[Konvas] loading BW film Bruce

Thu Mar 19 06:16:10 CDT 2009

You read my mind! I was going to make a little video of loading the big mags and offer it to the Konvas group... I'd like to see the one you'd make. It'd be a great asset.

I'd love to take you up on the offer of lightstruck film; I can reciprocate with a starbucks coffee card if that works for ya?

Brandon Esten, C/O Shan Ruiz
304 Bungalow Dr. Apt. B
El Segundo, CA 
90245

Thanks!
B

Sent from my iPhonen

On Mar 19, 2009, at 0:57, Bruce Taylor <taylorcobmw at yahoo.com> wrote:

Brandon,

Adam is using the term "leader" as I use the term "dummy load," and what both of us really means is waste film, raw film that has been struck by light (lightstruck), or too old, stored improperly, etc. In other words the film is dimensionally correct and clean but not usable for shooting purposes. I always and up with the odd 100' that I can't use for anything, and that I use to teach people how to load mags and thread cameras. This "waste" film is also great to use for scratch testing cameras and mags if it hasn't been run though something previously.

If you don't have any, I have some you can use. You mentioned $3 a minute, you must be figuring .05 a foot for film, so you're already planning on using short ends, not the .65 a foot Kodak was asking the last time I checked.

I am thinking of putting up a little youtube video on mag and camera loading, there are so many questions on this issue.

Best,

Bruce Taylor
www.indi5.com

--- On Wed, 3/18/09, Brandon Esten <bruinflight at gmail.com> wrote:

From: Brandon Esten <bruinflight at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Konvas] loading BW film
To: "Konvas Discussion List" <cinema at konvas.org>
Date: Wednesday, March 18, 2009, 8:56 PM

Adam, 

You're advice is absolutely invaluable as is everyone else's here--some of it raises more questions than answers but this is a good thing, and just par for the course for a new guy like me. Thank you for entertaining my very basic questions! I have been doing as much research on this as I can, but there just does not seem to be much info on what some may see as the obvious things... I have not been to film school (yet); this project may be what I use for an application should I decide to go in the near future.

As far as leader is concerned--I did some internet searches and the the best I came up with is the SMPTE countdown which is OBVIOUSLY not what you were talking about (I am sure you were not intending anything about Optimus Prime and Transformers which also came up in the search results ^_^). I imagine one uses leader in order to squeeze as much out of the 400ft reel as possible- at about $3/minute it is wise advice. And as you say, if you don't shoot all of it, you will want to cut it and keep it in the fridge for later.

Here is how I envision the process (I could be totally off here): you cut approx 1ft of throwaway from a "dead" reel (can you use throwaway still film? I read in recent posts the perfs are not the same though and may jam the mag...). Then you overlap the two by about an inch or so (it doesn't matter which goes on top ot the other? By top I mean the top is the exposed part facing the gate). You have to line up the perfs--this to me seems like it will be the tricky part, as well as making sure the two strips are perfectly parallel. Then you use some kind of tape to affix the two together--and I am not sure which side the tape should go on to prevent jamming as well.

Ok, probably got some of that right... In any case I know I am going to LOVE film. There was a show on Ovation about the hsitory of Cinematography last night that was HIGHLY inspirational. I worked fairly extensively in video back in the 90's on 3/4" and some beta stuff. It was fun in it's own rights, but I have always wanted to work with film. Now that I have a 1M and a 2M with a host of lenses I am ready for it. I have yet to really use the arri16; what the hey. I am ready to go all in. 35mm baybee!

Thanks again

On Wed, Mar 18, 2009 at 11:20 PM, Adam Frey <thefirstrule at chainsawlinux.com> wrote:
I placed the answers under your questions:

Brandon Esten wrote:
Oh oh. I made an assumption that may be wrong; doesn't the reel from the Koodak can load straight into the Konvas 400ft (120m) mag?

Yes.

My arri16sb loads this way... I just don't understand why you are
'cutting' with scissors? I may not have all the necessary pieces
then... besides the fact I definately need a handful of takeup reels
it seems I need feed reels too?

If you want to shoot only 100' of the 400' of film, then scissors are more or less necessary to make that happen... Unless you want to pay extra money for no reason.

Here is another nooby question I had better ask up front: on the feed reel, you take the lead from the right hand side of the reel and feed it from 'underneath' to the first sprocket right? Yea, it can't go the other way otherwise it would run backwards... Never mind. 

???? Huh????

I think you are asking how to load the camera. See my previous post...

More about the cutting you mentioned: we are probably going to shoot all of this film, start to stop. Does the 'big' Konvas mag handle an entire 400ft load, or do you need to trim some of it off? This may be what you mean by cutting the film... I'm not messing with the 'small' mags I don't have the moded takeup spools anyhow.

No trimming. You just won't alway shoot all that you think you will. OR, you will shoot all that you think you will and then a few hundred feet extra... But then you'll still have that extra 250' left over and sitting in your fridge waiting for you to use it when you are ready...

Then, once you are done shooting, you just send the takeup spool to the lab right? You don't have to rewind it or anything right? 

No rewinding.

If you've never shot film, it's easy:
You load raw film into the magazine.
Load the mag into the camera.
Shoot the film (be sure to check the gate for hairs).
Unload the film (take-up spool) from the mag.
Take it to the lab.
Sit back, watch, and enjoy,

You really should ask the lab to make a positive print. That way you can watch it on their projector. You will seriously fall in love with film at that point...

Cheers,

Adam Frey
Director/Cinematographer
Crimson Chain Productions
http://crimsonchain.com

Crimson Chain Productions
PO Box 35
Libertytown, MD 21771

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