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A special report on Modern Cinema Laboratory from Kodak InCamera Magazine, January issue of 2009
Ten years on for Taiwanese Laboratory
Modern Cinema Laboratory is located in Taipei, Taiwan. Established in 1992, the laboratory was accredited with KODAK IMAGECARE Program membership in 1998.
Laboratory General Manager Shaun Chen said the IMAGECARE Program brought to Modern Cinema Laboratory a necessary and indispensable precision in procedures and results. "Before accreditation, the laboratory had been operating for quite a few years and some of our staff, while very experienced, were initially skeptical about seeking accreditation. However the Program's exacting standards and the obvious benefits of modifying procedures and devising highly detailed checklists quickly won them over."
Taiwan-based filmmaker Ho Wi-ding is one customer impressed by the laboratory's performance. "Filmmaking is a process involving many variables and risks," says the director. "When I choose a lab, consistency is always the key issue. A laboratory with strict quality control and consistently excellent results puts the filmmaker's mind at ease; I don't have to worry if the negative is in safe hands."
Modern Cinema Laboratory worked on Wi-ding's short film Respire which received the KODAK Discovery Award for Best Short Film at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival International Critics' Week. His next short, Summer Afternoon, also processed and printed at Modern, was selected for the 2008 Cannes Directors Fortnight. He is currently working on his debut feature film Taipei Sunday.
"A laboratory that is receptive to the filmmaker's questions contributes to the creative process," points out Wi-ding. "For instance, when I made my previous short film Respire, the cinematographer and I wanted to use bleach-bypass process on both the negative and the print. Neither we nor Modern Cinema Laboratory had used the process before. In fact, it was a first in Taiwan.
Modern embraced the challenge and supported us through the entire process of shooting extensive tests, production and postproduction. They knew we were taking chances but instead of suggesting 'safe' compromises, they were incredibly supportive of the look we were trying to achieve."
Ho Wi-ding adds that when working in an unfamiliar part of the world, Kodak is an instantly-recognized name. "Without the certification of Kodak ensuring quality, you have to choose a lab based on word-of-mouth, instinct and sometimes just luck. An accredited KODAK IMAGECARE Program lab means reliability in the filmmaking process that is full of variables."
Shaun Chen points out that "Our IMAGECARE Program procedures and records provide a reliable way of maintaining our company as a consistent service provider to our customers. We have customers from overseas such as cinematographer Philip Lovel who, along with Rolando Menardi, filmed the acclaimed documentary Typhoon Island (a joint-production between broadcasters BBC, German WDR, Austrian ORF and Taiwan Public Television Services) in Taiwan. Lovel contacted us early in preproduction, saying that he'd found us in the KODAK IMAGECARE Program member list. Being an accredited facility, he knew we'd be reliable, and he was more than happy with the results, which reaffirmed to him that he'd made the right decision by selecting an IMAGECARE Program accredited lab."
Modern Cinema Laboratory has recently finished the negative processing for local Taiwanese feature film The Island of Color Blind.
 Films in MODERN
Mei, Arvin Chen
35mm Short Film. Silver Bear, Berlin International Film Festival.
Doctor, Chung Mung-Hong
35mm Black-and-White Documentary. 2008 Taiwan International Documentary Festival.
Summer Afternoon, Wi Ding Ho
35mm Black-and-White Short Film. Directors' Fortnight, Cannes Film Festival.
Metamorphosis, Sim Seow Khee
Digital Film Out to 35mm Black-and-White Short Film. National Taiwan University of Arts thesis film.
Small Station, Lin Chien Ping
35mm Short Film. Silver Lion for the Best Short Film, Venice International Film Festival.
Respire, Wi Ding Ho
35mm Short Film. KODAK Discovery Award for Best Short Film. International Critics\' Week, Cannes Film Festival.
The Passage, Cheng Wen-Tang
35mm Feature Film. Tokyo International Film Festival.
Blue Cha Cha, Cheng Wen-Tang
35mm Feature Film. Golden Horse Awards, Best Original Score. Brussels International Film.
A Son, Cheng Wen-Tang
35mm Short Film. The 30th Golden Harvest Awards for outstanding short films.
