Designing Film Stock in the Digital Age

Kodak has just added two new films to its Vision3 family. The stock additions include a medium-speed, tungsten-balanced color negative camera film, and a color intermediate film optimized to work with digital post-production technologies. Digital Cinema Report spoke with Lauren Lung Kodak’s vice president and general manager of the company’s Entertainment Imaging Division in North and South America to learn more about the new film and also, to discuss the future of film in an increasingly digital world.

Digital Cinema Report: Kodak just added two new films to its Vision3 family. One is a negative stock for production, and the other is a film designed specifically for digital intermediates. How long have the new products been in development?

Lauren Lung: Depending on the level of complexity and the amount of new technology required, the length of film development time is usually from about one to two years. These films fall within this range.

To give you a specific Vision3 timeline: we first introduced our Vision3 film with the debut of the hugely popular 5219/7219 500-speed tungsten stock in November 2007. At that time, we promised our customers that we'd continue testing and developing new stocks to add to the Vision3 family, which overall offers increased exposure latitude and color detail with noticeably reduced grain even in extremely bright highlights and dark shadows. The 500T film was followed by the 5207/7207 250-speed daylight film in April 2009, which was equally well received. In keeping with our promise, the 5213/7213 200-speed tungsten film and 5254/2254 digital intermediate films have joined the Vision3 family of films, and more are on the way.

DCR: In simple terms, how does film designed for shooting differ from film made for post work?

LL: The Vision3 family of films has been designed to provide advantages for both shooting and postproduction. The increased dynamic range of the Vision3 color negative films is useful to cinematographers because it allows for more exposure variation. One example is the finer grain in underexposures on Vision3 film, which allows the cinematographers to rate the film at a higher speed when they find themselves in situations with less light than they expected. This same dynamic range provides advantages in postproduction, particularly the greater ability to reach into the highlights and shadows to pull out detail.

Drilling down into the evolving world of postproduction, the increasing use of digital workflows today has resulted in a hybrid world with filmed or digitally-originated images feeding into a digital intermediate process which is then recorded out to produce film prints or a file for digital cinema display. Recording out to produce film prints typically requires an intermediate film. Kodak’s new Vision3 color intermediate film is specifically designed for/optimized for use in all of the digital recorders in the marketplace today.

Together, our Vision3 color negative and intermediate films are specifically tailored for today’s workflow; helping filmmakers to replicate their intentions from ‘scene to screen,’ while enabling increased efficiencies in post houses and labs.

DCR: Several ASC cinematographers have tested it. When might we see the new film used in a feature film?

LL: Rogier Stoffers is shooting the 5213 on a feature titled, The Untitled Ivan Reitman Project, and Guillermo Navarro is going to be shooting it on I am Number 4. Ken Zunder is using it on WWE’s The Chaperone and Dion Beebe is using it for a few scenes in The Green Lantern. The film just became available, so we expect this list to grow quickly. The reviews of this new stock have been overwhelmingly positive, and the cinematographers we’ve spoken to are eager to shoot with it.

DCR: What post-production tests did the new stock undergo and where were they conducted?

LL: Like all of Kodak’s film product, the new Vision3 Color Digital Intermediate Film was designed with the input and collaboration of the people who will use the product. In this case, film recorder manufacturers and other post professionals were consulted at every step of the way. A synopsis of the tests they performed and the conclusions they reached is available online (http://motion.kodak.com/motion/uploadedFiles/VISION3_DI_%20Film_2254_Customer_Testimonials.pdf). Simply put, they recorded images out to the new film, and compared the resulting images to images output using other films. They also compared the speed of the process. A short list of the companies involved would include Lasergraphics, Celco, Nordisk and Digital Pictures.

DCR: What percentage of Hollywood feature films was shot on film in 2009?

LL: The majority of feature films continue to be captured on film stock. Contrary to the digital hype that's out there, film's superior ability to capture visual information still out-performs that of current high-definition digital/video devices. Producers, directors and cinematographers demand the highest-quality, most advanced technology to tell their stories, and that technology is still film.

The list of advantages that film offers is very long but to highlight a few: Films offers greater latitude than HD capture; It gives you the ability to move quickly without the need of excessive lighting; The details captured on film give filmmakers much more information to work with in post; and film is the only format with a demonstrated archival lifetime of 100+ years. With film, there’s no creative compromise, because what the director and cinematographer see is accurately captured.

DCR: What percentage of episodic television programs was shot on film in 2009?

LL: For TV’s high-end, award-winning, narrative productions, film is still prevalent. Premium cable networks, such as HBO, which specialize in high-quality drama, also shoot a majority of their original programming on film. Some examples of critically acclaimed favorites that shoot film include: this year's Emmy-winner Mad Men, Glee, The Mentalist, Lost, Treme, True Blood, 24, Entourage, Grey's Anatomy, House and Two and a Half Men, just to name a few.

DCR: How do those numbers compare with 2008?

LL: Over the past 18 months, digital capture has increased within the television segment. This is primarily due to the studios' decision to contract through AFTRA for many of their new shows, hearkening back to the SAG labor issues of 2008-2009. Consequently, digital capture increased during last year’s TV pilot season. Once shows started out with AFTRA contracts they were contractually obligated to stay on those contracts and therefore stay on digital.


DCR: Are the percentages similar around the world?

LL: Over the last decade, the popularity of filmed entertainment has increased resulting in the build-out of high-quality film infrastructures in many countries. Because of this, film continues to be used in every region of the world. Of course, digital capture is utilized globally as well – although that usage varies. In Japan, for example, there is a higher percentage of digital production, which is not surprising since a majority of camera manufacturers are based in that area.

DCR: Where are the growth opportunities for professional film production and post-production?

LL: What we know is what we hear from our customers: they want to use film; they realize that it provides unparalleled image quality, resolution, dynamic range, flexibility and archival qualities. And based on our R&D and the advances we've been able to incorporate into film technology, we see a very bright future. Beyond film, Kodak is exploring growth opportunities in workflow and data management.

DCR: What's next for Kodak?

LL: We are obviously very excited by the launch of our two new Vision3 products – the 200T color negative and our new digital record-out intermediate film. We also just added a new 100D color reversal film into the Super8 portfolio. And, of course, we continue to invest in enhancing the performance of all of our films. We are also evaluating growth opportunities to provide products and services that help streamline workflow, and with the broad range of data management issues that are associated with both film and digital production. Kodak is firmly committed to continue to be the leader in film innovation, and we are looking for ways to push the boundaries of what film can deliver. As industry technologies continue to change, Kodak will provide our customers in the creative community with a full range of tools and services to help bring their vision to the screen, more faithfully, efficiently, and at the highest levels of quality.