How to load 35mm camera?

[Christian Appelt]

eddiefruchter, may I suggest that you get a book about basic cinematography, most of your questions are explained here:

 

CinematographyCamera Assistant's Manual

 

Practical cinematography

 

Basic Motion Picture Technology

 

 

But the best book, a classic that will answer almost any filmmaking tech question is here:

 

INDEPENDENT FILMMAKING on eBay

 

$3.99 for solutions to a thousand and one tricky problems sounds reasonable, doesn't it? ;)

 

 

For every basic question that gets answered on this forum two new ones will turn up, so I would recommend some reading before you start. Chances are that a good library will have some classic books on film tech subjects, too.

[Laurent Andrieux]

You also have 16mm cartridges.

 

The best way to learn how to load a mag is to 1) being showed by someone who knows (loader, 1st ac or rental), and can tell you tips and tricks. Practice in the light with an old bit of flashed film with perfect perfs anyhow. When you are used to do it without looking at what you're doing, begin practicing in the changing (charging ?) bag, still with the old bit of film. When you get perfectly used to it, you're good for trying to do it as fast as you can if you want to work as a loader !

[Max Jacoby]

True, but most people using Arri cameras are not using the Arricams (yet).

Maybe in the States, but in Europe Arricams are quite popular. Especially the Arricam LT is 'de rigeur' if you need a lightweight camera that can also handle sync sound situations. The last 3 features I did all had at least one LT.

[John Pytlak RIP]

Here is information about proper film storage:

 

http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/support/...rage_cond.jhtml

 

Generally, professional motion picture films should be stored in their original packaging in refrigerated conditions, and warmed up just before use. A few days or even weeks at room temperature will not hurt, but leaving film in a very hot automobile or truck can cause unwanted changes in the image. Film should be processed as soon as practical after exposure, or kept cool until it is processed.

 

Recans and short ends are excess film that was not used on a production. They can be a good way to save money, but there is risk that they were not stored or handled properly.

[Nate Downes]

I've loaded 16mm cams w/o problem. Only one incident, but that was due in the end to faulty film stock. (it was older than methuselah, was being used only to test the camera) I do not see any issues with loading a 35mm.

[Mitch Gross]

Phil,

 

You have to know deep inside that you're really overstating the issues with loading filmstock into mags. I've trained countless students and interns to do this on a variety of cameras and it generally just takes a couple of test runs to do it right. Use some junk film to try it out and have someone check the loading. They are designed to be simple so that a person can do it quickly in total darkness. On most mags any proceedure that takes careful placement or adjusting can be done in full daylight and it's still pretty simple. And if there really does need to be a complicated part on a particular camera design then that is usually in the camera threading itself--the mag is usually quite simple.

 

The first time I saw the inside of a Panaflex I was a bit dazzled by all the kibble & bits, but once I tried it a couple of times the threading was quite simple. I've seen some high speed cameras that are quite torturous to load, and they have to be throroughly cleaned out after every roll of film. The Aaton 35-3 and the A-minima mags are a bit counter-intuitive so one needs to load a few mags to get used to them. But they are not particularly complicated at all.

 

Yes, the A-minima runs a bit loud. But not as loud as some beat up Arri SRs I've been handed.

[Christian Appelt]

When it comes to loading mags, remember the words of F. D. Roosevelt:

"We have nothing to fear but fear itself."

 

Loading mags is a bit scary because all creative work that goes into making a film will end up in that magic box, on a vulnerable piece of plastic (you don't want to think about hard drives or video tapes...). For beginners, I would recommend:

 

1. Get accustomed to the mags. Really accustomed. Don't stop at the way to thread film, look at the mag and try to find out what the guy who designed it had in mind. Feel the details - how strong should that spring-load be, how does the lock snap in place?

Then thread in full light with old film stock. When you feel sure you know how it should be done...

 

2. ... do it again in the dark. Feels different, doesn't it? Thread the film, then try to get a tactile image of critical points (like loop size with mags that have loop forming gear). Follow the film from feed core to takeup core. Seems okay? Then turn on the light and check it again.

 

3. Do it again and again, spend an evening threading and unthreading that magazine. The time taken will pay off next time you sit in a makeshift darkroom on location or try to reload a mag in a changing tent during a rainstorm.

 

4. Load your mag with discarded raw stock (old neg stock is fine) and run it on camera. get to know what sounds right and what does not, especially with MOS cameras like Arri 2C or Konvas. There's a difference between just noisy and something to worry about.

 

5. When you load a mag, have a clear layout of everything you need (cores, scissors, mag lids, adhesive tape or whatever) so you will find it in total darkness.

