American cinematographer (Jan-Dec 1962)

THE NEW EASTMAN COLOR NEGATIVE AND COLOR PRINT FILMS Better color reproduction, less graininess due to significant improvements in emulsion characteristics. By DR. NORWOOD L. SIMMONS Manager, West Coast Div., Motion Picture Film Department, Eastman Kodak Company. Jt is the nature of the film industry that the next improve¬ ment in picture materials is always just over the horizon. Researchers at Kodak Park in Rochester no sooner firm up the specifications on one film when research is begun on its replacement. Last month, following an earlier brief announcement, Eastman Ko¬ dak presented two new, improved color films at the 91st Semiannual EXTENSIVE TESTS of new Eastman Color Neg¬ ative Film were made by MGM Studio. Test shots ranged from closeups to long-shots un¬ der various lighting conditions and were photographed by William Daniels, ASC. Convention of the Society of Mo¬ tion Picture and Television Engi¬ neers and later at the May meeting of the American Society of Cine¬ matographers. The new films are Eastman Color Negative Film, Type 5251, and its companion print film, Eastman Color Print Film, Types 5385 (35mm) and 7385 (16mm). Type 5251 Color Negative will replace the current Type 5250, and the print films will ultimately supplant the cur¬ rently used E-K Color Print Film, LOYAL GRIGGS, ASC, photographed the tests made at Paramount Studio with the new E-K Color Negative Film. Comparative shots were made with two cameras — one with Type 5250 Color Negative and the other with the new Type 5251. Type 5382 (35mm) and 7383 (16mm) . Actually, it was the motion pic¬ ture professionals who set the standards to which the new films were developed. Back in 1959 and 1960, when the industry was still phasing into use of the improved type Eastman Color Negative Film, Type 5250, the goals of those with the greatest interests in motion picture quality set the pat¬ tern for the research which has led to the introduction of these important new color films. Back in 1949, some serious consideration was given to the state of color cinematography. At that time, the negative-positive method of producing color motion pictures was then less than ten years old. Yet the laboratories had already delivered three major breakthroughs. In 1950, the industry had acquired its first workable sub¬ tractive color process with the introduction of Eastman Color Negative Film, Type 5247. This film had been balanced to daylight or high-intensity arc illumination. It had an exposure index of 16 for daylight and for arc light. The trend of the industry led to the rapid development and intro¬ duction, in 1953, of a tungstenbalanced color film system. For the next six years, Eastman Color Negative Film, Type 5248, with a tungsten index of 25 and an index of 16 for daylight with a Kodak Wratten No. 85 filter, was the standard of the industry. The next effort was aimed at whipping the problem which was giving production people the great¬ est concern: The speed of Type 5248 film required high tungsten light concentration on motion pic¬ ture sets. The accompanying heat limited both the performance and the technical people. Lighting re¬ quirements also made for higher production costs. Considerable time and effort went into the research which gave the industry Eastman Color Nega¬ tive Film, Type 5250, in 1959. This material doubled the emul 362 AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER, JUNE, 1962