CAMERA DEPARTMENT

The D.P. can work with the director and the grip and electrics to light and photograph a motion picture with varying amounts of light. Nowadays 35mm film stocks can be found that are extremely sensitive to light, and a very rich and detailed look can be achieved with a minimal amount of light. Environmentally speaking, low impact and low budget walk hand in hand: fewer lights, less electricity, less set up time. None of this need sacrifice the look of your film.

EASTMAN KODAK continues to' produce faster and faster film stocks, and with their revolutionary "T-Grain" technology which reduces graininess, their stocks can perform impressively in less and less light. Their most recent stock, EXR 200T (5293/7293), is reported to have the grain characteristics of a 100-speed film and the sensitivity of a 200-speed. With these innovations, you may find you .can get the look you want with less light and more portability.

SUPER 16MM: Du Art Film Lab in New York offers a presentation on the differences between Super l6mm and 35mm film. The two formats were shot under the same lighting conditions and are intercut for comparison.

CHEAP FILM STOCK can be bought from New York Raw Stock Exchange. They buy and sell leftover 39mm and l6mm stock, black and white and color.

DO SPECIAL EFFECTS like slow motion (overcranking) in camera. If the director sounds like he might want a shot in slo-mo, you will save the production expense later by shooting options now. Reshoots and optical tricks consume money and resources, and you lose generations resulting in a poorer image quality.
• Even some double exposure can be shot in camera, if it is planned in advance. Almost alt the effects in Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula were-filmed in camera; The 35mm Arriflex 535 used on that project was also able to change film speed from anywhere from 50fps to 5fps during a shot, and take care of the exposure by adjusting the shutter speed at the same time. All of these effects will become increasingly possible in the new computer-controlled cameras.