🎬 Overview of Club Suicide Feature Film
Title: Club Suicide
Camera: Panavision 65mm
Film Stock Colored: Kodak 65mm negative → printed to 70mm color positive
Film Stock B&W: Kodak B&W 65mm negative → printed to 70mm b&W positive
Runtime: 2 hours 50 minutes (170 minutes)
Filming Schedule: 70 days in New York City
From: 2026.08.26 to 2026.12.16 (with breaks)
Camera: Panavison Ultra 70mm
Aspect Ratio: 2.20:1
Panavision Ultra 70mm
Additional Notes on Camera & Lens Setup
- Planning to use Ultra Panavision 70mm lenses for a signature ultra-wide cinematic look.
- Spoke with Panavision; only 2 Ultra Panavision 70mm cameras currently exist worldwide.
- Have secured permission to test and check out these cameras in London this November.
- There is only 1 BigFoot scanner in the world capable of 8K 65mm scanning, which we have the access with Fotokem.
📽️ Workflow Summary
1. Shooting
Shot on colored 65mm negative (likely Kodak 5201, 5203, or 5219).
Shot on B&W 65mm negative (likely Kodak 5201, 5203, or 5219).
Film shot in NYC processed in LA via Fotokem.
2. Dailies Delivery
Shipped to Fotokem in Los Angeles for scanning.
Shipping Lag: ~2 days from NYC to LA.
3. Scanning
a) Initial Scan (HD)
Used for editorial / offline edit.
Scanned quickly with a fast scanner (likely using a Spirit for quick HD proxies - Quicktime).
Turnaround: If film is received Wednesday night, likely have HD dailies by Thursday or Friday.
b) Final Scan Colored (8K on BigFoot)
Once the picture lock is achieved, only used frames are scanned in full 8K resolution.
BigFoot scanner: ~2 minutes of footage per 24 hours.
c) Final Scan Black And White (8K on BigFoot?)
Approximately 3 minutes of the film — the most emotionally charged and saddest section — is shot in Black and White.
Because Fotokem cannot run both color and black and white processing on the same line (changing out the 65,000-liter
chemical baths is not practical), this segment must be processed at a separate specialized lab.
“The film contains a ~3-minute
sequence shot on B&W 65mm stock, which is chemically incompatible
with Fotokem’s color line. This section will be processed at a dedicated
B&W lab (e.g., Colorlab or another specialty lab), then shipped to
Fotokem for scanning.”
🧮 Technical Breakdown
Total Runtime: 2 hrs 50 mins = 170 minutes
At 24fps, that’s 170 × 60 × 24 = 244,800 frames in the final cut
Assuming a 10:1 shooting ratio:
Total footage shot = 1,700 minutes = 1,700 × 60 × 24 = 2,448,000 frames
HD proxies (for editorial) are generated for all 2,448,000 frames.
Assuming ~10MB per frame (HD quality), that’s:
2,448,000 × 10MB = ~24.48 TB for HD editorial footage
Final 8K scan (only the frames used in picture lock):
244,800 frames × 100MB = ~24.48 TB for 8K final conform
So total scan storage needed:
- ~24.5 TB for HD editorial media
- ~24.5 TB for final 8K conform (used frames only)
✂️ Final Cut Scan Estimate
Typical Feature Film Usage:
From raw footage (~10:1 shooting ratio), only about 15–20% of original footage is used in the final edit.
Assuming you only scan used frames in final 8K:
Used frames in final cut:
Still ~244,800 frames (your runtime is locked),
So storage for final 8K conform = ~24.5 TB
🕰️ 8K Scanning Time Estimate (BigFoot)
BigFoot scans 2 minutes per 24 hours
170 minutes / 2 = 85 days of scanning time
⚠️ That's over 12 weeks just for scanning.
So:
Step Duration
Shooting Variable
Shipping (NYC → LA) 2 days
HD scan for dailies 1–2 days
Editorial process Weeks to months
Final conform (Picture lock) TBD
BigFoot 8K scan (for final cut only) ~85 days (can vary based on access to more scanners or higher priority queueing)
Color grading / finishing After 8K scan
💾 Data & Storage Planning
8K scans: ~100MB/frame, 24.5 TB total.
