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Author Topic: 35mm "film" tours? Jen Pelto Film Handler Posts: 30 From: Muskegon, MI, USA Registered: Aug 2011 posted 08-12-2011 04:40 PM                     Does anyone know if Technicolor or Deluxe (or anyone else, for that matter) offers "tours" to see how film is made? Trailers, movies, heads and tails, etc. Do they actually melt down the material and make the perforations, or just buy the film stock elsewhere and do the printing? Just a thought -- the last time I was in LA I saw a big Technicolor building but I was with an infant. I didn't want to spoil the experience for anyone else.  |  IP: Logged Sean Weitzel Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 619 From: Vacaville, CA (1790 miles west of Rockwall) Registered: Dec 1999 posted 08-12-2011 05:01 PM                     They buy release print stock from Kodak and possibly from Fuji but don't quote me on that. If you want to see how the actual film material is manufactured and coated, you would probably want to contact Kodak or Fuji directly and see if they offer tours. http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/archive/index.php/t-239398.html http://www.fdtimes.com/news/kodak/a-cinematographers-tour-of-kodak/  |  IP: Logged Richard P. May Expert Film Handler Posts: 243 From: Los Angeles, CA Registered: Jan 2006 posted 08-13-2011 10:16 AM                     Sean's reply, and especially the reference to the articles regarding the manufacture of film, are really excellent. The next phase of Jen's question is the processing lab. That is the building she saw with the Technicolor label. The other big lab in L.A. is DeLuxe. Fuji is the distribution office for their film, manufactured in Japan. I don't know if Technicolor or DeLuxe offer tours, except maybe to customers. Prior to a future trip to the L.A. area, checking with their P.R. departments is worth while.  |  IP: Logged Gordon McLeod Film God Posts: 9532 From: Toronto Ontario Canada Registered: Jun 99 posted 08-13-2011 10:46 AM                     Often one of the smaller labs is a better bet usually on large releases the studio makes the deal with the film manufacturer kodak fuji or agfa and the requuired stock is shipped to the lab  |  IP: Logged Jen Pelto Film Handler Posts: 30 From: Muskegon, MI, USA Registered: Aug 2011 posted 08-13-2011 11:38 AM                     Thanks for the info, guys!  |  IP: Logged Jeff Kane Film Handler Posts: 74 From: corpus christi, tx Registered: Jun 2011 posted 08-15-2011 12:56 PM                     Although it seems more oriented towards still photography, this book (Making Kodak Film) looks fascinating. All about the process of making/coating the film, etc. I know that magnetic tape manufacturing is similar to film in that very wide stock is produced and then slit to the necessary size (for mag tape the process is called calendaring).  |  IP: Logged Allan Young Expert Film Handler Posts: 125 From: EGHAM, Surrey UK Registered: Jun 2011 posted 08-16-2011 05:07 AM                     Back in 2001 I contacted the Technicolor lab in London. They seemed mildly surprised that anyone would want to visit the facility, but a chap from the press department kindly gave me an hour and a half guided tour. The most memorable part was the magnetic striping lab in the basement, the walls of which were dripping with thick dark brown sludge. Can't have been a healthy environment to work in. I seem to recall that mag striping was outlawed in California some time back ? So, yeah, definitely worth contacting the labs and asking, even though there probably isn't enough interest for them to provide regular public tours.  |  IP: Logged

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