When a film is stuck in "a block" state, unrolling it normally severely damages the emulsion. (Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWCTL...). This issue occurs far too often for my taste.
I believe I have found a trick to unreel such a reel without damaging the emulsion.
I think the issue occurs because the film shrinks over the years, causing incredible pressure between the emulsion and the adjacent layers of film. This pressure makes the film mold to the microscopic landscape of the emulsion of the other layer. When you try to unroll it normally, the pressure is released while parts of the emulsion are still locked with the film of the other layer.
The trick I found is to unroll it from the inside. Remove the core forcefully, insert a smaller cylinder in its place, tape the internal end of the film to that smaller cylinder, and reel the film onto it from the inside.
Up to now I only tried it twice on doomed reels and it worked both times.
Update! This trick is ONLY to be used when the emulsion is on the outside of the roll. When the emulsion is on the inside then unroll from the outside:
Emulsion outside of roll: Unroll from the inside Emulsion inside of roll: Unroll from the outside
35mm Movie Trailers Scans
When a film is stuck in "a block" state, unrolling it normally severely damages the emulsion. (Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWCTL...). This issue occurs far too often for my taste.
I believe I have found a trick to unreel such a reel without damaging the emulsion.
I think the issue occurs because the film shrinks over the years, causing incredible pressure between the emulsion and the adjacent layers of film. This pressure makes the film mold to the microscopic landscape of the emulsion of the other layer. When you try to unroll it normally, the pressure is released while parts of the emulsion are still locked with the film of the other layer.
The trick I found is to unroll it from the inside. Remove the core forcefully, insert a smaller cylinder in its place, tape the internal end of the film to that smaller cylinder, and reel the film onto it from the inside.
Up to now I only tried it twice on doomed reels and it worked both times.
Update!
This trick is ONLY to be used when the emulsion is on the outside of the roll. When the emulsion is on the inside then unroll from the outside:
Emulsion outside of roll: Unroll from the inside
Emulsion inside of roll: Unroll from the outside
1 year ago (edited) | [YT] | 31