How to respool for bolex...

Aqmal Hadi · February 23, 2006

...other than chucking everything into a changing bag and doing it manually? Is it a good decision to buy 400's worth of film and then rewinding em into a daylight spool? Or is there an accessory i could buy to do this task?

(btw, sorry if this is in the wrong forum, but since i thought its for the bolex, maybe i could post it here)

Steven Budden · February 23, 2006

...other than chucking everything into a changing bag and doing it manually? Is it a good decision to buy 400's worth of film and then rewinding em into a daylight spool? Or is there an accessory i could buy to do this task?

(btw, sorry if this is in the wrong forum, but since i thought its for the bolex, maybe i could post it here)

Wow that sounds like it would take forever and endanger the emulsion. How much would the savings be? Black and white or color?

Steven

February 23, 2006

I've noticed that old-school editing equipment is inexpensive now that non-linear editing is the norm. I haven't tried it yet, but one of these days I'm going to buy a pair of rewinds and some split reels and set up a bench in my closet. I don't see any reason why I couldn't spool off 100' loads for my Bolex from 400' loads on cores. I know that I have to work in complete darkness (duh) and work carefully - my biggest concern is picking up dust. If I ever obtain a 200' magazine for my ACL, I'd like to try making 200' loads on daylight spools for it too.

John Pytlak RIP · February 23, 2006

When respooling film:

1. Pay attention to orientation. You need to rewind once before spooling down, to keep the KODAK KEYKODE numbers going in the right direction.

2. Cleanliness is next to godliness. Clean your darkroom. A fiber picked up on the film could become a "hair in the gate".

3. Control static. Ground yourself and the rewinds to prevent buildup of static charge. Maintain a relative humidity of 50 to 60 percent. Wind slowly, and without allowing the film to slip.

4. Don't scratch the film, rub the film, or touch the image area.

5. Use TOTAL darkness. Even the flashing status light on your cell phone could fog the film. "Safelights" aren't safe for camera films.

February 23, 2006

Thanks, John. When I used to do darkroom work we used anti-static brushes (I think they were mildly radioactive) on our negatives immediately before putting them into the enlarger. Do you think something like that would help in the fight against dust?

John Pytlak RIP · February 23, 2006

Thanks, John. When I used to do darkroom work we used anti-static brushes (I think they were mildly radioactive) on our negatives immediately before putting them into the enlarger. Do you think something like that would help in the fight against dust?

The brushes are not really easy to use while rewinding film. The raw stock is well protected against static buildup by its conductive backing layer. But there must be a path to ground though the rewinds and your grounded body. Just wind slowly, and with minimal slipping. Avoid bone dry low humidity when handling film.

Mark Dunn · February 24, 2006

It's not necessarily just a matter of cost. 7285 is not yet supplied in 100' loads in the UK so spooling down would be the only option if you wanted to shoot reversal after the demise of K40. IIRC the daylight spools have the film 'wobbled' from side to side when wound so the film itself acts as a light trap. You'd be ill advised to try to do this when respooling so loading requires even more subdued light than usual. And you don't get as much film; only two integral leaders instead of 8. So it's going to be more like a 90' spool.

February 24, 2006

There is a special room, very small, at Pgh Filmmakers, to break film down in. It is done all the time obviously. It is a little closet painted black with a light tight door. Two rewinds are all that is in it. It is called the breakdown room.

Michael Carter

now a actual student at Pittsburgh Filmmakers

John Pytlak RIP · February 24, 2006

If you have a set of rewinds, you can often use a windowless closet or bathroom as a makeshift darkroom if you use black tape or weatherstriping to seal around the door and any other possible light leaks. Let your eyes "dark adapt" and be sure the room has "total darkness". If you see ANYTHING, there is too much light, and you may fog the film.

Aqmal Hadi · February 28, 2006

thanks for the replies guys - im just wondering how feasible it is to do it because ive been checking on ebays and most of the bargains that are offered are 400' or less but more than a 100'.

btw, im a bit clueless on how to use a rewind - i know the concept but i dont know how it looks like, and how much one would cost on average. does it look something like this? Or this?

Mark Dunn · February 28, 2006

If the film is on a core you'll need a split spool like this http://www.screensound.gov.au/glossary.nsf...ol?OpenDocument

to hold it. Either of those rewinds would do but you need a pair, obviously. The small ones might not have enough bench clearance to take a 1000' split spool which I think is the smallest size.

John Pytlak RIP · February 28, 2006

If the film is on a core you'll need a split spool like this http://www.screensound.gov.au/glossary.nsf...ol?OpenDocument
to hold it. Either of those rewinds would do but you need a pair, obviously. The small ones might not have enough bench clearance to take a 1000' split spool which I think is the smallest size.

There are 400-foot "split spools" (flanges) available.

Clive Tobin · February 28, 2006

There are 400-foot "split spools" (flanges) available.

Your USA supplier will call these a "split reel" and they can be found on Ebay for less than the usual $50 list price.

A "flange" has only one side and is not recommended for newbies as it is only a slight improvement over running the film off the core with just your finger in the middle hole. :-)

Edited February 28, 2006 by clivetobin

John Pytlak RIP · February 28, 2006

Your USA supplier will call these a "split reel" and they can be found on Ebay for less than the usual $50 list price.

A "flange" has only one side and is not recommended for newbies as it is only a slight improvement over running the film off the core with just your finger in the middle hole. :-)

I've heard the term "flange" used for a split reel too:

http://store.christys.net/shop/product_inf...products_id=383 Rewind flange

http://store.christys.net/shop/product_inf...roducts_id=1395 Split reel

Marty Hamrick · February 28, 2006

I used to do this fairly regularly and basically, I'll just point to John Pytlak and say, "what he said".Not sure, though if it's really worth the risk of damage to the film,unless you get a really good deal on 400 foot rolls.If I'm not mistaken, 100 foot loads on 16mm daylight reels have an extra 6 feet or so to allow for threading waste, so you're actually making out better if you just buy 100 foot daylight loads to begin with.John am I correct?

Also too, if you end up with a bunch of empty 100 foot spools,they tend to stack up like cord wood and if they get dropped and bent, they're useless.

I only fooled with it when I got special deals on 400 foot loads.Otherwise it just wasn't worth the headache.