how long can (not should) I wait to process?

[Elliot Loewenstein]

Thank you in advance to all who can offer guidance. I am in the Virgin Islands and making a short film, largely on my own and using my own money. I understand that film chemically breaks down the longer it is out of the factory, and even faster after it has been exposed. However, because my funds and resources are very limited, I am inclined to shoot over the course of two weeks before sending the film into the lab. I generally shoot once a week, on the weekend, and may only shoot 150 feet during that time. Hence, the cost of shipping, minimum cost to process, and the rate at which I go through cans, bags, and cores (not readily available here and everything is expensive to ship in), adds up. If I could shoot on a weekend, leave what's left of the 400 foot roll in the mag., and shoot again on the same roll the next weekend, as well, it would make things much easier on me. My question is, basically, can I let my exposed film sit for a week and a few days at air-conditioned room temperature (roughly 70 degrees), without worrying about how much I am damaging the image?

 

Again, thank you for taking the time to help.

 

Elliot Loewenstein

[John Ealer]

Given the sceanrio and budget you describe, if you keep your film in a cool, dry place, you shouldn't have any problems waiting for a couple of weeks.

 

If you do keep the film in the mag, though, make sure it's in a darkened environment to avoid any possibility of small light leaks building up into edge fogging or the like.

 

J

[JONATHANEDWARDS]

Most labs give away cans, cores and bags to there customers for free as they are normally happy to get rid of them.

 

I also too would suggest to avoid leaving film in mags even over night its just a bad practice. But the reason given above is a good one.

 

Don't worry too much about the film , i once worked on a short were after we wrapped it took six months to get funds to process it and all that time it sat in the filmmakers freezer. i was soo worried about the film after the first three month and was vary surprised to see the results come back unaffected. :lol:

[John Pytlak RIP]

Here is Kodak information about recommended storage conditions for unprocessed film:

 

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

 

If you keep the film cool and dry, a few weeks storage should produce negligible change in the image, which should easily be correctable by normal timing/grading. I agree, leaving film in the camera or magazine could be subject to fogging from a tiny light leak, but you could keep the them in a dark case or box if you didn't want to unload. Beware of "core set", where the film will "remember" the tight loops in the camera -- slowly advance the camera a bit to avoid snapping the film during a fast start, or a slight focus shift if the film became curled while left wrapped tightly around a sprocket or in a loop.

[Elliot Loewenstein]

Thank you Atavist, Jonathan Edwards and John Pytlak. I will wait the week, worry less, keep the mags in a dark box, and move the film slowly at first.

 

Anyone have an opinion on whether it is better to put film back into the refrigerator, from where it was removed for shooting but ended up not being used, or is the continual change in temperature and threat of condensation equal or worse to the decomposition of the rawstock kept in a less cool environment? This for film in cans and the plastic boxes of daylight spools.

[John Ealer]

Personally, I wouldn't keep taking the film in and out of the fridge due to the potential problems from condensation. Only put the film in there that you know is going to be there for an extended period of time, maybe over a month or so.

 

J

[John Pytlak RIP]

I agree. "Cycling" the film in and out of cold storage may introduce issues of condensation or roll loosening. Storing unexposed film for a few weeks at room temperature is usually fine. If you do refrigerate film, be sure it is in the original sealed packaging, or that you equilibrate the film to lower humidity before you seal it in a can. Using film in a tropical (humid) environment adds moisture to the film, which may condense if the film is refrigerated or frozen without equilibrating it to a drier condition.

[Dominic Case]

Some years ago, I found a still camera that had been my father's. There was a film in it. When I had it processed, I found photos taken over the last 4 years of his life - (obviously he was a fairly frugal user of film, and -sadly- not much happened that warranted a shot). They were all in perfect condition. No special storage, and I guess the camera had been in and out of the car glove box and other places a few times.

 

Certainly, matching shots in motion picture is more demanding than matching stil frames; and I believe consumer film is designed to be a little more forgiving to latent image fade (John?) because people do this sort of thing. But still, I don't think you need be too concerned about a few days or weeks, provided you follow the good advice you've got here.