Has anyone seen the Darren Aronofsky film "Pi?" This film has a very stylized look and is shot in black and white - i am wondering if anyone has any suggestions about film and procesing to get negatives that look like this movie. A general idea for those who haven't seen it: It is EXTREMELY grainy, and EXTREMELY contrasty with black black shadows, a few grays, and almost pure white highlights. Thanks for any ideas.

-- peter bg (pbg333@hotmail.com), July 08, 2001

Answers

Try Tri-X in Dektol for 1 hour with constant agitation.

-- Ted Kaufman (writercrmp@aol.com), July 10, 2001.

Slightly more manageable is Tri-X shot at 200 w/yellow filter and processed in 72-75 degree HC-110B at the ISO400/68deg time. Agitate aggresively but still be careful about bubbles. Hard edges, defined grain, and a contrasty glow that's quite surreal. I would think you could slightly overdevelop Tmax 3200 in a contrasty developer (like Tmax dev) for a lazy alternative.

-- Eamonn Aiken (eamonn@emulsionz.com), July 15, 2001.

I was told that Aronofsky shot Kodak Super XX 16mm film and developed it in Rodinol.

I've been developing in HC110:B for years now but I went out and got some Accufine and Rodinol yesterday. I'll probably post results when I try them. I usually shoot TMZ (Tmax 3200) and TriX.

I'm not adventurous enough (yet) to try TriX or TMZ in D-19 (which I use for developing Super 8 films TXR and PXR).

-- Brian McCall (bmccall@NOSPAM.coe.uga.edu), July 18, 2001.