400ft to 100ft - Bulk Loading Kodak Vision3 500T Cinema Film

[@39exposures]

very detailed and simple explanation 👍

[@alexandermatragos]

Thanks! Glad you liked it!

[@mixdown78]

very good Idea! Can't wait to see your Video about Cinema Film Stock

[@h.walker1332]

I love that you make more unique vids based around analogue. Very useful for people on a budget too.

[@alexandermatragos]

Thank you! There are some things that you can find when digging online but not many people have done a more complete overview on them. I think it helps visualising some things when researching. It would have definitely helped me when I was looking into the respooler or the copy stand. Thank you for watching, I have a few more videos I’m working on to upload in the coming months.

[@jonathonganji7737]

THANK YOU SO MUCH!! THIS IS A HUGE HELP! I was seriously worried that no one would answer this question for me. Thank you so much!!

[@alexandermatragos]

Happy you found it useful! Thanks

[@simonwilliams6140]

This is excellent. Thanks for taking the time to post this invaluable content.

[@alexandermatragos]

Thank you! I’m glad you found it useful.

[@veintequetzales2000]

Thank you! I used to bulk load a lot of regular 100 ft rolls of Hp5, Silvermax and so on, but now with the prices I´ll move to kodak xx (also I really like it) thanks for the video!

[@alexandermatragos]

That’s a great idea, it’s a film I have yet to try but I really like the look of it. I was thinking of doing the same for my BW option but then I don’t shoot that much BW, I might get a few rolls from eBay to try it out.

[@markis145]

I was looking for this kind of video. Thank you!

[@Fatpanda651]

Absolute legend. Brilliant video, love the style, execution, and most of all the exact information I was looking for. So grateful!

[@alexandermatragos]

Much appreciated!! Glad it was helpful :)

[@duratorque]

Excellent, thank you. Just what I need.

[@alexandermatragos]

Happy to help :)

[@GHATS]

Great video and glad you mentioned the 3D printer prints and fivver . Hopefully the person who made the blueprint starts a side gig selling the actual spooler or something . Just so they get a bit more compensated just so no one greedy takes advantage of there work :/ lol very thankful nonetheless for you and them !!

[@alexandermatragos]

Credit should be given where credit is due! If it wasn’t for the person who designed this it would be a more fiddly process, not as accurate and not as quick! :)

[@wichersham]

A great video. What material did you use for 3D printing?

[@alexandermatragos]

Thank you! The guy who did the print for me is using PLA.

[@philipau3847]

Hi Alex, thank you for making a video on something I've been thinking about as well. Was wondering if you have seen Steven Tanno's method of dealing with 400ft rolls? His method does not require a bulk roller but uses a film camera's mechanism for rewinding.

[@alexandermatragos]

Thanks, I did see his video recently. Interesting technique that doesn’t require additional equipment. Definitely an option. The only drawback being that you have to do all of it in the dark. With the respooler it helps to do it in batches. Cut 100ft, bulk load ~18 rolls, keep the rest in the freezer/fridge and once you are close to finishing your first batch, repeat.

[@john_murch]

I use Steven Tanno's method, works great!

[@john_murch]

@@alexandermatragos As I mentioned, I use Steven Tanno's method, I can do 5-10 or even 18 rolls at a time, put the rest of the master roll back in the freezer for next time. Easy peasy.

[@alexandermatragos]

@@john_murch As long as it works good for you and you get the job done then that’s all that matters. I’ve also seen a bulk loader that can fit the whole 400ft rolls, which sounds very convenient. I’m pretty sure that as people shoot more of it we will see new products and solutions coming out.

[@john_murch]

@@alexandermatragos Yes, more new products would be great!

[@poniatowski3547]

Great video Alexander. I buy 400ft rolls from the UK and get them sent to Australia. I made my own spool set up out of plywood, works a treat. even with home developing the 250D in C41 chems, the cost is fantastic.

[@alexandermatragos]

That’s great! I’ve seen a photo of a simple construction out of wood on Reddit. Nice to hear there are diy solutions as well. As for the Vision3 films, why do you order it from the UK? Is it difficult to get it in Australia?

[@poniatowski3547]

@@alexandermatragos dont know of anyone selling 400ft etc rolls down here, I get mine from frame24 UK.

[@alexandermatragos]

@@poniatowski3547 I got mine from frame24 as well. Have a look at Kodak’s website, they have all the authorised sellers listed. Here in the UK it’s only Kodak itself and frame24.

