Re: [AMIA-L] Sixties aesthetic and 'Close-up' B&W films

[John P Pytlak <john.pytlak@xxxxxxxxx>]

Nathan Southern, Intern, Harvard Film Archive Conservation Center wrote:
 
"? First, have any of you noticed, in inspecting and screening films from 
the mid sixties (say 1961-1965) an overarching, dominant aesthetic in 
American and British (and a few French) films that relies specifically on 
high contrast black-and-white, along the lines of 'Seance on a Wet 
Afternoon' or Penn's 'Mickey One'? If so, is this attributable to the b&w 
photographic processes most common at that the time (ie., a particular 
film stock? A brand of light 'in vogue' at that time),  and could you fill 
me in on what these processes entailed?  ?   Or could it be tied -as was my first guess - to a unique genre or 
subgenre?"
 
It's a good question.   I don't have the answer, (just a few thoughts) but 
I wonder if the "graphic" attraction of high contrast imagery came from 
the same roots as the "swing sixties" London concentration on pure print 
colours in clothes, posters and whatnot.  Kodak historical information 
webpages might have something on the development of hi-con still and 
moving image stocks.
Trying to remember the visceral effect upon seeing hi-con sequences in 
film at the time, I think the effect tried to approach an essence rather 
than an aesthetic.   A trope perhaps.   Leone took it into colour to play 
with "Western" icons in his "Dollars" series.   Partial hi con dream 
sequences were attempts at an altered emotional tone.
As for the processes, stocks equivalent to those employed for soundtrack 
optical negatives were clearly involved in contact or optical printing to 
remove all intermediate tones and arrive at pure black and white. 
The effect was so strong in design terms that it became dated and stopped 
quite abruptly; hence its time delineation.   It may also be that the 
intrinsic obviousness of the intervention came to be seen as to run 
counter to the concern that the film's elements of construction be 
suppressed.   It certainly stands as a polar opposite to the cinema verite 
urge as 16mm portability imposed its own styles.
 
David
 
Dr. David Woods
HOLCUS Ltd.
16 John Street
Kingston Square
Hull
HU2 8DH
UK
Tel 44 (0)1482 323421
Mobile 0781 259 1772

______________________________________________________________________

Kodak offers a very wide variety of B&W motion picture films:

http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/products/bw/index.jhtml?id=0.1.4.4.8&lc=en 
 (B&W Camera Original Films)

http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/products/intermediate/index.jhtml?id=0.1.4.6&lc=en 
 (B&W Intermediate Films)

http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/products/print/index.jhtml?id=0.1.4.8&lc=en 
 (B&W Print Films)

http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/products/post.jhtml?id=0.1.4.10&lc=en 
(B&W Post Production Films)

Here is the Kodak manual H-24-15 for processing B&W Films:

http://www.kodak.com/US/plugins/acrobat/en/motion/support/processing/h2415/h2415.pdf

B&W film contrast and tone scale can be adjusted by the type of developer 
(e.g., D-96 for lower contrast, D-97 for higher contrast) and the 
processing conditions (e.g., time and temperature affect "gamma").

You would have to research the films used on the features you mention, and 
the techniques used to achieve the "look".  American Cinematographer 
magazine or the International Cinematographers Guild (ICG) magazine are 
good resources for informative production articles:

http://www.theasc.com

http://www.cameraguild.com/

For example, here is an ICG article detailing Roger Deakins' technique of 
using color negative for the B&W feature "The Man Who Wasn't There":

http://www.cameraguild.com/interviews/chat_deakins/deakins_conversation.htm

 The Kodak website also has production articles about many recent films. 
Use the "Search Cinematography" tool on the lower left of the home page, 
entering the keyword of director, cinematographer, or title in quotes 
(e.g., "Road to Perdition"):

http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

Hope this helps.

John
(signed by:)
John P. Pytlak
Senior Technical Specialist
Customer Technical Services
Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Eastman Kodak Company
Rochester, New York 14650-1922  USA
Telephone: +1 585 477 5325
Cell: +1 585 781 4036
Fax: +1 585 722 7243
e-mail: john.pytlak@xxxxxxxxx
website: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion