New Fresh Kodak Vision3 and ECN-2 Chemistry from FlicFilm

Canadian film cassette manufacturer, FlicFilm, has introduced Vision3 cine film in still format along with ECN-2 chemistry to create the perfect pairing for consistent and top quality color film results.

FlicFilm uses fresh film direct from Eastman Kodak Company and loads into recyclable 35mm cassettes with machines that can handle the 1000’ rolls sent from Kodak without breaking them down further. This means the fresh film is disturbed as little as possible when finishing into the 35mm canisters.

David Marshall, President of FlicFilm, runs an analogue camera store called the Film Experience Camera Store. His story with Vision3 started when a customer of the store asked if he would supply Cinestill 800T.

“When I called them [Cinestill], they didn’t have inventory and couldn’t give me a time when they would so I bought some unadulterated Vision3 from Freestyle and gave it a whirl, developing with C-41” – Dave Marshall, FlicFilm

However, he says he was not happy with the initial results, “I used a Remjet removal prebath, which was fine, but the color temperatures were off by about 400 degrees Kelvin and the acuity was pretty poor. I had read similar complaints about the Cinestill film, though there are many fans as well. Vision3 is a movie film and the movies that have been shot with it look incredible so it was pretty obvious that cross-processing the film was not good. I dug around for formulas and did some experimenting with blending ECN-2 chemistry until I came up with a set of formulas very close to what the movie production houses use. The results I came up with were incredible.”

For his personal work, Dave says he usually uses medium format. 35mm was only to test new film stocks. But the experiments with 35mm Vision3 changed his mind.

He says, “The 50D stock is able to be printed 24″ X 26″ with superb results. Knowing that I would shoot a lot of this, and being relatively sure I didn’t want to pack around my hefty Nikon F5 a whole lot, I bought an F6 (just before Nikon ran out of them). With a credible formula in hand and the ability to produce home kits in volume, it was time to bring on the film.”

There are a few companies that have already been selling Vision3 in the film market. Dave explains this is usually done by buying bigger roll ends from the movie industry and hand rolling into 35mm canisters using bulk loaders that can be limited in the size roll they can fit. He mentions that the movie film can be beaten up in breaking down and handling the rolls and often the freshness is unknown.

So what was his solution?

Dave says, “I had two machines built that are a direct load of 1000′ reels, the only handling being the initial few inches of film. We then use machines to wind and finish the film with a minimal amount of human contact and a high degree of consistency.”

From being an almost exclusive medium format shooter, Dave’s turnaround to 35mm film with Vision3 is energizing, especially when he is creating this product for the market to enjoy as well. His description of Vision3 would practically make any film enthusiast salivate, “Vision3 is probably the finest all around color film available. It has the contrast of Ektar, the skin tones of Portra (and a bit better again) and the depth and saturation of Ektachrome. Our contribution is providing the correct developer and high quality consistent film stock.”

Find out where to buy FlicFilm’s Vision3 and chemistry from their website here. They have a UK distributor, Silverprint, where folks on the opposite side of the “pond” and worldwide can order from.

In addition to the Vision3, you can also find Kodak Double-X available from FlicFilm as well as the chemistry they recommend to process it.

Check out FlicFilm’s Youtube Channel and Instagram for more images taken with their available films!

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