[@autodidact537]

@@alexandermatragos Why do you shoot the tungsten balanced 500T film instead of one of the daylight balanced Vision3 films? Then you wouldn't have to use an 80A filter.

[@alexandermatragos]

@@autodidact537 Sorry for the late reply, I just saw your comment. I'm not using any filter, I prefer to colour correct in post as it is very easy. That way you benefit from shooting a high speed film, which is more versatile, especially if you are shooting indoors, at night or in countries that don't have an abundance of sunlight.

[@DutchmanLearner-ok2uh]

Thanks a lot. Alexander how about 120mm film. can you explain about this one, what kind of film is the size of 120mm and where can I buy it? and is there any bulk loader in the market for put it in canister?

[@alexandermatragos]

Hey there, I presume you mean 120 film (there is no 120mm film). In the movie industry they have 65mm film that in broad terms you can say that it is similarly sized to the 120 we use for stills. And there are people out there who respool this film by hand into the 120 format spools along with the backing paper in order to be used with medium format cameras. However there is not a bulk loader available for that as far as I know, and the film is not as easy to find as 35mm. Hope this helps answer some of your questions.

[@DutchmanLearner-ok2uh]

@@alexandermatragos Thanks. ✌🙏

[@shoumenyuan]

Nice video! I see the 3d printed core has quite a big hole, will the roll wabble inside the bulk loader?

[@alexandermatragos]

Thank you! No, it’s actually very snug in there.

[@madskdz]

hey alexander, could i ask you what the size dimensions of the small loop on the respooler? i want to know how wide 100ft of film would be. thanks

[@alexandermatragos]

Hi there, I’m guessing if you download the files of the design you’ll have an accurate measurement for all parts. That being said I can have a look when I get the chance and send you over some dimensions.

[@madskdz]

@@alexandermatragos i have a small DIY version ive made myself out of lacquered wood and i wanted to put a circular groove marking the dimensions of a 100ft roll that can be felt in the dark.

[@alexandermatragos]

@@madskdz Hey there, it sounds like you are crafting a really nice piece. Sorry for the late reply, I've been kept so busy lately. If you drop me an email at [e-mail] I will send you some photos/measurements I took. Hope this helps!

[@amanpatel35]

How do you attach the film to the 100ft spool? Is scotch tape strong enough or do you use a special type of tape. Looking at the 3d designs there doesn’t seem to be a slot to hold the film. Thanks

[@alexandermatragos]

Hey there, scotch tape is fine, no need for something fancy! :)

[@amanpatel35]

@@alexandermatragos thanks for the reply and the video. One last question - what tape do you use to tape the canister with remaining film to protect against light and in refrigerator. Blake masking tape or gaffers tape?

[@alexandermatragos]

@@amanpatel35 I’m using black gaffers tape but you shouldn’t worry, film sits inside a black back and then into the canister. As long as the lid stays shut there is nothing to worry about. Feel free to ask anything else you want. Happy to help.

[@fanjan7527]

I wonder if Kodak can't just stop packaging the film in canisters, but rather sell them in 100ft bulk rolls and leave the canister distribution to resellers

[@andyvan5692]

one other point, this is ECN-2 process, NOT C41, so is still going to cost more to process, as the 'lab' can't use their machines as they are C41 only, it has to go somewhere that has manual tanks.

[@alexandermatragos]

There are labs that do process ECN-2 film and there has been an increasing amount of equipment being released that can help streamline this process and help them a bit more with consistency since it is indeed a manual process. You can also do this at home of course and process the film either in C41 or ECN-2. These film stocks can also be processed in C41 after removing the remjet layer. The only caviat is that you will get a bit more contrasty negatives to work with if you are darkroom printing. If you are digitising it won’t be an issue.

[@Viper8930]

Have you tried removing the remjet layer before loading the film into 35mm canisters?

[@alexandermatragos]

No I haven’t done that. If I did I would end up with basically what Cinestill offers but I don’t like that look with the halations. I’ve never shot it.

[@Viper8930]

@@alexandermatragos Ah ok, thanks. I think I might try it

[@atruceforbruce5388]

Where can people find 400ft of film stock. I can find 100ft rolls but 400ft seems to be a monster to find.

[@alexandermatragos]

Have a look at Kodak’s website, they have a list of all the authorised distributors around the world. You should be able to find a distributor in your country.

[@dtree1992]

It is absolutely astounding to me that a 5-pack of Porta 400 35mm is £95 in the UK, which is 5.5 hours at the median wage. In the US, the same box is going for $76, or about 3.3 hours at the median wage!

