Some advice on film choice?

[model337]

It looks like I might be doing some on-location shooting of a small, independant movie in the next couple of weeks. There will be indoor and outdoor sets, which include day and night filming. I need recommendations on some professional color films that won't over-saturate, and will give me good shadow detail while simultaneously not blowing out the highlights.

Under some conditions (night, indoors) I will need to shoot 400 ISO, but for completely different scenes 100 will likely be more appropriate. I'd like to choose a film line that will keep consistant colors throughout different speeds. The film also has to handle skin tones well. When all is said and done the film will be scanned, post-processed, and provided to the client in digital format.

I've only been shooting with film for about 4 months now (having migrated from digital) so I haven't had the chance to try out many of different films yet. I'd appreciate the advice of those of you with more experience than me. Thanks in advance.

 

[venchka]

Get some Kodak Portra in 160NC, 400NC & 800. Run some quick tests. I know the 160NC handles ASA 100 well. The 400NC also handles ASA 200 well too. Try setting your meters in 1/3 stop increments starting at box speed and going slower.

ps: What these films don't like is underexposure.

 

[model337]

Thanks for the response, venchka. Do you know how the charactaristics of Kodak's Portra compare to those of Fuji's Pro films?

 

[kully]

I'd recommend Fuji NPH400, although this is now discontinued - no experience with the new emulsion but if it's the same/better:

NPH400 handles artificial light wonderfully (well, not energy-saving bulbs), I'm not sure how big you need to print but it is also relatively fine-grained for a 400 speed film.

 

[Richard Black]

I too recommend the Fuji line, the 400 is multifaceted. The 800 can give you an f stop or two. I've used them in weddings in both 35 and 120 format and they scan wonderfully.

 

[pphuang]

At this point, I think I've tried all the major brands of color films, and have been happiest with the look of Portra, but this is obviously a very personal thing, and there are those that might prefer the look of Fuji, but you can get excellent results from both. For me, Portra tends to have a richer, smoother, more subtle look, and tends to hold up better in mixed lighting conditions, although if you are scanning and post-processing, this may be less important since you will be color correcting. The Fuji is a bit more grainy, and somewhat flatter in appearance. Portra 160/400/800 look fine at box speed, and also hold up well shooting down a full stop. It also handles skin tones extremely well.

The best thing to do is to go on Flickr and do a search on the various film types, which should give you a pretty good idea about the characteristics of each film. Unfortunately, nothing will replace shooting with a film in a variety of lighting conditions and deciding for yourself what you prefer. Good luck!