Add another ~20% for grading files, VFX pulls, etc = 30 TB+ recommended storage
Consider:
RAID-protected storage for real-time playback
Redundant backups (LTO or cloud)
✅ Checklist
Task Status
Film Stock & Camera locked ✅
Lab & Scan pipeline identified ✅
Shipping schedule mapped ✅
HD dailies & editorial pipeline ✅
BigFoot scanning rate understood ✅
Picture lock timeline set? ⬜
Data infrastructure in place? ⬜
Backup strategy? ⬜
Post production color booked? ⬜
🎥 Updated Workflow for Club Suicide
🔁 Live Workflow
Shoot 65mm → Ship raw negative daily → Fotokem (LA)
No processing/dailies in NYC — all happens in LA
Kodak lab in LA handles processing
Fotokem handles scanning (HD dailies + final 8K BigFoot scan)
📦 Shipping & Turnaround
Assuming FedEx First Overnight or similar priority service:
Monday shoot → FedEx drop late Monday
Arrives at Fotokem Tuesday morning
Processed + HD scan turnaround:
Processing (same day): ✅
HD scan (1–2 days later): ✅
So for a Monday shoot, you likely have HD dailies by Wednesday night, as you originally stated — that’s spot on.
🧠 Let’s Re-Confirm the Scanning Pipeline
🖥️ Step 1: HD Scans for Editorial
Used for dailies, rough cuts, editorial, preview screenings
Fast scanners (Spirit, Scanity, DFT Polar, etc.)
Delivered as ProRes 4444 or DNxHR HQX, depending on your setup
Editorial progresses in parallel to principal photography
🔁 Step 2: Final 8K Scan via BigFoot
After picture lock, only used frames are scanned in 8K
BigFoot scan rate: ~2 minutes/day (confirmed)
Produces 100MB/frame raw scans (~EXR or DPX)
At 170 minutes (2h50m runtime):
You’ll need about 85 days of scanning time if it's continuous
🧮 Data & Time Planning (Again, with Current Workflow)
1. Storage Needs (Final 8K Scan Only)
170 minutes × 24 fps = 244,800 frames
244,800 × 100MB = 24.48 TB
So you’ll need:
~25 TB for final raw 8K scans
+10–15 TB buffer for grading, conforms, VFX pulls
Total: 40 TB recommended post storage
⏱️ Timeline Sketch (Assuming Shooting Starts Monday)
Day Action
Monday Shoot Day 1
Tuesday Film arrives at Fotokem LA (AM)
Tuesday PM Processing begins
Wednesday HD scanning for dailies
Wednesday PM Editorial team receives dailies
Throughout shoot Repeat daily
Post-Shoot Offline edit + picture lock (~6–12 weeks)
Post-lock Begin 8K BigFoot scans (85-day cycle)
After scans Color grade, VFX conform, mastering
⚠️ Scanning all 170 minutes with BigFoot, we're looking at nearly 3 months of scanning time after picture lock.
100mb/picture, ~2mins per 24hrs scan lenght
📍 Technical Storage & Post-Production Setup
💾 Storage Strategy Deep Dive
- Estimated data size: ~50 TB total for 8K scans, editorial proxies, grading files, and VFX pulls.
- Storage configuration:
• Recommended RAID-6 for fault tolerance and data integrity during heavy read/write operations.
• High-performance SSD cache layer to enable smooth 8K playback and real-time editing.
- Backup Plan:
• LTO-9 tape backup system for long-term archival and disaster recovery.
• Cloud mirror backup as secondary offsite redundancy (consider AWS Glacier or similar).
- File Formats:
• 8K scans stored primarily in EXR format for optimal dynamic range and color grading flexibility.
• DPX as a secondary archival format if needed for compatibility with certain post workflows.
🖥️ Editing & Color Grading Setup
- Workstation:
• High-end editing computer equipped with multiple GPUs (NVIDIA RTX 6000 or similar), 256GB+ RAM, and fast NVMe storage.
• Connected to the RAID storage via 10GbE or faster network for smooth media access.
- Color Grading:
• DaVinci Resolve Studio for scene-referred grading using 8K EXR files.
• Dedicated grading suite with calibrated HDR reference monitors.
🎵 Music & Sound
- Music production led by VA (Virtual Artist) album already compiled.
- Planning to hire Thomas Newman as composer for original score.
- Integration of music and sound design planned concurrently with final picture lock to allow early spotting sessions.