Here is a link I found to a modern
instructional video clip on youtube about loading a short roll of still film into an apron processor.
Another search result explains a bit of
the history of apron processing technique
from the 'focal' Photo Guide No.46 (1956) by Percy W Harris ... writes:
'Apron' Spiral Loading Tanks
The first tank had a circular moulded plastic body with a light-tight lid. Inside was a plastic bobbin (reel) with plain end faces, between which could be wound a length of celluloid (called an 'apron'), the same width as the film. This apron had little projections on its edges so that when the photographic film was wound within it, the film was touched only by the projections.
As they touched only the perforated part of the film and not the picture itself, the developer had access to all the picture area. Once the loaded reel had been placed inside the light-tight tank in the darkroom, the whole thing could be brought out into normal lighting. The necessary chemicals were then poured in and out without exposing the film to light. This soon became the standard way to develop 35mm films."
Looks really easy with short rolls of one or two meters, but I have my doubts about 10 or 33 meters of cine film!
I bought a Kodacraft tank with aprons and instructions on ebay. I'll upload pix of the brief instructions soon. Problem is the aprons stink (along with the contents of the box) so bad I wanna puke, not process film or take photos of the stinking leaflet!
G 8)