Notes from April 2010

Petition to Eastman Kodak RE 7265 and 7231

The following link is a petition requesting Eastman Kodak continue production of low speed Black & White camera stocks 7265 and 7231. Please help by endorsing the petition and continuing to circulate to individuals and organizations who you feel would be interested in supporting this effort. 40 Frames will send the completed petition on to Eastman Kodak.

April 30, 2010  –  permalink

Polarity Post donates MTM machines to 40 Frames

Roger Wiersema and Polarity Post recently donated several MTM dubbers, a recorder and a prism projector to 40 Frames. Thanks to Roger, the long search for these units has ended. We flew one-way to SFO on Thursday, stopped in to Polarity to see how the system fit together and then disassembled everything in preparation for the move the next day. Stephen Parr of Oddball Film & Video Archive was kind enough to put us up for the evening, and in close proximity to the rental truck pickup. We arrived at Polarity at 9am, packed everything in about two hours and were on the road heading north by 11am. Since Pam and I are not the type to endure long drives for the sake of "getting there", we stopped at the half-way point in Ashland where we stayed Friday night, and then stopped again in Eugene to stay at Pam's mother's place Saturday night. We got back to Portland today at 5pm, and started unpacking. Only a few items remain to be unpacked, so we'll finish the job tomorrow. It was a huge effort to get everything up to Portland, but nice to have machines of such high quality to put to use in our studio.

April 18, 2010  –  permalink

Kodak announces discontinuation of Plus-X

Earlier in the week, Kodak announced it's plans to discontinue 16mm Plus-X negative (7231) and reversal (7265) camera stocks. This a very sad news, and arrives at a bad time, as much of Empty Quarter and Open Road are being shot on 7231. Yesterday, I ordered some 7231 to stockpile for the last Empty Quarter shoot and the five remaining shots for Open Road. I hope what I purchased will get me through the next two projects. While other options for shooting black and white exist (7222, 7266, ORWO UN54 and N74, and Fomapan R), Plus-X negative has a very unique and wonderful look and carries forward a cinematic tradition starting with the birth of motion picture film. When pull processed, Plus-X can have an amazing latitude, seeing into shadows and incorporating highlights. Kodak's decision to discontinue this stock from their product line is unwise, and shows a lack of commitment to a number of core products that have helped create an identity for the company which separates it from other players in the media technology field. If anyone has good condition factory sealed, recans, or shorts ends of 7231 they would be willing to donate or sell, please contact me.

April 08, 2010  –  permalink