After my recent post Crossroads, I had several emails and inquiries about the cost of shooting with film.

For Crossroads I shot with a demo of the new Arriflex 235 with a 60 Magazine. I also had a backup Sony EX3 HD Video Camera shooting in tandem.  

Renting a 35mm camera will run you between 300 to 500 per day.

Average Cost For Film:
400ft = 11min at 24fps
400ft kodak color neg film = $80

6 cans of 400ft (2400feet = 66min) @ $80/can = $480

Processing:
2400 feet @ .16 / foot = $384
So you’re looking at roughly $865 to shoot and process 66 min of 16mm or 35mm film.

This shoot I’m using: 400ft of Kodak Vision2 250D 7205 Color Neg which ran me about $95. Im processing myself in a very very primitive way, which is to save on the project. I will say that scanning and developing at home sucks. It is time consuming, hard to do, and dust is always a problem.

Ways to save some cash – Buy short ends or recans of film. Always cheaper than retail reels, but not always easy to track down. 35mm will probably be easier to find than 16mm in short ends.