James Chressanthis uses Max 8 in TNT's Mystery Movie Night: HIDE

Last night I watched in awe the remarkable use of Super 8 film in the TNT made for TV movie HIDE. Based on a thriller mystery novel by Lisa Gardner, the film was directed by James Gray and beautifully shot by cinematographer James Chressanthis, ASC. Hide marks their reunion, as they have collaborated on other projects such as Ghost Whispers and Brian’s Song.

The deliberate choice by Chressanthis to shoot full Max 8 to punctuate the numerous flashback scenes by different characters in the story had a strong aesthetic punch. Never did you feel as if you were watching a home movie, but rather a vivid porthole into the memory of painful events that these characters were being asked to retell investigators. 

Chressanthis chose our MAX 8 1014 XLS camera with crystal for the Super 8 sequences. Shooting was done with  Pro8/19, a Kodak Vision 3 200T film stock that is highly versatile for both bright and low light conditions. The film has 13 stops of latitude, extremely fine grain, and an ultra wide exposure range. It captured both the shadows and highlight details so well that  in some shots you could actually see the skeletons of the mummified bodies inside the hanging body bags down in a low lit  underground pit.

We scanned the film in native 1080 to ProRes 4:4:4 HQ with 3 separate passes at different frame rates. "We shot mostly at 9FPS on the Max 8 camera. Editorially they used all the frame rate transfers:  24, 12, 6 fps.

I shot the various frame rates to speed up, slow down and blur the image and also to increase the grain.

That's because normal Super 8 is so clean that it can look like good 16mm but we wanted an edgy, grittier 

look in representing the deep memories of the characters. It looks fantastic! " says Chressanthis.

Plot Summary: Carla Gugino (Californication, Entourage) plays Boston Police Detective D.D. Warren, who is called to the grounds of an abandoned mental hospital where a buried chamber is discovered. Inside are the mummified remains of six young women, who have all been missing for years. The case leads D.D. to Annabelle, played by Bridget Regan (Legend of the Seeker). Annabelle is a young woman who spent her childhood moving from city to city, from identity to identity, hiding from someone or something totally unknown to her. D.D. uses clues from Annabelle's secret past to unravel the mystery behind her twisted family history. Mark-Paul Gosselaar (TNT's Franklin & Bash, NYPD Blue) and Kevin Alejandro (True Blood, TNT's Southland) also star. Hide is written by Janet Brownell (Eloise at the Plaza), directed by John Gray (Ghost Whisperer, Helter Skelter) and executive-produced by Stephanie Germain (The Day After Tomorrow)  (summary from TNT website)

Chressanthis has used Pro8mm workflows is such projects as No Subtitles Necessary (2008)and Brian's Song (2001). He is a three time Emmy Award Nominee, and has been a member of the ASC since 2002.

If you missed last nights premier, check for an opportunity to stream it  directly from TNT’s website http://www.tnt.tv.

Pro8mm Tip of the Day: How to Pick a Place to Scan Your Super 8 Film

As I was working on updating my own VIMEO and You Tube Channels this weekend, I lost myself in the many great Super 8 films that people have posted. I found that I can spend endless hours just watching everyone’s stuff, and of course, since this is my profession, I am always curious about the cameras, film, processing and scanning workflow. Some of the DIY folks have produced some really good stuff. Great in fact. Filmmakers who enjoy the power of one, and have the time to maticulate over moving their super 8 film to digital can achieve a decent result, providing they understand how to minimize the dirt, and the film was lit correctly to begin with.

What I found somewhat interesting however was how many scans done at facilities are producing results that look so bad. In many cases, worse than the DIY telecine that filmmakers have done.

So here is a tip I hope you will use. Before you choose a place to scan your super 8 film, go to YouTube and Vimeo to see what kind of quality a scanning facility can offer. Most companies now have samples of their stuff up there, or their clients have tagged what facility did the scan. Check out as many as you can find. You will be amazed at the range of what you see.

As I looked at all of my competitors stuff, as is human nature to do, it validated for me the differential between the quality of the scans that we provide far exceeds the differential in the price. One more thing…don’t be fooled by “fake” HD. HD is a native 1080 scan that comes directly off the scanner, not an SD telecine scan that is up rezzed in a computer.

Check it out for yourself.

www.pro8mm.com © Phil Vigeant, Pro8mm 2009

PRO8mm Now Offers 3 Distinct Scanning Systems

Pro8mm Offers 3 Distinctly Different Scanning Systems
* Millennium 2 (HD)
* Y-Front
*Rank




Beginning in March 2008 Pro8mm will begin offering 3 distinctly different Scan Systems. This will allow customers to choose between maximizing the Quality or the Economy of their transfers of 8 and 16mm film. Clients can custom build their transfers from the base price of each of our three systems by choosing which scanning system is best for them, Rank, Y-Front, or Millennium II HD. Then they can select options such as one light vs. full scene to scene color correction, scheduled vs. unscheduled, and from a variety of mastering formats, including hard drive. Each of these elements determine the per hour price. Additionally, options such as simul master, sync interlock, time code, a frame, and power windows are also part of the menu of choices.

For Maximum value, quality and efficiency, our extremely popular “ALL INCLUSIVE DISCOUNT PACKAGES” bundle together film, processing, prep and clean and transfer at one discounted price. These packages will be offered on The Y-Front and MM II. Purchased this way, scans on our new MM II scanner start at just $82 more for a 4 roll package than from under the old pricing ($278 for SD vs. $360 for HD) an unbelievable value for the quality and technology!

Our three scanning systems represent the progress in scanning technology over the past 30 years. Pro8mm has always been committed to offering state-of-the art products and services for our clients. Each scanning system we offer shows our alignment to the progression of scanning technology. Maintaining these older systems allows us to offer the widest selection of choices amongst all small format scanning companies so that we can accommodate the greatest number of client needs and budgets.

Rank Scan: This system uses a Digital Rank and daVinci Color Correction (4:2:2: Work Platform). This was our main system just 2 years ago and produces great images from Regular 8mm and Super8 mm reversal Film. The discounted base rate for unscheduled and unsupervised transfers will be $150.00 per hour.

Y-Front Scan: This system uses an Ursa Diamond with Y-Front technology and daVinci Color Correction (4:4:4 Work Platform). The Y-Front’s dirt and scratch concealment will improve the look of any film, especially modern negative film stocks that have expanded latitude. The Diamond has expanded gamma color space that is critical for achieving an optimum result with negative film. All present Pro8mm/Pro16mm Packages are done on this system. Base rate $255.00 an hour.

MILLIENNIUM II Scan: Using our Brand New Millennium 2 Scanner and daVinci 2K color corrector (1920 x 1080 HD Work Platform), this new system produces the most premium scan possible. It includes Y-Front technology for dirt and scratch concealment. By working in HD we can more precisely manipulate the information in the scan process even for SD transfer. Base rate $450.00 an hour

*All Systems can handle all film types:
All Systems offer Unscheduled Discounts and the option of doing scene to scene or one light.
Call one of our project coordinators for your custom quote.