#handprocessing

We are very excited to have Kenny McDonald at the Iris Film Collective’s Burrard View Fieldhouse for a mini-residency December 1-9, 2021.

During his time at the Fieldhouse, Kenny will be working on his short film inSunrise. The film investigates Hastings-Sunrise within its historical context as a place that has been in constant negotiation between commercial and industrial development, residential growth, and public and private recreation. Kenny will be working in 16mm hand-processed negative and environmental soundscapes with audio recordings from the neighbourhood's environment.

A work-in-progress screening will take place December 8th, 7pm online @theirisfilmers (instagram).

We are very excited to have Kenny McDonald at the Iris Film Collective’s Burrard View Fieldhouse for a mini-residency December 1-9, 2021.

During his time at the Fieldhouse, Kenny will be working on his short film inSunrise. The film investigates Hastings-Sunrise within its historical context as a place that has been in constant negotiation between commercial and industrial development, residential growth, and public and private recreation. Kenny will be working in 16mm hand-processed negative and environmental soundscapes with audio recordings from the neighbourhood's environment.

A work-in-progress screening will take place December 8th, 7pm online @theirisfilmers (instagram).

Work in Progress: Silent Lights   Amanda Thomson 

ARTIST TALK: SATURDAY DECEMBER 14 2pm   For the second month of our WORK IN PROGRESS series, throughout the month of December 2019 Iris Film Collective member Amanda Thomson will be working in the Burrard View Fieldhouse processing, printing and exploring ideas new and old.  

On random evenings over the course of the month Amanda will be activating the screen on our front window.  These nights will provide a low pressure way for her to experiment with performance by spontaneously incorporating coloured light and thrown shadows with projected photochemical images, and might also give our neighbours walking their dogs something to look at. 

On Saturday December 14th at 2pm she will give an artist talk covering her experiences printing in a Bolex.  

Over the last couple of years Amanda has been working with an experimental printing process done in a 16mm Bolex camera. The ability to make prints is a fundamental part of working with film that allows one to turn a negative image into a positive one. It has the added benefit of keep camera originals safe from the wear and tear of running through a projector. Making a print and processing with caffenol as Amanda has been doing also eliminates the need for more toxic chemicals including bleach.  

Unfortunately traditional printing processes can be rather complex, intimidating and prohibitive. Using a Bolex provides an approachable and portable way of printing film. It can also open the possibility of intervention, including the addition or manipulation of colour or by adding another image, while creating the print.  

A photo posted by Glen Golightly (@glengolightly) on Apr 22, 2016 at 1:54pm PDT

I’m shooting 16mm film stock in my Nikon FE2 and FA to create film loops. I shoot at least one cartridge each day. At the end of 2016, I’ll string them all together to make a one-hour movie.

Processing went well, but it was tedious and took the better part of one day. Before my next session I’ll try to have someone assist,  so some processes such as rinsing, drying, etc. can be done in parallel instead of tandem. Just like on a shoot, an extra hand can make all the difference.

Here are some other lessons and reminders:

1. Since I’m doing “jam in the can” processing there will be a lot of artifacts such as scratches, uneven development. That’s part of the fun. It takes the perfectionist out of me and makes me embrace uncertainty and unpredictability.

2. The cameras are not always advancing the film since portions of the film were blank. I determined the take-up reel has too much drag, so I pop it up. Problem solved. I think. I’ll know when I process the next batch in June.

3. It’s interesting not to be able to see results instantly. It keeps me focused and makes me think.

4. Though I had my doubts, this has turned out to be a fun and interesting project. I’m shooting new subjects and playing with lighting and composition.

My next step is to get some 1200’ reels, leader and a splicer to start assembling. I’ll post a homemade telecine once I’ve put the initial reel together.