Tara’s Lens Test
Here is another screen test with Tara, a 20-year-old Hollywood actress. This was shot on 16mm film with an Arri 16mm motion picture camera.
Tara is a model, actress and licensed Hollywood Makeup artist. She is a trained makeup artist and specializes in makeup for film, television and still photography.
The music soundtrack is Paralyzer by Finger Eleven. I think the music sounds pretty good to my ear.
Technical Notes: Angenieux vs. Zeiss
This footage was actually a test of several different lenses from two manufacturers. The first lens was an Angenieux 9.5-57mm zoom lens. The Angenieux zoom is an low-priced lens that is often used by film students shooting 16mm films.
The other lenses were a set of Zeiss Super Speed T1.3 prime lenses including 9.5, 12mm, 16, and 25mm in Arri B-mount.
I shot footage of test charts for testing the resolution and other technical measurements. Then I shot a bunch of film with Tara as the subject using the different lenses. If you read the slate you can see where it says Zeiss 25mm, ANG 25mm, Zeiss 16mm, ANG 16mm, etc. The camera was my Arriflex 16SB and I believe the film stock was Kodak 7274 Tungsten negative film.
The film was processed at Hollywood Film & Video on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood. One reason I love this lab is because they have been in business in Hollywood since 1907. What a history! I had them make a one light print from the negative. To evaluate the film, I examined the print on a light table with an eye loupe. I also projected it with a 16mm movie projector.
As I recall, the Zeiss lenses had much better clarity and color than the Angeniux. The Angeniux definitely had a yellow color cast. So we used the set of Zeiss lenses on our next 16mm project.
16mm to DV to Youtube
Later I had the film telecine transferred to miniDV so I could edit it with Final Cut Pro or iMovie. I imported the DV files into iMovie on a Macintosh G4, added the titles, and exported it out. Then I uploaded it to youtube and that is what you see here.
Even after Telecine to DV, and all the compression to get it onto youtube, I think the shots with the Zeiss lenses look better–more clarity and truer colors.
The best place to find used 16mm movie cameras and lenses is Visual Products in Wellington Ohio.