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This topic comprises 5 pages: 1 2 3 4 5
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Author
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Topic: Film is nitrate... now what?
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Monte L Fullmer
Film God
Posts: 8367
From: Nampa, Idaho, USA
Registered: Nov 2004
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posted 07-19-2006 03:59 AM
Could be full nitrate, since the printing negative was in nitrate, but a very slight possibility of a safety positive..
Look at the edge for both lettering. If you see a black lettered "Nitrate" (meaning the positive) and a faint, white lettered, "nitrate",(the negative) then the stock and negative were both nitrate based.
Also, there would be black hash marks that would run the same direction as does the frameline..on the edge of the film. When safety came out, the hashmarks then would run in the same direction of the filmpath..in a vertical direction.
Nitrate can be still shown, but under extreme careful circumstances..
Big problem is that the nitrate base would shrink after time (if it hasn't started to deteroriate and gone to goo or powder..) - why that 98 release of "Gone with the Wind" was so bad - due to the original three strip nitrate negatives had shrunk some and cause color bleed in the YCM.
I have some Nitrate prob dated in the early 40's and still supple and flexible..and without any shrinkage..but can't run these at work for insurance reasons...
-Monte
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Stephen Furley
Film God
Posts: 3059
From: Coulsdon, Croydon, England
Registered: May 2002
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posted 07-19-2006 06:08 AM
Calm down, don't panic.
It's quite likely that it's a safety print, but you shouldn't assume anything. look at the edge markings again; are there multiple markings? are there both safety and nitrate markings? Are the nitrate markings black on clear or clear on black?
You could try cutting off a small clip of film and igniting it, but do so well away from the rest of the reel! Remember that if there is a splice then you may be dealing with more than one type of stock; just because the leader is safety doesn't mean that the rest of the print is. If you hold a flame to the top of the clip of film and it shrivels up, blackens and smokes a bit, but any flame goes out when you thake the source of ignition away then it's probably safety. If it continues to burn with the flame travelling down the film, then it's probably nitrate. Watch your fingers, flame travels quickly on nitrate.
Don't take the print into a theatre unless you're certain it is safety; to do so with nitrate would almost certainly be illegal, and you would find yourself in serious trouble if an inspector got to hear about it.
What does the film smell like? Is the print in good condition? If it smells really bad, is sticky and covered in brown goo it's sounds like nitrate in advanced stages of decomposition, which is dangerous. If it's nitrate, but in good condition, it will be fairly stable. If you cannot be certain that it's safety then keep in in a cool, dry place, where it wouldn't do any harm if it should ignite, i.e. don't keep it under your bed as somebody I know did! Having a reel of nitrate film at home to inspect, clean, repair etc, wouldn't be a great problem, but *never* leave any in the house while you are asleep. If you had an ordinary house fire for whatever reason, then having nitrate around will not help matters, and if you are asleep then you might well not get out; fumes from burning nitrate are nasty.
If you are not certain that the film is safety then have it inspected by somebody who can tell the difference; contact your nearest film archive for advice.
Do not project the film until you are sure that it is safety; even with a low-Wattage lamp. The only safe way to project a nitrate print is in a projection room properly built and equipped to do so, and there are very few of those around now. Even then, you need to do a lot of work before projecting the film.
Do you drive a car? Does it run on petrol? The answer is probably yes. Do you panic about the thought of driving around with a tank full of petrol behind you? Probably not. Petrol is a hazardous substance, but if you take sensible precautions then it's pretty safe to handle; it's the same with nitrate film, but to most people it's much less familiar. You wouldn't keep an open dish full of petrol at home, would you? It's the same with nitrate.
Safety prints from nitrate negatives are quite common; other than in film vaults and archives there are far more of those around than there are nitrate prints. I would say the chances are that you have a safety print, but don't assume anything, and *don't panic*.
Is this 'North Sea' the short that was made by the GPO Film Unit at about the same time as 'Night Mail', promoting an early ship-to-shore radio system? If so i've got a very old 16mm print of it.
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Mitchell Dvoskin
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1869
From: West Milford, NJ, USA
Registered: Jan 2001
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posted 07-19-2006 07:43 AM
As everyone has said, check the edge code. If there is both Safety and Nitrate markings, the one with black lettering is correct, the white or clear is print thu from the negative.
If the film is on older Eastman/Kodak safety stock, there is a ultraviolet die that will cause the film to glow purple under a black light. Nitrate film will not. PS, thanks John P for that info.
35mm Safety film was introduced in the USA in 1950, and by the end of 1951 everything was Safety. If on Eastman/Kodak stock, you can check the date code on the edge. The date code is a 2 character code consisting of geometric shapes that tell you what year the film was manufactured. Go to Date Codes to see a chart that translates the codes to years.
And of course, you can always cut off a strip of 5 or 6 frames, hold it over a sink with pliers, and light it. If it goes out, it is safety. If it burns to ash, it is nitrate.
Nitrate is not particularly dangerous to store if it is in good condition. The problem is that if it is starting to decompose, it gives off explosive gasses and it's spontainous combustion point starts to approch room temperature.
Do not run Nitrate on any projector that is not set up for nitrate. It is dangerous to do so, and in most states, illegal. Nitrate film produces it's own oxegen and will burn even under water. It is very hard to put out once you ignite it.
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Stephen Furley
Film God
Posts: 3059
From: Coulsdon, Croydon, England
Registered: May 2002
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posted 07-19-2006 07:43 AM
quote: Philip Borgnes
Yes Stephen this is from the GPO Unit.
Here's a frame from the main title on my 16mm print:
I very firmly believe that some basic nitrate training, including actually handling some reels of the stuff, should be mandatory for everybody handling 35mm film today. This doesn't even need to be enough to be able to positivly identify it in every case, but enough to aware of the possibility of a nitrate print turning up one day, and to be able to seek advice if they're in any doubt at all as to what they are handling.
There is much less nitrate film around today, outside of vaults and archives, but there's also much less knowledge of it among today's projectionists, so in some ways the risk may be getting greater.
Imagine something like a member of the public saying to a theatre manager "I've got some film at home of <some local event>, it's the 70th anniversary next month, would you like to show it" Or a theatre books a classic film; very poor print turns up. Somebody says "I know a bloke that's got his own copy of that, and it's in really good condition; I'm sure he'd lend it to us. We can run that instead, and nobody will be any the wiser."
I'm sure that nitrate prints do get run from time to time in these sort of circumstances, and usually everything is ok, but one day something nasty will happen, and the consequences of a platter full of nitrate film going up in a large crouded multiplex theatre, with large projection room windows, audience seeing what's happening and panicing, some of the exits quite possibly passing the door to the projectionion room etc. could be very serious.
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