From: Adam Levine (email suppressed)
Date: Sun Apr 05 2009 - 14:04:29 PDT
I just traveled through Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia with a bag full of
100ft rolls and most places were happy to oblige with a hand inspection
after a polite explanation.
For the record, I lost the battle in Bangkok and let them pass my film
through the x-ray. I anxiously processed a test roll this week and it came
out fine, great even! The guys at Fotokem said that they do see a lot of
fogging from x-rays, the majority of it from machines installed in the US
after 9/11.
As for esoteric knowledge, I did meet one Vietnamese guard who was pretty
insulted by my automatic assumption that he didn't know the vagaries of
16mm filmmaking. So you never know.
> Motion Picture film is defined as "specialty film" by the TSA and
> therefore gets a hand-check no matter what the ASA. As Mark suggests,
> it doesn't hurt to carry around this section of the rules in a
> printout. I think I only had use it once and they were happy to oblige
> once they saw that all motion picture film is considered to be the
> same as 35mm still film over 800 ASA.
>
> http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/assistant/editorial_1035.shtm
>
> It's no one's fault for not knowing, of course, since this is
> basically an esoteric realm of travel-security knowledge. That's why I
> keep the print-out with me with the relevant section highlighted. The
> key, of course, is to remain polite and patient.
>
> Madison Brookshire,
> Los Angeles
>
> On Tue, Mar 31, 2009 at 10:09 AM, Bill Basquin
> <email suppressed> wrote:
>> Hello all.
>>
>> I was once told by an airport security person that the cabling that goes
>> through the overhead bins in the airplane emits more radiation than the
>> x-ray machines in the airport; he was very sympathetic to my request for
>> a
>> hand-check of my film, and recommended that I always keep the film in my
>> luggage under the seat in front of me, rather than in the overhead bin.
>>
>> I often have to be very patient and repeat that I would like my film to
>> be
>> inspected manually, even though it is of a slow ASA, and I have never
>> been
>> flat out refused; this is for travel within the U.S., between the U.S.
>> and
>> New Zealand, and between the U.S. and London. Oddly, when asking for a
>> hand
>> check, I have encountered the most resistance in Los Angeles.
>>
>> --Bill Basquin
>> San Francisco, CA
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: DOMINIC ANGERAME
>> Sent: Mar 29, 2009 3:11 PM
>> To: email suppressed
>> Subject: Re: Airport X-Rays
>>
>> My experiences flying to Korea, Mexico, Cuba, etc with unexposed and
>> exposed
>> 16mm film has not been a great experience....when I asked for a hand
>> inspection it often took a lot of time to find someone who could
>> understand
>> English and better hope you are not trying to connect to another
>> flight....you will miss it guaranteed......NYC is very paranoid and the
>> situation really varies greatly from place to place and person to
>> person.....(you can try and tell them in the US that the asa is 2000
>> they
>> will probably never know........just do not pack your film in the
>> checked
>> luggage....it will be fogged gaurantee.....my .02 worth....
>>
>>
>> Dominic
>>
>> --- On Sun, 3/29/09, Mark Toscano <email suppressed> wrote:
>>
>> From: Mark Toscano <email suppressed>
>> Subject: Re: Airport X-Rays
>> To: email suppressed
>> Date: Sunday, March 29, 2009, 10:25 AM
>>
>> Hi Ken,
>>
>> Had no problems there myself recently.
>>
>> Ever since someone here suggested it a while ago, I've been flying with
>> my
>> film in a bag also containing a printout from the TSA website which says
>> you
>> have the right to request a hand check of film. Haven't had to brandish
>> it
>> yet, but it seems a good bet to me. And in general, when I've told
>> security
>> folks it's motion picture film, they seem OK with the hand check. One
>> time,
>> the guy still persisted and asked me what ASA, but I just told him
>> something
>> about motion picture film being differently sensitive or something
>> like that,
>> and he was OK about it.
>>
>> A week and a half ago I flew out of Burbank, and had the amusing
>> experience
>> of
>> a few of the security guys being all into 16mm and asking to see my
>> Bolex.
>> One
>> of the guys even teaches part-time at the Art Center in Pasadena. Only
>> in
>> LA,
>> I'm sure.
>>
>> mark t
>>
>>
>> --- On Sat, 3/28/09, Ken Paul Rosenthal <email suppressed>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> From: Ken Paul Rosenthal <email suppressed>
>>> Subject: [FRAMEWORKS] Airport X-Rays
>>> To: email suppressed
>>> Date: Saturday, March 28, 2009, 3:03 PM
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> #yiv724568344 .hmmessage P
>>> {
>>> margin:0px;padding:0px;}
>>> #yiv724568344 {
>>> font-size:10pt;font-family:Verdana;}
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> While the issue of taking film thru airport x-rays has been
>>> addressed extensively in this forum (I've contributed
>>> much
>> of my own experience/knowledge), it's been some
>>> time since I've traveled with unexposed/exposed film.
>>>
>>> As I'll be flying to New York City next week to shoot a
>>> number of abandoned mental asylums for my current doc
>>> project, I'd like to check in to see if anyone can share
>>> their recent experiences with JFK. In the past, I've
>>> found their checkers to be the most vigilant and
>>> uncompromising.
>>>
>>> All my stock is super 8, and ranges from PX reversal b/w to
>>> 500T color negative. I'm cool with a hand check that
>>> involves opening up the boxes as well as the wrappers on
>>> each cartridge. But feel strongly about any of the stock,
>>> particularly the 500T color neg going thru the x-ray
>>> machine, despite what they say.
>>>
>>> Additionally, am I right to presume that shipping with Fed
>>> Ex receives less x-rays than an airport scanner? Fed Ex
>> has
>>> assured me in the past (last inquired a year ago) that they
>>> will not x-ray at all if they put a 'Exposed film. Do
>>> not x-ray' sticker on it. I mention this because one
>>> possibility is shipping my film from NYC back to SF, rather
>>> than flying with it.
>>>
>>>
>>> Advice? Recent experiences to share, particularly with
>>> JFK?
>>>
>>> Thanks, Ken
>>> http://www.kenpaulrosenthal.com
>>>
>>> http://www.crookedbeauty.com
>>>
>>>
>>> Express your personality in color! Preview and
>>> select themes for HotmailŪ. See
>>> how.
>>>
>>> __________________________________________________________________
>>> For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at
>>> <email suppressed>.
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> __________________________________________________________________
>> For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at
>> <email suppressed>.
>>
>> __________________________________________________________________ For
>> info
>> on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <email suppressed>.
>>
>> Bill Basquin
>> Artist-in-Residence, San Francisco Recycling and Disposal
>> (c) 415.317.7611
>> http//www.sfrecycling.com/AIR
>> Next art show is Friday, May 15 and Saturday, May 16 with Bill Basquin
>> and
>> Jane Kim .
>>
>> __________________________________________________________________ For
>> info
>> on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <email suppressed>.
>
>
> __________________________________________________________________
> For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <email suppressed>.
>
__________________________________________________________________
For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <email suppressed>.