American Cinematographer - July 1990 - 24

■■■■

.

n
:

by David Heuring
Tis the season of summer blockbusters.
Of all the carefully studied and consid¬
ered marketing decisions that can make
or break these gargantuan productions,
one of the most difficult must surely be

r

choosing a title. In years past, films that
part of a series, such as the Topper

The world's

A# ance"
In simple terms,
"Reduced
TolTol¬
erbe read
"Reduced
for error." Inquiries at
Kodak in Hollywood yield this
tion:

Eastman
explana¬

"Any 35mm Eastman

camera

brightest

films,

or

were

trusted to make the connection

intermediate film designated 'SA' is
manufactured to extremely rigid perfora¬
tion tolerances (1/2 tolerance 0.1866

controllable

through the use of key words or phrases
in the title. The more prudent minds of
today, with hundreds of millions of dol¬
lars on the line, apparently prefer using
the same title appended by a number,
and perhaps a subtitle - for example,
Nightmare on Elm Street IV: The Dream
Master. The audience has no misconcep¬
tions
you know exactly what you're in

B&H) and is intended for use in special
applications, such as traveling matte
photography, where precise picture reg¬
istration is achieved by precise perfora¬
tion alignment, in specially designed
equipment. These SA films are identified
by product specification number 722 (on
core) or 709 (spooled). Price premiums
apply to these products.

were

light source
Pm.

\dr

Kyy*
|4

The Thin Man movies, audiences

-

or

for.

*Vvfi
#.....

"Most 16mm
One notable exception to the

ft'

ft

t

#T,e#%
W\ #
# ...SP

,

A

Corporate Offices: 800/354-4448
Angeles-Sequoia: 818/768-6200
Atlanta-PC&E: 800/537-4021

Ft. Lauderdale-Film Trade: 305/989-5999

films

are now

being

average person. He has faith - remem¬
ber that invisible bridge scene?
Back to the point. My question

tent, overall, within the established stan¬
dard. They are suited for general cinema¬

is, how do the marketing experts decide
whether a film gets a Roman numeral (II)
2? And what criteria gives a particu¬
lar film the right to the noble "Part II"?
Sometimes this dilemma is
circumvented with a clever twist:
witness Alien and Aliens. But what is the

plural of TheAbyssl You could look it up,
but it might be more fun to just wait until

tography and should contribute to on¬
screen image steadiness. 16mm camera
films with labels that call out 'reduced
tolerance perforations' are now being

phased into the product pipeline and will
replace existing film. No special equip¬
ment or modification to existing equip¬
ment is required. There is no price pre¬
mium for this value added feature."
♦ ♦♦

next summer.

♦ ♦♦

*

»v Los

camera

finished on advanced technology equip¬
ment that produces more precise perfo¬
ration dimensions that are more consis¬

Q."What should be a cinematogra¬

Q, David E. Lancer of Lakeside, Ohio
MOBILE LIGHTING. LTD.

(color and black & white)

number phenomenon was the Indiana
Jones series, but as we know, Mr. Jones
is far more intrepid and brave than the

or a

22

can

*

erance

sends this note: "As

an

award¬

winning independent filmmaker, I have
photographed in 16mm for many years.
However, I just recently used Eastman
Ektachrome 7250 VNX449. On the plas¬
tic film carton, it says 'Reduced Tolerance

According to the American Cine-

explanation

weather conditions south of the Arctic

an

means.

in any

reference books."

July 1990

A

I haven't found this

Perforations.' I would like

my

problem?"

*
matographer Manual's chapter on
"Arctic Cinematography" (I assume these
recommendations also apply in cold

of what this

of

pher's considerations when bring¬
ing a cold camera into a warm building
at the end of a day? Isn't condensation a

Circle): "If a cold camera is taken indoors
American Cinematographer - July 1990

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