For all the advances in digital photography, there remains a mystique for photographers and filmmakers about chemical film. Using it presents an artistic and technical challenge, and it lends an aesthetic to your work which is difficult to find in other ways. But particularly when it comes to moving pictures, how many of us have ever ventured beyond the Super 8 cartridge? If you’re not lucky enough to have a Spielberg budget, [Stand-Up Maths] is here with a video taking the viewer through the various movie film formats. He claims it’s the first video shot for YouTube in 35mm, and given that his first point is about the costs involved, we can see why.
In particular it serves as an introduction to the various film terms and aspect ratios. We all know what full frame and IMAX are, but do many of us know what they really mean in camera terms. A particularly neat demonstration comes when he has two cameras side by side with the same stock as a split screen, one 35mm and the other 16mm. The cheaper smaller framed format is good quality, but using a profession resolution chart you can see some of the differences clearly. The full film is below the break, and we’d suggest you watch it in the full 4K resolution if you are able to.
Meanwhile, some of us have been known to dabble in 8mm film, and even sometimes shoot footage with it.
Continue reading “Film, As You Have Never Had It Explained Before”
Film is projected at a rate of 24 frames per second, which is sufficient to create the POV illusion. A projector’s shutter inserts itself between the lamp and the lens, blocking the light to prevent projection of the film’s physical movement. But these short periods of darkness, or flicker, present a problem. Originally, shutters were made in the shape of a semi-circle, so they block the light half of the time. Someone figured out that increasing the flicker rate to 60-70 times per second would have the effect of constant brightness. And so the modern shutter has three blades: one blocks projection of the film’s movement, and the other two simply increase flicker.
