ColinTyler

It is popular in New Zealand to breakdown 400ft rolls onto A-Minima spools, (a 400ft roll is cheaper than two A-Minima rolls). The stock needs to be wound twice to keep the perfs on the correct side and you must make sure the Emulsion is up (base down on the spool) The main problem is getting enough empty spools!.

Try and get to see the film 'Forgotten Silver' by Peter Jackson (the LOTR Man). This film used a lot of new material which the lab turned into all kinds of old movie footage. When we had to make a 'old nitrate' film look we duped the shots onto B&W 16mm, then optically blown up to 35mm, skipping and adding frames to alter the speed. The exposure was also altered during the optical printing. Once this was processed Acid was dripped onto the film and left over night, the next morning we the reduped this again. It was all hit a miss but we finally got the effect. It was very costly and messy. Which could be why Peter Jackson ended up buying the same Lab same years later?. These days he would do it on a computer!.

The Green film is a processing machine leader, it is used on feed the film through the machine. It looks like the top of the racks that hold the film in the chemicals.

A client has just brought into the Lab a Bell and Howell 16mm camera which has a metal magazine loaded with Kodachrome type 'jour'. Is there a lab in the US that can process this film stock?. Thanks

The circles are done by hand (in NZ anyway). The lab has a small solid base which holds 4 frames and a round scraper is inserted into each hole and the film emulsion is scraped off. For bulk printing it can be done to the Int/Pos and then when extra negatives are made these don't need to be made on every print. There are two sets of four holes, the first set is 12 feet from the end of the roll, the second is 22 frames from the end of the reel. Which should give the projectionist time to start the second projector and then do the change over to the next reel.

It would be hard to believe that a motion picture lab could fog half a roll of film. If the can was opened in the light then there should be evidence of fogging across the whole roll. If there was a dark room problem then even more footage (multiple rolls) would have been effected and not only on the edges of the film. If the lab look at the scratch they should be able to tell you if the base or Emulsion was damaged. If it was the emulsion has it 'healed' over and the film is smooth, (possibly pre or during processing). Is it sharp edged and deep (possibly post processing). Could there be a build up of emulsion in the magazine?. Does the damage start with a gate check or camera stop? Colin Tyler www.filmlab.co.nz www.filmpost.co.nz