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MillimeterKodak Adds to VISION2 Family of Advanced Films
Dec 5, 2003 12:00 PM, Press Release
Kodak unveiled KODAK VISION2 Expression 500T Color Negative Film 5229/7229, the second product in the new generation of VISION2 color motion picture films, at the Camerimage International Festival of the Art of Cinematography. The new emulsion is designed to satisfy the needs of filmmakers who want a 500-speed film that renders images with a somewhat softer look, including smoother skin tones and a more subdued range of contrast and color saturation. The new film also features a noticeable reduction in apparent grain, a broad range of under- and over-exposure latitude, and an enhanced capacity for recording subtle details in bright highlights and dark shadows.
“We have made a quantum leap forward in photochemical science and technology with the KODAK VISION2 platform,” says Kodak’s Entertainment Imaging Division president Eric Rodli. “We are now leveraging those advances to provide visual storytellers with an extraordinary new palette of motion picture films.”
VISION2 Expression film has a recommended exposure index of 500 in 3200 Kelvin degree tungsten light and 320 in daylight with an 85 filter on the camera lens. This new film replaces KODAK VISION Expression 500T Color Negative Film 5284/7284.
“The KODAK VISION2 Expression film is the second 500-speed film in the VISION2 platform,” notes Bob Mayson, general manager and vice president of Image Capture for Kodak’s Entertainment Imaging. “This new film benefits from the improved grain structure and tonal range of the VISION2 platform, while offering the lower color and contrast attributes that filmmakers have asked for when devising the right looks to tell their stories. These films are also designed for efficiency during optical and digital postproduction”
Masao Nakabori, JSC, a cinematographer based in Japan, shot a 35 mm demo designed to judge how the new film renders images in natural light. “I like the subdued colors,” he says. “The degree of grain shown by 5229 in the highlighted portion (of the image) is superb. In a scene we shot in falling rain, with only one Kino Flo used as supplemental lighting, the 5229 showed a color tone and softness that matched the rain.”
Caroline Champetier, AFC, a feature film cinematographer based in France, tested the new emulsion in the 16 mm format. “More than anything else, I love lighting faces,” she says. “I like to work in low light, in the lower part of the tonal scale. That’s where high-speed film is most subtle in rendering a scene, especially an actress’s beauty. The rendering of beauty is always paramount in my choice of films. The absence of grain and the softness of 7229 are invaluable for extreme close-ups of faces. These qualities make it possible to render the skin’s texture and color softly and accurately. The absence of grain in the VISION2 Expression film – even in low light – is a great advantage.”
Last year, Kodak brought the next generation of motion picture films to the marketplace with the introduction of KODAK VISION2 500T Color Negative Film 5218/7218. The KODAK VISION2 family of films incorporates advances in image structure, and are also designed for efficiency during optical and digital postproduction. Rodli notes that the film has been enthusiastically received by cinematographers around the world, and that Kodak will introduce additional film stocks to the VISION2 family in early 2004.
Kodak’s Entertainment Imaging division is the world-class leader in providing film, digital and hybrid motion imaging products, services, and technology for the television, feature film and new media industry.
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