How The Ring created its influential look largely without digital color grading, how I replicated it on a budget, and why it was worth it.
patreon: https://www.patreon.com/WatchingtheAerial
twitter: https://twitter.com/watchingaerial
letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/watchingaerial/
American Cinematographer article: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ngYY0Iei_3Txoz8LBypNJrAF5E3nHxZs/view?usp=sharing
The Greatest Long Take You've Never Seen: https://youtu.be/FpQyVYyLYEA
Collateral & the Death of Neon: https://youtu.be/y51VUsotZe4
How Hitchcock Turned a Town Into a Film Set: https://youtu.be/5xm8yZ5ZLvg
Special thanks to my partner mystic_Iris for assisting with the photo tests and all her support behind the scenes. Follow her here: https://twitter.com/mystic__Iris
Links:
Intro
Empire - "The Ring Review" (March, 2003)
https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/ring-3-review/
In Search of an Article
Cinematography Forums - "The Ring" (Feb. 19, 2005)
https://cinematography.com/index.php?/forums/topic/5086-the-ring/
Translight Backdrop
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Translight
Creating the Look
81EF Filter Specs
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/54933-REG/Tiffen_S981EF_Series_9_81EF_Color.html/specs
85B Filter Specs
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/55122-REG/Tiffen_5885B_58mm_85B_Color_Conversion.html
Existing Wratten Numbered Filters
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wratten_number
Roger Deakins Forums - "Printer Lights and Digital" (March 6, 2023)
https://www.rogerdeakins.com/forums/topic/printer-lights-and-digital/
Printer Points
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printer_point
List of Motion Picture Film Stocks - Eastman Kodak
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_motion_picture_film_stocks#Eastman_Kodak
Kodak EXR 200T Spec Sheet
https://125px.com/docs/motionpicture/kodak/5293.pdf
"The Making of Joker with Cinematographer Lawrence Sher, ASC"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvPqXpp--qU&t=500s
IGC Magazine - "Wild Card" (Oct. 10, 2019)
https://www.icgmagazine.com/web/wild-card/
American Cinematographer - Clubhouse Conversation: Lawrence Sher, ASC on Joker (Dec. 10, 2019)
https://theasc.com/news/clubhouse-conversation-lawrence-sher-asc-on-joker
Push Processing
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Push_processing
Recreating the Process
A Guide to Color Filters with B&W Film
https://thedarkroom.com/color-filters-with-bw-film/
Kodak Professional Accessories Catalogue (Jan., 2000)
https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/27160899/kodak-professional-accessories-catalog-tiffen
"rating kodak stocks in term of contrast" (May 30, 2005)
https://cinematography.com/index.php?/forums/topic/7006-rating-kodak-stocks-in-term-of-contrast/
"How to remove left over remjet after film has dried" (June 29, 2021)
https://cinematography.com/index.php?/forums/topic/88556-how-to-remove-left-over-remjet-after-film-has-dried/
CineStill Film
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinestill
Bellows Film Lab Chicago - ECN-2 Development
https://www.bellowsfilmlabchi.com/product/ecn-2-35mm-chicago/937?cs=true&cst=custom
Boutique Film Lab - ECN-2 Film
https://www.boutiquefilmlab.com/product/cinema-film/
"How to Clean Your Negatives"
https://kodakdigitizing.com/blogs/news/how-do-you-clean-your-negatives
"Opinion: lab box ecn-2 process" (March 29, 2023)
https://www.reddit.com/r/AnalogCommunity/comments/125fjyu/opinion_lab_box_ecn2_process/
"What is preventing film photographers from shooting ECN-2?" (Jan. 27, 2023)
https://www.reddit.com/r/AnalogCommunity/comments/10mu4k7/what_is_preventing_film_photographers_from/
"Testing ways to remove Remjet on Vision3 film" (April 24, 2022)
https://www.reddit.com/r/Darkroom/comments/ub9jcm/testing_ways_to_remove_remjet_on_vision3_film/
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:26 In Search of an Article
03:09 Creating the Look
10:17 Re-creating the Process
17:50 The Results
24:23 Why Bother?