The alchemical nature of moving images will be explored in this immersive workshop on handmade emulsion. In this 2 day workshop, experience a taste of 19th century darkroom magic and create an B&W silver gelatin emulsion on 16mm film. Handmade emulsions have a distinct and wonderful look to them that cannot be duplicated by other means and provide a wonderful basis for nearly endless experimentation.
An intensive introduction into the dark arts of homebrewed film emulsion will give participants the necessary theory and tools to formulate their own black and white film emulsion and begin to explore a variety of options for coating the emulsion onto 16mm film. A basic chemistry lesson will be provided to introduce the essential makeup of film emulsion, followed by a discussion of technique including a contextual screening of examples, and the creation of the emulsion in a darkroom. Film stock will be created from scratch, using three key ingredients in the production of a silver based emulsion: gelatin, potassium bromide, and silver nitrate. With our handmade film stock we will: expose photograms, make contact prints, run film through a camera, and hand-process the results so they are ready for projection.
The workshop is open to artists and filmmakers of all levels of experience.
Topics include: emulsion creation and handling; recipes; film coating techniques; processing; troubleshooting; resources. Participants will gain an understanding of the elementary silver gelatin emulsion chemistry and will get to expose and process a section of handmade emulsion. See the results by the end of the session! All chemicals, protective wear, and supplies are included.
Lindsay McIntyre is a film artist from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Working primarily with 16mm film and experimental, handmade and documentary techniques. Her short films circle themes of portraiture, place, form and personal histories. She has created 28 short films and does film performance. She generally does things the hard way and her current work involves light play, handmade emulsion and all kinds of celluloid manipulation. She has an MFA in Film Production from Concordia in Montreal and a BFA from the University of Alberta. She was a member of The Double Negative Collective and the recipient of the Canada Council’s Victor Martyn Lynch-Staunton Award for Excellence in Media Arts for 2013.
Where We Stand (Excerpt) from Lindsay McIntyre on Vimeo.
Workshop fee for non-members: 50€
Students and filmwerkplaats members: 30 €