 

6. Work clean, don't smoke, don't eat or drink, do things step by step and one at a time. Don't let nobody rush you, there's no excuse for defects or unusable images caused by improper loading.

 

All this sounds funny, but I have seen more than one aspiring filmmaker getting himself in trouble because he thought it would all turn out good without any effort. It didn't, but it is really easy to avoid most of the problems without being a genius. Just try to be a professional! ;)

[Phil Rhodes]

Hi,

 

> there's no excuse for defects or unusable images caused by improper loading.

 

Well, there is. You can't see what you're doing. You have no real idea if it's right until you get the rushes.

 

In that vein I got some super-8 back today that I shot in LA and Vegas around NAB; there does actually seem to be an image on it, including some rather aged Ektachrome (thanks, Bill!) but I'll have to wait and see what the camera jam problems did.

 

Phil

[David Mullen ASC]

Yeah, but it is so straight-forward -- nobody nervously waits for the lab to tell them if they loaded the camera correctly. That part can generally be assumed. If you drop a hammer over and over again, you don't have to look to see if it hit the ground each time because odds are high that it did. Even back when I was loading my own cameras, I was more worried about if I was exposing the image correctly, not loading the film correctly - because generally when you load something incorrectly, you quickly find out.

 

With all the real complexities of moviemaking to worry about, I think you've got better things to lose sleep over than whether you'll manage to load the film into the mag correctly. That's WAY down on my list of daily worries. Probably higher up on the list for my film loader, but then, there's not much else for them to think about other than inventory, etc. I just finished seven weeks of shooting with a loader who was an intern -- his only previous film job was in a production office -- and he did fine. And I doubt that every hour of those seven weeks, he was cursing how complicated it was to load that Panavision mag!

[DanStewart]

A friend of mine is a doctor. Imagine checking a patient for symptoms and thinking every day 'oh my god am I missing something here, are they going to keel over on the way home from the hospital?'!

Somethings you just get good at because you have to and then you stop worrying about it.

[eddiefruchter]

You see,

 

You can't find this banter in a book, man

[nykvist_fan]

I first loaded a mag when I was just a kid and hanging around a set my father worked on. I've probably loaded over 7500 of them, easy. With enough practice, it becomes second nature. And John's comments on short ends are not to be underestimated.

[Phil Rhodes]

Hi,

 

Ah yes the old "father in the business" standby. No wonder I'm going nowhere!

 

Phil

[nykvist_fan]

Phil,

 

All you need is a video camera and an interesting subject. That's all it takes. A friend of mine shot a documentary with the XL1 that I loaned him and wound up with a $50,000 grant to work on his next film. Talent above all else

[Nate Downes]

Phil,

 

All you need is a video camera and an interesting subject. That's all it takes. A friend of mine shot a documentary with the XL1 that I loaned him and wound up with a $50,000 grant to work on his next film. Talent above all else

does not even have to be video, Super8 cameras can be gotten for pretty cheap nowadays and the film isn't too pricy (under $15 a roll for kodachrome w/ processing included)

[nykvist_fan]

Super 8 is wonderful to cut one's teeth on. I started in still photography, and consider it a prerequisite for people who want to learn. Any community college in the U.S teaches photography classes. Even if you don't study theory, working with the actual stuff does much more than reading a book. Of course, read the book first.

[Phil Rhodes]

Hi,

 

> Talent above all else

 

Balls. Contacts above all else.

 

The thing I find most frustrating about the freelance work sitaution, particularly in the UK, is that it is far from a meritocracy. Substandard work, work which even at my level of experience I arrogantly assert that I could better, is seen prominently all the time because of this. I may be a awful lighting cameraman; alternatively I may be an absolutely outstanding one, but it doesn't make any difference.

 

Phil

[John Sprung]

get to learn the knack of tearing off the film at a perforation

Back when I was doing this, I'd cut the loop with ordinary scissors before I put the mag in the bag. No skill at all required, and a perfect cut end on both the exposed film and the short end. You just want to keep the scissors and the bag away from each other.

 

As for having to do this under pressure with the whole shoot waiting, all you have to do to prevent that is stay on top of your job. When a mag comes off the camera, change it.

 

 

 

-- J.S.

[Max Jacoby]

As for having to do this under pressure with the whole shoot waiting, all you have to do to prevent that is stay on top of your job.  When a mag comes off the camera, change it. 

I always like to have at least 2 loaded mags ready. In case you need to change mags and something goes wrong with lacing up the new one (like a torn perf), you always have a backup. You never want the whole set waiting for a new mag.

[IngmarRosengaard]

One cannot learn how to load a camera over the internet.