1/2 frame 35mm still camera / 35mm animation

[schnozzle]

This idea was floated a while back, shooting 35mm animation with an old half-frame 35mm still camera...the idea being, I gather, that the half-frame format matches the frame of a 35mm movie camera, correct? So one could get a few seconds of animation on a standard roll of 35mm still film.

Did anyone ever try this? I could certainly get my hands on one of these cameras (a friend owns one) but I wonder how you'd be able to screen the results. Would any lab be willing or able to telecine such a short scrap of film? And would there be an issue with running still camera stocks through a machine designed for cine film?

Hmm.

[Herb Montes]

I looked into this myself and decided against it. For one still cameras do not have pin registration. Still camera stock uses Kodak perfs while most negative movie film uses B&H perforations though for processing it won't be an issue. There are some labs that will process short loads from cartirdges. Telecine is another matter.

When it comes to processing and making prints most labs have a 100' minimum whether 16mm or 35mm.

[mattias]

aren't there 100' magazines for some still cameras? i think i've seen that. are there any inexpensive 35mm stop motion cameras to consider otherwise? i've been thinking of getting one.

/matt

[steve hyde]

...I have a half frame Olympus Pan F. It will shoot 72 frames on a roll. At 18fps that would give you four seconds! That is pretty remarkable when you think about it.

I just bought a bunch of SLR film at $1.00 per roll with an exp date of today. Process only (without prints) for C-41 is $3.00 at my local Kodak certified drug store. That would make the cost one dollar per second if you find a bunch of expired film.

I bet you could work around the pin registration thing if you use a post house with power windows, pan and scan etc... like FSFT

Unfortunately my PAN F broke after two rolls....old half frame cameras are fragile it seems..

Steve

[steve hyde]

" I wonder how you'd be able to screen the results."

Telecine


"Would any lab be willing or able to telecine such a short scrap of film?"

It wouldn't be a short scrap of film - it would be spliced on a reel.

"And would there be an issue with running still camera stocks through a machine designed for cine film?"

No I don't think so. Ask your post house.


I think you will discover that a digital SLR, a 16mm camera or a super 8 camera are more appropriate for what you are interested in doing..

Steve

[audadvnc]

...I have a half frame Olympus Pan F. It will shoot 72 frames on a roll. At 18fps that would give you four seconds! That is pretty remarkable when you think about it.

But an Eyemo, Akeley or Arri 35 will shoot 1600 frames on a 100' spool or 6400 frames on a 400' spool. And it's already in 35mm Academy format so every post house in the world can handle it.

I just bought a bunch of SLR film at $1.00 per roll with an exp date of today. Process only (without prints) for C-41 is $3.00 at my local Kodak certified drug store. That would make the cost one dollar per second if you find a bunch of expired film.

Compared to 35mm motion picture stock, you're paying a bundle.

I bet you could work around the pin registration thing if you use a post house with power windows, pan and scan etc... like FSFT

OK, the Eyemo doesn't have pin registration either, but it doesn't need it...

Unfortunately my PAN F broke after two rolls....old half frame cameras are fragile it seems..

And the movie cameras keep on ticking. 8)

[cinepathic soul reviver]

I do something similar to this (stop motion anamation, one frame at a time with a still camera). I get the photos developed onto a CD and edit them all together in final cut pro.

I mount my Nikon SLR on a tripod and move infront of it (I often do the same motion many times in a row, taking pictures at different times in the motion...regardless of the differences, the images are on and off screen so quickly that they look like the fit regardless).

For reloading the camera, I'm either just incredibly careful not to move the camera, or just set up an entirely new shot.

I'll post something on here sometime (once I finish my current project and get some webspace to put it on).