Identify different film types and storage devices

Identify different film types and storage devices

There are different types of film when taking photographs and filming a movie. There are six types of film and two types of storage.

Types of film

Colour

This type of film is very interesting as in how it works as it is both sensitive and records both value, the light, the dark and the colours. Colour film comes negative and positive. Negative to make prints and positive to make transparencies or slides. This type of film is used mainly for professional cinematography and still photography because of its complex processing requirements. An everyday photographer would not be able to use this type of film as they would not have the correct equipment or environment to develop them.

Black and white

Black and white is sensitive to most of the visible spectrum of light, along with some ultraviolet. It is more sensitive to blues, which means skies tend to get overexposed. This film would be simply used by everyday photographers and professional photographers.

Infrared

Infrared is like the black and white but it is different as it shows things that are being affected by the light which cannot be seen by the human eye. This type of film is also available in colour. The black and white takes some special handling to develop it fully. This film is used to simply get a weir filter on your image which looks great. This film would be used by fine art photographers to get a dynamic and extremely dramatic images.

Chromogenic

This film is a hybrid, essentially black and white film designed to be processes in standard colour chemistry. This film can be printed with regular black and white materials but it comes out in colour making the image easier and cheaper to develop. This makes the colours brighter and the darks darker making the colours stand out. This type of film would be used by fine art photographers to capture some really vibrant and colourful images.

Orthochromatic

This film is traditionally used for graphics, records either black or clear. Extremely high contrast and is available in roles and sheets. It is an inexpensive practical way to create the large positive and negative needed for many of these processes.

Instant

Polaroid is the face of instant film and it is available in large, medium and small sizes. This type of film has almost unlimited options as it comes in black and white, colour and I am sure that it is available in some other format like infrared. This type of film is mainly used by every day photographers that like a physical image in their hand as Polaroid cameras take the image and print it instantly on the spot.

Storage Devices

There are two types of film storage that is known to me digital storage and negative film storage. Digital storage is simple as it just requires a hard drive but it has to be very large as now movies are filmed in 4K with amazing cameras which take up a lot of storage space. Also this film has to be edited which adds lots more effects and takes up more space in the hard drive. To make sure this footage is not lost there are multiple backups which are made and given to different people. After a scene is finished editing or filming a backup is made just in case.

Now the complicated one negative film storage. This film is a high-quality way to create long-lasting images but it has to stored under certain conditions to maintain quality and the images. If not stored properly it can seriously compromise the quality and stability of an image, the importance of careful storage and handling cannot be emphasized enough. There are different ways film has to be stored depending if the film has been processed or it is still unexposed.

Storage of Unexposed Film

This film comes in a sealed, moisture-proof inner wrap which is packed in an outer cardboard box and this film is affected by heat and humidity as it is very sensitive. To prevent any serious quality issues you must keep al packaging from any heat sources, store in a cool dry place at a temperature between 10-14 degrees Celsius. If stored in areas hotter then that the film might melt. There is an instrument called Sling Phychometer which can measure relative humidity. Do not store near chemical fumes which can fog film. Film must be stored on edge like books in a library but do not stack boxes of film as the film on the bottom will be damaged and you must use old film first as they do have an expiration date.

Storage of processed film

Proper storage and handling of processed film is important for stability of the image. Must be washed to remove residual of fixer which can cause staining and fading of the image. Tests for fixer retention should be done at least every three months or the fixer gets old and almost ineffective. Keep the film clean avoiding fingerprints, dirt, dust, and contact with any photographic materials, which can contain chemicals or fungus spores. After processing it is still sensitive to temperature and humidity. It is important to keep the temperature at 21 degrees Celsius and 40 to 60 percent humidity. If the temperature is too high it can lead to emulsion cracking. It is also advised not to over expose the film to ‘’ hot-light’’ and use only the recommended bulb wattage for hot light.