winbert!

I'm sorry you felt that way Clyde. I felt the writer's use of foul language fit well with the content.

Winbert,

The Fuji Eterna stock is color negative. It was introduce in 2006 and discontinued in 2013. I was able to buy a box of rolls and utilized one for testing before the shoot. I could not find any expiration markers, so best guess is somewhere between 6 and 13 years. My usual method of compensating for aged stock is 1 full stop for CN film for every 10 years of expiration. Fortunately this stock does not show any fogging (as far as I can tell), and I would agree that the colors maintained fairly well! It also helps that Davinci Resolve is amazing at color grading.

I decided to rate the stock at 200 as opposed to 250 due to age. It never hurts to overexpose color negative a bit either!

The short was shot over the course of 2 days and we used about 2,200 feet of film.

The budget in the end was just under $2,000- most of which went to Film stock, developing and scanning at 2k. The upload is at 1080p. The director and I were fortunate enough to have friends who were willing to work for food! Therefore the budget really came down to props, food, and film stock + processes.

I'm happy to hear that some have enjoyed the film, and I hope to have another one for everyone in 6 months! The projects we have scheduled should keep the film stream flowing for some time. Long live film!

Posted by Bill Phelps (Member # 1431) on April 23, 2019, 06:13 PM:

It was a good short with good acting. Nice job on the edit and camera work. I assume you had everything processed. That leaves a lot of unused footage doesn't it? I also assume the editing was done on a computer? Did you assemble the actual footage into a print or is the film just used for capture? I suppose nowadays that's not really necessary (assembling a print) The film really looks great. [Smile]

PS Nice music too! Your really talented.

Posted by Douglas Meltzer (Member # 28) on April 23, 2019, 08:58 PM:

Evan,

Nice work all the way around. Add me to the list of those who enjoyed it. I'd like to see these four guys in a longer film!

Doug

Posted by David Baker (Member # 3259) on April 23, 2019, 09:18 PM:

Evan , how can I TOP the compliments from the previous posters ?

I can't . I can only AGREE with them !

Thanks for sharing your talents with us here on the forum .

Posted by Evan Samaras (Member # 5070) on April 24, 2019, 09:21 AM:

Thank you Bill, Doug and David!

Doug, who knows, they may return!

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to view it and provide feedback!

Bill,

in 16mm 2,200 feet is about 1 hour worth of film. Our ratio is just above 6:1, which in my opinion is a fair shoot for an indie film. Our last project was 4:1. However, in this case we were 4 individuals in the same scene, and this required the camera to to shoot multiple views of the same take, increasing the amount of film we would need. There was a bit of overlap in some sections, but we planned accordingly, and got most of the shots we wanted!

Yes, the editing was done on a computer, and therefore the film was strictly for capture. I've been informed that it is the preferred, easiest, and cheapest (cheap in money, not quality- although we could debate that too!) workflow. However, if I wanted a print assembled, I could always edit with the edgecodes visible and either hire or perform a negative cutting myself in AB Rolls for 16mm film. I have really wanted to find a Flatbed Editor capable of editing Super 16 so that I can build the film print through the photochemical process! Not so easy to find, especially when you don't have as much money as is needed to invest in one!

Thank you for your kind words. The music was the last piece of the puzzle for me. It was a lot of fun working to design the intro composition!

[ April 24, 2019, 11:38 PM: Message edited by: Evan Samaras ]

Posted by Graham Ritchie (Member # 559) on April 24, 2019, 10:07 PM:

That was good Evan [Cool]

Posted by Evan Samaras (Member # 5070) on April 29, 2019, 08:48 AM:

Thank you Graham!

Posted by Bill Phelps (Member # 1431) on April 29, 2019, 05:54 PM:

I think my love of the hobby and medium would cause me to want to assemble a physical print of a film if I ever made one. I have made some mind you but in super 8 where you are working with the camera originals on reversal stock. It is nice to project a print that you cut together. But I completely understand editing on the computer especially with 16mm negative. It would cost a lot to print everything and then make a work print.

Maybe you could use the outakes from this film in a future film with the same characters for a flashback scene... [Smile]

Posted by Michael De Angelis (Member # 91) on April 29, 2019, 07:54 PM:

Evan,

This is a INDI masterpiece. I envision that your future projects will be enduring and impressionable because I was scared from beginning to end. Scary, moody atmosphere, pathological sociopaths an original and thought provoking, that it went into a category in my mind as a touch to Goodfella's - Mystic River, scary storytelling in a short film.
Scorsese should know about your work.

There is a definite undercurrent of tense silent rage. Are the poker players bluffing or playing for real, dealing scenarios playing their hand around the table. Each one at the opposite end unbeknownst that the cylinder spins taking turns at each being fired at, a game cocked in Russian Roulette, dared and daring that I believed that someone, anyone was about to take a slug and executed at any moment.
You're a scary dude and everyone played their parts well.

I'm sure that you're familiar, this film must be submitted to The short INDI film contest that broadcasts every Saturday night Reel 13 after the main feature on WNET Channel 13 in the NY Metropolitan area, people vote online and choose the film to be aired on TV.

Bravo.

Posted by Bill Phelps (Member # 1431) on April 29, 2019, 08:48 PM:

Nice review Michael...

Here is a SPOILER ALERT....I too thought someone was going to be done in...the suspense was building nicely.

Posted by Larry Arpin (Member # 744) on April 29, 2019, 09:01 PM:

Evan-Just wondered if you entered any film festivals with this film or your other film, Seeker?

Posted by Michael De Angelis (Member # 91) on April 29, 2019, 09:21 PM:

Bill,

Eeee, should I edit?

Posted by Bill Phelps (Member # 1431) on April 29, 2019, 09:57 PM:

No I don't think so...I just mentioned it in case someone reading through the posts had not watched it yet...I assume if you look at the first posting you will watch the short.

Maybe Evan can tell us if we should edit...?

Posted by Evan Samaras (Member # 5070) on May 03, 2019, 12:24 PM:

The Director and I would like to thank everyone who took the time to view and provide feedback on the film! It is much appreciated!

Bill,
I would love to assemble a physical print! I would love to go the whole photochemical route. Unfortunately it is difficult to find the necessary equipment to make that happen

Michael,
I really appreciate the detail of your feedback! I also want to thank you for the information pertaining to Saturday Night Reel 13. I was actually unaware of this contest! It is hard to keep up with the various festivals and opportunities. Thank you again for the information, we will definitely submit to Reel 13 now that we know about it!

Larry,
We are actually in the process of submitting to film festivals this week. Our first stop being Nitehawk! We will likely start in the local NYC community, and branch off where we feel we enter appropriately.
Unfortunately Seeker was not accepted into the film festivals we applied to.

I don't think an edit is required, but thank you for thinking about it! Hopefully there are still some members who will click on this post and check out the film.

Again, I really want to thank everyone who has taken the time to watch and provide any feedback at all. It may not touch everyone's interest, but I'm very happy to hear that it is enjoyable for those who enjoy the subject matter.

We do have another 2-3 projects in the works. I hope to have a double featurette reel on 16mm for next Cinesea!

Posted by Michael De Angelis (Member # 91) on May 03, 2019, 12:54 PM:

Evan,

Your welcome. Reel 13 is perfect for you.

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