Awhile back I binge-watched a number of classic movies from the 1950’s, and I was really inspired by their picture aesthetics. After some research, I discovered that Kodak ECN 5248 25T motion picture film was used in several of these flicks. The problem, of course, with trying to replicate the look of a motion picture film stock is that not only is the aesthetic dependent on the usual factors of how shot and developed, but also on the lighting and filters used, which can be different movie-to-movie and even scene-to-scene. Instead of attempting to mimic the look of any particular movie or cinema film stock, I wanted to create a certain feel or mood—a “memory color” reminiscent of color movies from the 1950’s.
This Vintage Cinema Film Simulation Recipe was a Fuji X Weekly App Patron Early-Access Recipe, but now it’s been replaced by a different Early-Access Recipe, making this one available to everyone. Those who are App Patrons have had access to it for some time now.
The Vintage Cinema Film Simulation Recipe is compatible with the Fujifilm X-H2s, X-H2, X-T5, X-S20, X100VI, and X-T50. I assume that those with the latest GFX cameras can also use this Recipe, but that it will render slightly different—I have not tested it to know for certain. This Recipe is best for sunny daylight conditions, and seems especially well-suited for golden hour photography, but can sometimes produce interesting results in cloudy, shade, and indoor situations, too. I believe this Recipe would pair especially well with vintage lenses and probably diffusion filters, but for these pictures I used Fujinon lenses, including the 27mm f/2.8, 35mm f/2, 90mm f/2, and 100-400mm, without any filters.
Film Simulation: Nostalgic Neg.
Dynamic Range: DR400
Grain Effect: Strong, Small
Color Chrome Effect: Strong
Color Chrome FX Blue: Off
White Balance: 4900K, +3 Red & +3 Blue
Highlight: +3
Shadow: -2
Color: -1
Sharpness: -2
High ISO NR: -4
Clarity: -4
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400
Exposure Compensation: -1/3 to -2 (typically)
Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this Vintage Cinema Film Simulation Recipe on my Fujifilm X-T5 and X100VI:
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Fujifilm X100VI in black:
Amazon, B&H, Moment, Wex, Nuzira
Fujifilm X100VI in silver:
Amazon, B&H, Moment, Wex, Nuzira
Fujifilm X-T5 in black:
Amazon, B&H, Moment, Wex, Nuzira
Fujifilm X-T5 in silver:
Amazon, B&H, Moment, Wex, Nuzira
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A lot of, probably most, British movies of the 50s and 60s were shot on Eastmancolor which has a distinct warm brownish look. I think it’s probably the same as what you refer to as ECN.
Maybe Kodak UK made a version tweaked for British weather rather than Hollywood weather!
It very well could be the case, or it may have been simply the specific color correction filters used. I’m really not sure.
Another truly beautiful recipe!!! An alternative version for X-Trans IV? Don’t forget about us poor owners of the previous version, please 😣
The trouble with making an Eterna version is Nostalgic Neg. with Highlight +3, but I might be able to get somewhat close. I’ll give it a try. Thanks for the kindness and suggestion!
Hey Ritchie,
Any chance you might attempt creating a recipe based on this movie stock?
I will definitely look into it. The trouble with replicating movie aesthetic is that a lot of the actual “look” comes from the lighting. A team of experts along with the cinematographer and director work together to carefully light each scene, and that’s pretty impossible to replicate in a Recipe. But, with that said, I’ll see what I can do. Thanks for the suggestion! 😀
Nice recipe, interestingly I’m also trying to recreate the classic movies look, specifically 90s rom-com like Notting Hill 1999 or Barcelona 1994.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2ZTOyuUfrg&
Here’s what I got so far:
Film Simulation: Classic Neg/Nostalgic Neg(not sure which is better)
Dynamic Range: DR400
Grain Effect: Strong, Small
Color Chrome Effect: Strong
Color Chrome FX Blue: Off
White Balance: 4900K, +4 Red & -3 Blue
Highlight: -1.5
Shadow: -1
Color: +4
Sharpness: -1
High ISO NR: -4
Clarity: -2 (I have 1/8 black mist filter on)
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400
If you know what I can change it better match the colours, it’d be greatly appreciated. If you know what film they used for those movies, even better 🙂
I wouldn’t use Classic Negative. +4 Color with Nostalgic Neg will be much too vibrant. I would start with Eterna, personally… take a look at the Expired Eterna and Polaroid II Recipes for a sort of somewhat similar aesthetic to a couple of the scenes.
With movies, it’s important to understand that the lighting is carefully staged and controlled by a team of experts at the direction of the cinematographer and director. The lighting itself has as much or more to do with the “look” as what it was captured on. In order to replicate it, you need to also replicate the light itself.
With that said, you could potentially create a few different recipes that more-or-less mimic various looks from a particular movie. From the YouTube video, I think there are at least four unique aesthetics. You could pick two or three that you really like, and try to replicate those. Eterna would be my starting point, though. I hope this is somehow helpful.