Loading 400ft Motion Picture film into Bulk Loaders

[impossibru]

Hi Guys!

Sorry to sound stupid but I've recently came across the idea of shooting motion picture film on 35mm cameras and have been fascinated by it.

One good point is that motion picture film seems cheaper.

I am planning to get a bulk loader but it usually only comes in 100ft - so how do i actually split the 400 ft of film into 4 x 100 ft?

I've not gotten hold of a bulk loader before but i don't suppose these come with loading reels inside, as i'm under the impression most 100ft rolls (such as ilford bulk rolls) comes with the film and the spool, you merely chuck it inside and start loading.

If i want to pull the film straight from the 400ft roll, is there anything i can do to help myself count and prevent myself from making an absolute mess of the film - especially if it unravels? I'm not quite sure how to unspool the 400ft of film into smaller reels while maintaining the tension of the film, and also being accurate with it's length as i am not sure if bulk loaders can hold more than the stipulated 100 ft.

I apologise if i sound amateurish but i'm truly facing a dilemma and i hope some wise brothers here can help me out with my predicament.

Many many thanks.

 

[David Lyga]

Does this color cine film STILL have the rem jet backing? If so you are in for a mess of black gook and grime. There is a way to remove is (studio processors squeegee it out) but I am afraid to attempt this myself. - David Lyga

 

[cliveh]

An interesting question. There must be a mathematical formula for measuring the diameter/radius of the 400 ft roll, to then divide it by 4, but allow for the spiral increase in diameter/radius? What this is I don't know, but am sure there are mathematicians on APUG who could tell you.

 

[sepiareverb]

Pizza Cutter?

I use some 35mm rewinds I got on ebay, takes only a few minutes to get 400 feet off the core and onto 35mm microfilm reels and into cans. Some feel this is an extravagance, and just respool onto cores by hand. Still others advise that one just load directly into cassettes without the bulk loader at all. Many options.

 

[pentaxuser]

You have loaded this thread 3 times. You might want to delete the other two or ask the mods to do so. Otherwise you will be flitting back and forth to read all the replies.

pentaxuser

 

[benveniste]

When I bought a 200' roll of Eterna 800, I simply went into a totally dark room, opened the movie film can, grabbed about 20-25 feet of the stuff and spooled it into the bulk loader. Repeat as often as needed.

I know of one commercial lab in the U.S. that will still develop ECN-II film spooled into still film cartridges, and that's The Camera Shop in St. Cloud, Mn.

 

[frobozz]

Pizza Cutter?

I use some 35mm rewinds I got on ebay, takes only a few minutes to get 400 feet off the core and onto 35mm microfilm reels and into cans. Some feel this is an extravagance, and just respool onto cores by hand. Still others advise that one just load directly into cassettes without the bulk loader at all. Many options.

This is the right way to do it. Note you'll want a 35mm "split reel" of at least the 400' size, on which to load the original film stock... because it just comes on a core, and without side support it can easily fall off and unravel into a huge mess. With a split reel, you unscrew the two halves, carefully lay the core and film down on one half, then screw the other half back on it.

Duncan

 

[removed account4]

i don't know the way to exactly measure 100 feet, but if you know your height .. it is equal to your ARMSPAN
and you can just pull armspans of film out, and respool them onto a core ...
you might invest in 3 additional bulk loaders ( i have a lloyds and it is as cheap as they get ) that way you can
just divide it into your 4 holders and not worry about it.

maybe ask friends far and wide who bulk load if they have any cores to make your life easier ..

 

[Xmas]

well eg Fuji and Agfa 100 foot bulk lengths came on reels in small cans and if you have three reels you can fill them from a 400 foot can and fill the last 100 foot unto a normal bulk core.

Think you can get the reels on ebay

Takes a while to wind on 100 foot.

A changing bag is ok you can leave the 400 in one side of the can, so no risk of spaghetti, if I can do it you can too.

If Kodak stops 5222, Ilford could do HP5 in 400 and 1000 feet again?

Remjet is not a problem in spiral tanks you can sponge it off afterwards rather than as a pre in the dark job. Don't try in in a mini lab though!