[@alexandermatragos]

Yeah, it’s absolutely nuts. Slide would be a couple of days of work. I still shoot it, but it does hurt!

[@dmytrochaika7570]

I thought the only answer to the question "How do you respool 400ft to 100ft" is through hours of suffering on the bathroom floor. Now I have a better option.

[@alexandermatragos]

😂 thang god no, I’m not that dedicated to cinema films.

[@crvock]

I'm wondering what people do to account for the space between the 3d printed respooler (the part that takes up the 100 feet of film) and the spindle inside bulk loader (in my case, the Watson). The used plastic spools that I have from older rolls just don't quite fit down into the 3d printed respooler piece. If I try to jam it in there, it's badly stuck and is scratching up the piece. And this can't be done in a changing bag without being disruptive. Am I missing something? You can't have space like that in the bulk loader, at least common sense would indicate that can create problems. And it just doesn't quite fit the used spools/cores I'm holding.

[@alexandermatragos]

Hey there! Sorry for the late reply. Have you tried removing the spindle from the Watson loader? If I remember correctly you need to remove it in order to use it with the 3D printed core.

[@crvock]

@@alexandermatragos so it would seem like that would be the natural thing to do. The issue is that a fully-loaded respooler would most certainly strike the inside walls of the spooler. This is because of the space (and square shape on one side) of the center opening of the respooler piece, which does perfectly fit onto the 3d-printed unit to take up the film. But it does not accept used/empty spindle (though it is close, but it that could lead to cracks, residue from the edges rubbing). So while I wish I could do it with no spindle, the shape and size of that opening will absolutely lead to a "squared" rotation of the re-spooler, which, when there's enough film on there, will hit the wall and scratch the film. If that doesn't make sense I can show a photo. I feel like there has to be some plastic piece (or just a slightly narrower spindle that would leave only a tiny gap of rotational space) I can put either into the respooler piece OR around the stem within the Watson unit. I realize this is hard to visualize, but it's preventing me from using the 3d printed piece, and I know there's a solution but it obviously can't create dust, particles, etc. in the bulk loader. Just need something that fits right.

[@alexandermatragos]

@@crvockI’ll have a closer look when I’ll be back home in a couple of weeks. Could be that I never encountered any problem with scratches because I never loaded a full 100ft on this piece. I’ve always kept it to somewhere around ~70 because I was afraid I might load more than 100 and then would have to cut it down again.

[@crvock]

@@alexandermatragos if you don't have something to "center" the respooler onto the stem inside the Watson, you'd be risking damaging the film at lengths less than 100' anyhow as it results in a "square" shape to the rotation, which puts the actual film against the wall of the Watson. There's been no mention of what that length would be, but it stands to reason that you'd still not want to do that not knowing what the right length would be to avoid it hitting the wall. Hard for me not to feel like this unit needed another piece to go with it, and I'd be surprised if other people hadn't had an issue with this and had to find their own solve which is what I'm doing now. This was not designed to be able to properly work with the Watson unit without another piece to keep it in place around the stem.

[@alexandermatragos]

Hey there, sorry for the late reply. I just got back home and was able to have a look. I dropped you an email with a photo attached. I don’t seem to have any problem inserting the core in the spindle of the Watson. Have a look and let me know.

[@arnaudd.4016]

Can you explain the 500T meaning ?

[@alexandermatragos]

The number 500 refers to the ISO of the film. The T stands for tungsten. Which means the film is balanced for shooting under tungsten lights, though that’s something you can manipulate if shooting in daylight, either with a daylight filter in front of the lens or by adjusting the white balance in post.

[@arnaudd.4016]

@@alexandermatragos It look like it different ASA sensibility for daylight and tungsten

[@alexandermatragos]

@@arnaudd.4016 You can read Kodak’s spect sheet for the full information. They advise that when you are using an 85 filter you should meter it as 320 iso film.

[@derp195]

Who tf is buying film at $20/roll? I stopped shooting color entirely. Really sad, and I don’t understand how they could think they aren’t killing their own product.

[@alexandermatragos]

I totally understand. Though film in our days is inherently a more luxury/unnecessary cost since there is always the alternative option of digital. But it is true that they make it less and less accesible even though a lot more people got into it (or back into it) the last 10 years. It’s quite sad to be honest.

[@derp195]

@@alexandermatragos Absolutely. Emphasis on color though. You can still get black and white film for pretty cheap. As low as about $4.50/roll if you bulk load. Incredibly thankful for that. Black and white has always been my main thing.