Developing BW -Movie- Film

[arigram]

Having little experience with the subject but with certain ideas in mind, I am trying to find out if you can develop BW movie film (8mm, 16mm, 35mm) in your darkroom the same way you do with still film but ofcourse different equipment.
Is it possible? If so, what do I need? Is there a store in Europe to get the stuff from?

 

[Ian Grant]

Try Fotoimpex in Berlin, download their PDF catalogue, I think they do something.

www.fotoimpex.de

 

[Sino]

Aristo, although i have no information on the subject, i have just contacted Fotoimpex, asking for shipping information. The minimum shipping rate for Greece is 25 EUR, and that doesn't help me alot -- too expensive for my pocket.

If you find what you need from Fotoimpex, please let me know, so we could combine orders.


-Sino.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Yes, there are a few websites with info on this subject. There are a few kinds of daylight tanks that work by processing the film on the reel and spooling it from one reel to another in the solutions.

 

[jimgalli]

I have a "Morse" film developer someplace stashed away. I think you can do 100 - 150 feet at a time with it. I'll check when I get home. It was a reel to reel system and fairly compact. It does 8 16, and 35mm roll films. What is the longest piece you would need to develop?

 

[FilmIs4Ever]

Please elaborate as to what type of film you will be developing. Are you going to be doing B&W negative, or B&W reversal? I have a morse tank, which takes 100 feet of film at a time in 16mm, 35mm, and in some cases, 8mm. Mine doesn't do 8mm, but that doesn't matter to me since the only 8mm I do is DR8mm. Also, results with a morse tank aren't as consistant as they are with a Lomo. Since you're in Greece, you'd be much better off getting a Lomo tank, which is basically a souped up still tank, where you wind the film onto the rell (much more difficult due to the lengths involved) and pour in the developer to start it off. If you want some good information on the whole process, go to: www.geocities.com/gselinsky www.filmshooting.com , or www.cinematography.com , which has a forum with a subtopic called Film&Processing. Filmshooting.com also has a helpful forum and a guide on using Morse and other tanks. The first site also has links to a usegroup that I've used a couple of times for processing information. If you want someone to do it for you, I'd be happy to develop it in my Morse, but it is really simple to do yourself and I'm sure you can find the equipment. Do a search for "Lomo" "movie film" "tank" and you should get a hit to Olex's operation.

Regards.
~Karl Borowski

PM me if you have any further questions with regard to movie film and how to process it. If it's old film you're processing, you almost have to do it yourself.

 

[arigram]

Thank you guys!
I can't say much more because I have yet to even choose a camera.
We were talking with some friends about making a movie, so immediately
I thought of BW film. But then again, we need to find a camera... anyway,
we'll see how this goes. I just wanted to know if it's possible as I have shot
16mm BW negative before but it was developed on a specialist movie place
when I was in Pittsburgh.