Z046, Xu Fu Xiang
Super 16mm Short Film, Blow-Ups to 35mm. Short Film Production Grant, Government Information Office.
Rose, Viv Koh
Super 16mm Short Film, Blow-Ups to 35mm. Visiting short film from America.
Treasure Island, Charlene Shih
Digital Film Out to 35mm, Documentary.
Am I beautiful, Zou Wei Gang
Digital Film Out to 35mm, Animation. Short Film Production Grant, Government Information Office.
Pongso-No-Tao, Wang Jin Gui
35mm Feature Film. Closing Film for South Film Festival.
Wall-Passer, Hong Hong
35mm Feature Film. Taipei International Film Festival, Best Visual Effects. Tokyo International Film Festival.
Island Etude, En Chen
35mm Feature Film. Starting the trend of cycling around island in Taiwan.
Dragon Eye Congee, Zhang Guo Fu
35mm Feature Film. First film in Taiwan using a Digital Intermediate.
Do Over, Cheng Yu-Chieh
35mm Feature Film, Digital Intermediate. Venice Film Festival. Grand Prize, Taipei International Film Festival.
Exit 6, Lin Yu-Hsien
35mm Feature Film, Digital Intermediate.
The Pain of Others, Shu-Yu Lin
35mm Short Film. Golden Harvest Best Narrative Short.
Before Accident, Xu Yuan Zhong
35mm Short Film. Short Film Production Grant, Government Information Office.
Melancholy Forest, Wang Ming Xia
35mm Short Film. Montreal International Film Festival.
The Road in the Air
35mm Feature Film. International Film Festival Mannheim-Heidelberg. South Film Festival.
53 Flower House, Lai Bing Huan
Super 16mm Short Film, Blow-Ups to 35mm. Golden Harvest Awards and Golden Horse Awards nominees.
Drifting Paradise, Wang Chung-Hsiung
Super 16mm Feature Film, Blow-Ups to 35mm. Locarno International Film Festival.
Fly Out Blue, Shih Jack
2K animation files output to 35mm. Taipei International Film Festival Award. Golden Horse Awards, Best Short Film.
A fish with a Smile, Jay Shih, Lin Bo Liang, Allan Duan
2K animation files output to 35mm. The Special Prize of the Deutsches Kinderhilfswerk for best short film, Berlin International
Diva Viva, Mi-Sen Wu
35mm Black-and-White Feature Film. The 30th Golden Harvest Awards for outstanding short films.
Exotic Exoticism, Asio Liu
Short Film, Digital Blow-Ups to 35mm. Golden Harvest Awards and Golden Horse Awards nominees.
Contract Killer, Liao Ming Yi
Short Film, Digital Blow-Ups to 35mm. Golden Harvest Awards nominees.
Beyond the Arctic, Yang Li-chou
Documentary, Digital Blow-Ups to 35mm. Golden Horse Awards, Best Feature Documentary.
The Secret in the Wind, Wang Yen Ni
35mm Short Film. Golden Horse Awards, Best Short Film.
Summer\' s Tail, Cheng Wen-Tang
35mm Feature Film. Kaoshiung Film Festival. Tokyo International Film Festival.
The Song of Chatian Mountain, Yushan Huang
Feature Film, Digital Blow-Ups to 35mm. South Film Festival.
Jump Boys, Lin Yu-Hsien
Documentary, Digital Blow-Ups to 35mm.
Reflections, Yao Hung-I
Super 16mm Feature Film, Blow-Ups to 35mm. Nante Film Festival.
Father's Finger
35mm Short Film. Golden Harvest Awards, Best Narrative Film.
Amour-Legende, Mi-Sen Wu
35mm Feature Film. Platinum Award, Houston International Film Festival.
The Big Head, Xiao Hung Ling, Liu Yong Ming
2K Animation files output to 35mm. Golden Harvest Awards Nominee.
The Descent
Foreign Film Prints
March of the Penguins
Foreign Film Prints
The Fox and the Child
Foreign Film Prints
Quill
Foreign Film Prints
Doraemon The Movie 2007
Foreign Film Prints
Doraemon The Movie 25th
Foreign Film Prints
Doraemon The Movie 2006
Foreign Film Prints
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