American cinematographer. (1943)

IT'S FUN TO DEVELOP AND PRINT YOUR MOVIES By JAMES R. OSWALD T HE ardent home movie maker like h's co-hobbyist, the still photog¬ rapher, should not consider himself a veteran in the field until he has tried a hand at developing his own pictures. A little knowledge of what goes on between the time the exposed film leaves the camera and is threaded into the pro¬ jector, ready to show, does nobody any harm. “But,” you say, “Movie film is much more difficult to develop than ordinary roll film, isn’t it? Besides, why should an amateur take the time and trouble and run the risk of doing his own developing, when the processing cost is included in the prce of the film, which will be fin¬ ished bv the laboratory without further charge ?” The answer to the first question is definitely, no. Fundamentally, the dark¬ room procedure for handling movies is quite the same as with still pictures, and anyone already acquainted with the prin- c'ples of developing will have little diffi¬ culty in this respect. Because movie film is necessarily so much longer than roll film it is not advisable to try to handle long lengths though, unless a special rack is made or purchased, capa¬ ble of accommodating more film. There are many such fine outfits on the market at reasonable prices, but best wait until you see how much home processing ap¬ peals to you before investing in one of these. I WILL say at this time that the job requires patience! As for the reason for an amateur to take the t : me and trouble and run the risk of doing his own developing, when the processing cost is included in the price of the film, which will be finished by the laboratory without further charge . . . there IS a point there! All I can say in answer to THIS query is that home processing is not pract ; cal from such a viewpoint. This article is intended for the curious, serious-minded person, who likes to learn what makes things “tick,” especially so far as his movie making hobby is concerned. Other read¬ ers, not so inclined, will do well to stop reading right here, as it is a sheer waste of time to continue any farther. There are many discouragements and disap¬ pointments in home processing and, as stated before, it requires almost unlimited patience, to do the work successfully. It is a job preferably for the advanced amateur, bent on seeing the process through successfully. Any one taking the time and effort to do this will be amply rewarded by the pleasure and satisfaction derived from knowing that the movies he projected are the result of his own work, ALL THE WAY THROUGH. Now to continue with the method of procedure. As mentioned in the preced¬ ing paragraph, it is false economy to home-process the regular reversal film which is handled by the film manufactur¬ er’s laboratory. As most everyone knows, this type of film is first developed to a negative, comparable to snapshot nega¬ tive, and then REVERSED to a positive print for projection . . . hence the name REVERSAL film. This method is the most popular for the home movie fan be¬ cause the same film is eventually run through the projector as was run through the camera. Needless to say, this reduces the cost because only half the footage ;s required as would be were the print made on a different film, comparable to a snap¬ shot print on paper. If many duplicates are to be made, however, the negative-positive (2 films) system has the advantage. In this method the negative is run through a printing machine in contact with an unexposed positive film, thereby making a print for projection. This positive film is very cheap, compared to the regular type, and is extremely fine grained and has high contrast. For these reasons it is ideally suited for home experimenting, using a camera or projector as the printer, which we shall discuss later. All theatrical re¬ leases are prints from a master nega¬ tive, as many copies must be distributed throughout the country. The master neg¬ ative is afterwards safely stored away in the studio for future use. Because of the intensely complicated manner in which Kodachrome must be processed, it is absolutely out of the question to even consider carrying on this procedure at home, even if one has the ambition to do so. As referred to a short while ago, your own movie camera, or projector, will serve as a printer for making duplicate copies of favorite scenes. I prefer to use the CAMERA, since it is already light¬ tight and hence only the loading oper¬ ation need be carried on in the dark¬ room. The projector has the advantage of accommodating longer lengths of film, but it is wiser and less costly, to conduct experiments on a smaller scale anyway, at least until the technique is mastered. Also mentioned before was the fact that POSITIVE film is ideally suited for home experimenting. Although there are many other fine types of moderately priced films on the market equally suitable for home-processing, which includes regular NEGATIVE stock, the aforementioned POSITIVE tvpe film remains the lowest in price, costing approximately one cent (Continued on Page 446) Top, a flat developing rack fils in standard siie tray, and holds 25 feet of 14 or double 8mm. film. Next, the film is wound spirally around the rack. Adjoining film loops should be kept from overlapping by pins or grooves. Third from top: a contact print is made by threading the two films in the camera, emulsion to emulsion, with the shiny side of the raw film facing back of camera. Bottom, making titles by straight development. 444 December, 1943 • American Cinematographer