4K to 35mm film transfer?

Tom Lowe

Tom Lowe

Well-known member
Say I shot a 5-minute short at 4K and edited and did the sound myself. How much would it cost to transfer my 5-minutes of 4K to a 35mm print so I could enter it in film festivals? Has anyone looked into this?
 
I think I heard somewhere its 1$-2$ per frame for a proper laser digital print.

So maybe 10-15k?

Thats based on highend recorders though.. There might be labs out there offering indie guys a cheaper option.
 
I've seen 4K laser printing go for less than the $1-2 per frame, but it's not cheap. You'll need the film stock, the laser exposure, the processing and the print costs... it'll add up.
 
There was a thread about this last week where I guessed (wrongly) that Technicolor Toronto did 4K filmouts at $1 a frame - turns out it is $0.75 (Canadian) a frame for their 4K Arr Laser Recorder. Meanwhile Arri Servces in Germany's rate sheet PDF quoted 2 Euros (!!!) a frame for short format (commercials) and 1.5 Euros for long format (+2500 frames). There are all sorts of cheaper options, the cheapest being Kinescope - but you get what you pay for I guess. Most film out services are equipped for HD and 2K film records. Important to clarify 4K if that is your wish.

Edit - The film stock costs alone for a feature exceed $10,000 (for the negative, print, optical track, etc.) - that is why I am skeptical of quotes at this level.
 
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You can always archive the 4K workflow and go to the film-out from the downsized 2K or even from the cheaper 1080p.

Any film-out has a next purpose and it's not for a long time 'cause its physical limitation according its analog condition.
 
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ola Tom,

I haven't done that yet. But as I was intereseted I've checked in Switzerland, where I'm based at the moment, and "Swiss Effects" scans your 2k video footage (for documentary film or fiction but not adds as they are more expensive on these!) with an ARRILaser system for 2500$ for 5 minutes (actually it is the same price for 3, 4, 5 and 6 minutes). From 7 minutes it is 417$/minutes.
They are also doing 4k, but say call for price (at least you have an idea for 2k) And I think you can find a cheaper deal, as Switzerland shouldn't be the chaeper place for that...
 
Thanks Emanuel for this precision, I was not aware that Swiss Effects was well know allover Europe.
 
It is. I wouldn't say outside this business but in the native market where I'm coming from, there has been some film-outs done there. It's one of the european film references.

EDIT -- I wouldn't say the cheapest prices but I stand corrected as non-expensive ones.
 
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Tom Lowe said:
Say I shot a 5-minute short at 4K and edited and did the sound myself. How much would it cost to transfer my 5-minutes of 4K to a 35mm print so I could enter it in film festivals? Has anyone looked into this?
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Why bother with the cost of a film transfer, for a festival? More and more film festivals are going digital, or have digital categories. I'm not talking just small festivals either big ones too, Sundance and others have gone to digital. Say your project is a big hit? Let buyer pay for the film out. Just a thought.
 
JTmoney said:
Why bother with the cost of a film transfer, for a festival? More and more film festivals are going digital, or have digital categories. I'm not talking just small festivals either big ones too, Sundance and others have gone to digital. Say your project is a big hit? Let buyer pay for the film out. Just a thought.
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I partially agree 'cause the point is "the" digital categories, I'm afraid...
 
Hi all,

I haven't posted in a while but have definitly been following the Red news closely. About film transfer, although a growing number of festivals will accept Digital projections, they are still few. However all festivals (except specific video festivals) will accept film. 35mm is still going to be the main medium for projection for a long time. I am talking on a world wide level of course. The US and Japan being largely in advance when it comes to HD and digital projection will probably adopt digital projection early. But when I make a film, I'd like it to be seen worldwide, that includes India, Africa, etc. Those countries are no where near going all digital.

As to Swiss Effects, they are indeed famous, partly for their exceptional work on the early Lars Von Triers and Dogme films. As a reminder those movies where/are shot on video, sometimes on DV, then blown up to 35mm with absolutly stunning results. I had the chance to seen a screen test last year with all kinds of video sources blown up to 35mm. Even the good old Sony VX1000 when shot correctly and gone through the experts hands of Swiss Effects gave some incredible results. Some of the images I liked best where shot with a DVX with an anamorphic adaptor, beautiful.

Cheers,
Damien
 
Tom Lowe said:
Say I shot a 5-minute short at 4K and edited and did the sound myself. How much would it cost to transfer my 5-minutes of 4K to a 35mm print so I could enter it in film festivals? Has anyone looked into this?
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I truly don't see the reason why anyone would want to transfer to 35mm prints prior to their short/feature being accepted into the festival(s). Most if not all the major and even smaller festivals now accept DVD/Betamax copies of your product for preview prior to acceptance.
 
Michael Chen said:
We have a company here that transfer 2k footages at USD200 per minute, not sure about 4k though.
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Good price. Where? Do you have any link?

EDIT -- PM sent.
 
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Keep in mind that all companies have "catalog prices", but prices are always highly negotiable. Also many companies, at least in L.A or N.Y (not sure eleswhere) will help indy filmakers/young directors a lot.
 
Just trying to get a handle on the learning curve of moving from HDV to this cam. What are the consideration, filming technique wise, if one was looking to create a project aimed at theatrical release? Are there any considerations to take into account regarding speeds etc?

You don't need to point it out, I am a complete novice when it comes to RED and the whole tech side of things and I am happy to mention that. I'm looking to move up to RED potentially and I guess seeing as the combined knowledge on this forum speaks volumes, I have come to the right place to discuss this.

If anyone out there is willing to help me along with deciphering all that is RED, in non engineering terms, I'd be very appreciative.

Thanks,
Mark.
 
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