Creating that 'End of a roll' effect

[grant mcphee]

Hi,

 

I didn't post this in the 'effects' forum as I'm specifically wanting to do this in 16mm.

 

I'd like to create an in camera effect like the burnt out look you get at the end of 100' loads. I'm not really sure how to explain it very well - the film goes orange and fades to white (so I'm assuming that it is caused by fogging due to the loading and unloading of 100' rolls in daylight)

 

I want to do this in the middle of a roll rather than the end.

 

I'd like to try this probably on an old BL and possibly on a non-reflex bolex.

 

How would I go about it?

 

I thought maybe taking my eye off the eyepiece for a second but don't want to run the risk of fogging the whole roll.

 

Is it specific to reversal or would it be different on neg?

 

Any ideas?

 

Thanks,

 

Grant

[timHealy]

It is easy to get that burnt out look, but it often comes from the end or beginning of a roll. Specifically a roll of film on a daylight loading spool. A few layers of film gets exposed as one reloads. Since it is only a few layers you can get the sprocket holes as well. It may be harder to do on a 400 foot roll that is not on a daylight loading spool.

 

What kind of effect are you going for?

 

Light going back through the viewfinder won't create exactly the same look.

 

You could simulate the effect by unwinding a roll just loosely in a blacked out room and then hit it with a flashlight momentarily. I would hit it with the light oalong the same plane as the roll or just off so that you can get the sprokets holes in the burnt out image.

 

Best

 

Tim

 

PS Art Beats sell some clip with this type of film burn out if you don't want to recreate it yourself.

Edited April 26, 2007 by timHealy

[David Sweetman]

Maybe spool-down your 100' roll to two 50' rolls, and just go with the real roll-out?

[Leo Anthony Vale]

If you're finishing in video key an actual "runout" of otherwise unexposed film over the scene.

 

 

Back in reversal days you probably could have put a runout on the B roll.

When it came to supering titles and other odd things A&B roll reversal had it's advantages.

[Pawel Saladziak]

If you are going to edit the shot digitally, and print it back on film, I can do this effect for you free of charge on my flame effect system, its very simple optical simulation

 

regards

 

Pawel

[Will Montgomery]

Here's a complete trial and error method. Just try opening the film compartment while slightly shading the camera after you've shot your scene. Not recommended for Super 16 because there's a good chance you'll expose the edge of the film where the Super 16 goes into. Try running the film on a slower speed and slowly opening the film compartment (or kinda open and close while the film is running...). This will give you a very unique end-of-film effect. You should probably get at least one take of the scene in the can and safe before you try this very unprofesional approach but what the heck.

 

I once worked with a sound engineer that did an amazing phlange effect in one section of a song by copying the mix to a 1/2" stereo deck, manually syncing it up perfectly then slightly touching the reels as they played to manually move it ever so slightly out of phase. I kinda think of this "old school analog" audio technique as similar to what I just described for film... a little voodoo and experience and you'll never get the same thing twice.

[Kenny N Suleimanagich]

It's not really an "end of roll" effect, but in the 1971 film Two-Lane Blacktop, the film ends with like a burn out end of roll. It's actually really interesting.

[Anthony Schilling]

Just take the side cover off. Or you can cut the actuall end of the roll in NLE and pull it into your scene as a dissolve... i've done it a few times and it looks pretty cool.