From: JEFFREY PAULL (email suppressed)
Date: Tue Mar 03 2009 - 19:24:20 PST
To scratch on film, you need some sort of so-called PROJECTOR stock, B&W or colour, that has been developed to blackness.
You can usually buy this at the lab.
The neeedle, Exacto knife point, or similar will scratch through and remove the black photo emulsion, leaving the transparent film base intact.
The reason you need projection stock is most other stocks when they are developed, don't get black enough.
There is another sort of black leader that is made of black plastic, so it's opacity goes entirely through the stock, so you can't scratch anything off.
It's not just a black emulsion coating on transparent base.
So tell the lab what you need the black leader for (scratching on film) so they give you the sort that will work for you.
If you use colour projection stock, which has 3 dye coatings layered on, the bottom layer is usually the cyan dye.
If you have some scratches which aren't fully deep, or they are a bit feathered, the line will be a mix of white light and cyan scratch parts.
You can use PERMENANT markers to colour the lines on both sides.
Any colouring material must be a transparent dye only.
Don't use paints, oil pastels, stamp pad ink, etc. because, as the film goes through the hot metal projection gate and is blasted by the hot light,
anything but dyes will melt partially and gunk up the gate.
Not fun.
Paint, etc., can be used only if the film won't be projected, but will only be used as a Printig Master at the lab, from which regular projection prints will be struck.
It is possible to draw/paint on transparent stock and have it printed on "Colour projection positive" stock, and all the colours are reversed.
white background becomes black, green lines become red, etc.
You could also do the tone-colour reversal on your computer if you transfer the original to H.D..
Check out the early (1942-49) scratch movies of Norman MacLaren (National film Board of Canada) (Available on DVD)
He learned the technique from the Australian artist, Len Lye, around 1939, if I remember correctly.
There is an earlier MacLaren draw-on film he made for the British post office, Mail Early (before christmas).
JP
On Tue 03/03/09 21:28 , redmond entwistle email suppressed sent:
> Hi frameworkers,
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>
>
> I'm looking to borrow a 1000ft split reel from someone in the 5 boroughs
>
> of NY for a few days this week. Or buy one if anyone has one up for
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> sale. Please contact me off-list if you've got any suggestions.
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>
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> I've also got an experimental film 101 question from a non-frameworker,
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> who would like to scratch into black leader and project it as a loop.
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> Does anyone have tips for getting some black leader in NY? And the ideal
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> length for a continuous film loop and how loose or taught it should be?
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>
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> many thanks,
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>
>
> Redmond
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>
> __________________________________________________________________
>
> For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at (address suppressed)
> om>.
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>
>
>
>
__________________________________________________________________
For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <email suppressed>.