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Accidentally Exposing a Mag


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Had my first accident last week on a college grad shoot when, in a tired state I accidentally opened & exposed a mag that I had just loaded with a roll of 7231. Very embarrassing but everything worked out OK.

 

I'm just curious, if we were to get that roll developed - would it be just the edge of the frame that was flashed? Or would the whole frame be fogged?

 

(I searched for a similar tread but found none, in-spite of the fact I'm sure this has been mentioned & asked before)

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Did you flash already exposed film or unexposed raw film? If it was exposed, it depends how much light and how long you had the door open. I flashed an exposed roll once in the dark room on the truck(immediately told all that needed to be told) for about a second. It was fine, no problem whatsoever.

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Lucky it was raw stock and not an exposed roll!

 

It would depend on how much ambient light was around, what the ASA of the stock was, how wide the mag door swung open, and for how long. I had the same experience as Michael in the camera truck darkroom - my phone rang while I was loading a mag and I stupidly removed it from its holster and opened it for a second before I realized what I had done. Anyway, I let the 1st and 2nd know right away, and they said it was fine so we shot with it anyway. Saw the commercial later on tv so I guess it was usable.

Edited by Satsuki Murashige
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You didn't flash it, not tell anyone and let them shoot it did you?

No, no, no! Like l said, I immediately let the 1st and 2nd ACs know right away and they made the call that it was still good to use. I was kinda surprised that they wanted to use it since there was plenty of raw stock still on the truck, but it was their decision not mine.

 

*Wasn't sure if you were talking to me Michael, but just wanted to get that out there!

Edited by Satsuki Murashige
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Never had that happen, but the right thing to do would be to can it back up and put a note on it. Use other stock for the rest of the day. Then when you get some time, cut about 20 ft. off the head and send it to the lab for develop only. Based on that test, you can decide whether it's usable for shooting, or only for scratch tests.

 

 

 

 

-- J.S.

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If it was just a flash it should be fine, perhaps the flash on the edges would be bleeding onto the frame, who knows. It also depends on the intensity of the light falling on the mag, if it was direct noon sunlight vs shaded inside of camera truck, and for how long, etc. Generally speaking, film rolls are packed very tight so if there is lateral flash, it will only travel so far into the image part of the roll. Like I said, it really depends on many variables and generally it is something to avoid doing, obviously.

Edited by Saul Rodgar
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As long as you close the door real fast you should be ok. Light seeps in as a roll is flashed. It starts on the outside and works its way in so it has to go through the perf area and the outside. A fresh roll is wound tighter than an exposed roll which flashes faster. The most important thing to do when you flash a roll is to close the door as fast as you can.

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Coincidently, it happened to me about two weeks ago as well, but with 7222, unexposed raw film, in moderately dimmed room and I closed the magazine really fast. I got the film back from the lab a few days ago and it was 100% fine.

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Thanks for the replies guys!

 

Lucky it was raw stock and not an exposed roll!

 

It would depend on how much ambient light was around, what the ASA of the stock was, how wide the mag door swung open, and for how long.

 

80ASA 7231, overhead fluorescent, mostly shielded by the mag door - So maybe not so bad.

 

I should explain, in the event of reshoots being needed I'm sure the director (who is also the producer & financier) would prefer being able to use that roll as opposed to buying another - even if it is only €55 with a student discount. I already suggested getting a clip test done (as John suggested), but not sure they heard what I was saying.

 

 

You didn't flash it, not tell anyone and let them shoot it did you?

No, no - Told everyone that needed to know, marked & set it aside.

 

Throw it out, or use it as a dummy roll.

 

 

The bummer is when it is a roll you already exposed. . .

 

Hope that'll never happen, thats surely grounds for a career (or name) change... or at least a few stuff drinks.

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Had my first accident last week on a college grad shoot when, in a tired state I accidentally opened & exposed a mag that I had just loaded with a roll of 7231. Very embarrassing but everything worked out OK.

 

I'm just curious, if we were to get that roll developed - would it be just the edge of the frame that was flashed? Or would the whole frame be fogged?

 

(I searched for a similar tread but found none, in-spite of the fact I'm sure this has been mentioned & asked before)

 

As they say there are two types of loader: The one who has flashed a mag and the one who will.

 

Take care, Andy

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