35mm blowup
 

Hey,

I'm finishing up a six minute short film right now and am preparing to enter it into various film festivals.

The question I have is . . . do I blow it up to 35mm? Is this still worth it, or has digital presentation become more commonplace? I noticed on one festival website that they present in both 35mm and Beta. I'm actually not too familiar with Beta . . . I shot my film in HDV and downconverted to 24p480, anamorphic widescreen. Will that be compatible?

Also, if I did decide to plop down the $2700 or so, I'm assuming I'd get a single print . . . how long would that hold up on the festival circuit?

Thanks.

Matt

how long will a print hold up ?

it could last a minute if threaded wrong .. it could last 20 showings ?...
in general i find festivals are very hard on film ... when i use to send shorts out to festivals i say by 2-3 festivals the print was scratched to where i would replace it for festivals ... i just don't know how they get all the dirt on em ... seems they take care of features prints...

What would really be gained? I could think of things to do with that 2700 that would make your short and your brand, name, and image a lot more in folk's minds that the fact that your short was on 35...not to mention how many contests you can enter with that money

Paul

beta is analog format that is standard def ..depending on the size of the screen beta can look OK to so-so (the larger the image the worst it looks)

your 24p/480 project is going to have to add pull down to go to beta tape ( the larger the sceen the more pull down interlace you see) ..

your HDV clips to 35mm will look much better then beta ..
your 24p/480 ( they up rez to 2k) to film will look much better then SD beta

i'm sure you've seen projects shot on hand size DV and transferred to 35mm
... these SD files are up-rez to 2k before going out to film ...and they look much better then one would think ...

for some of us the $2700 may be worth every penny and for others 2700 could be used for many other items/things...

A lot of festivals take HDCAM as well, the conversion from HDV to HDCAM "shouldn't" be too expensive especially for a 6 minute piece. HDCAM masters will probably hold up a little longer through festivals then the 35mm print will, and will look pretty good as well as be a fraction of the cost.

Just go to a post house have them uprez to HDCAM should cost about $500 to $1,000... if you shop it around you should be able to get to the lower price.

I paid about $500 for an hour of JVC footage to be uprezzed to HDCAM... but then I had 14 hours done also...

Check

Ditigal Jungle (in Hollywood)
Laser Pacific (but they seem to like the big guys better)
Fotokem (should be able to do it also)

You do not need to blow up to film. Film festivals like video more than film these days because of costs of projectionists, etc. Nick H. is right--HDCAM is the way to go. I was once told a feature from HDV to HDCAM can cost between $300 and $500, depending on what needs to happen to it.

heath