Putting my film in my camera......??

[4score]

Ok....my Canon 518 SV should be here anyday now. 3 rolls of K-40 arrived yesterday. I know directions will probably come with the camera....but I was wondering.....Am I supposed to load the film into the camera in complete darkness??? I have not opened the film up yet.....Is there a leader that I just feed right in? How do I know how far to lead the film in so that I do not expose any frames....when you only get like 2 min 30 sec of film, every second counts!!!

Thanks,
Chris

[Alex]

It's super-8 so it's super simple!

No changing bag required, no fuss, no muss.

You open up the sealed film, and it drops right into the camera. It's easier then threading the film into a projector.

However, if you want to "prep" the film cartridge.
There is one small step you can take before you put the film into the camera.

When you are ready to open the film pouch, I can explain that step. It's not a mandatory step either.

[4score]

What exactly does preping the film do? I just want to make sure that after I put the film in my camera, I can can do 1 take of a scene and know that I have it. I dont want to yell "action", then begin filming but lose the first part because it wasn't queued. So, I guess what I'm asking is if I put the film in the camera....will it immediatly be ready to capture footage??

Thanks,

Chris

[Alex]

Prepping the cartridge may or may not reduce the chance of the film binding while it is being shot, which can result in the infamous judder that apparently was caused by a softening of quality control standards by Kodak.

You should always roll about 5-8 seconds at the front of your film on something that is not crucially important. The same applies to the end of your cartridge.

[cameraguy]

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ August 31, 2003 08:59 AM: Message edited by: cameraguy ]</font>

[4score]

Thanks for all the hints. How will I know how much film is left in the camera....is there a meter with the length thats left?

Chris

[Alex]

As you film with your camera, the film footage counter indicator will go from zero feet to 50 feet. If, however, you remove the film cartridge before the film footage counter reaches 50 feet, the counter will reset to zero.

So if you have to remove the film cartridge before reaching 50 feet, write down how many feet you have shot. If you will not immediately be putting that same film cartridge back into the camera, then write down how many feet you have already shot ON THE FILM CARTRIDGE itself, and of course, remember once again to look at the film footage counter BEFORE removing the unfinished film from the camera.

When you put the unfinished film cartridge back in the camera, you will have to subtract how many feet you already shot from 50...and that becomes your new end of film footage amount, for that specific film cartridge.

For instance, say you want to verify the film is running through the camera OK. You shoot 10 feet of film, remove the cartridge and put a small sharpie mark on the 6 frames of exposed film.

You put the film back in the camera, shoot a second or two, then remove it again and verify that the sharpie mark is no longer visible on the exposed frames. This proves the film is running through the camera.

Now when you put the film back in the camera for the final time, you must remember that since 10 feet was already shot, your counter will only reach 40 feet before the film has been finished.

Some film counters are settable, so when you put the film back into the camera, you can actually reset the film footage counter back to where it was...however, in my opinion, this not that common a feature.

When the cartridge is finished, many cameras will either stop running, even if you are still shooting, or some type of end of film indicator will appear in the viewfinder.

When you take out a finished film cartridge, you should be able to read "exposed" on the end of the six frames of film that will remain visible.

Good Luck!

And be aware of your exposure settings. Know what F-stop you are shooting at.

[4score]

Thanks!

That definately helps. I think I'm going to shoot my "Only a Penny" script in DV first to see what camera angles works the best....then, since film is so valuable, I'll shoot in film after everything is planned out.

Once again,

Thanks,
Chris

[Mike Buckles]

That's a good idea, 4score...kind of "storyboarding" in video..as long as your actors/sets are available multiple times! As far as super 8, it was designed to pretty much just pop it in and shoot......as the others have said, just run a few feet in it before you start...

[Greg Crawford]

Dear 4score,

I did not comment on your script posting a
lot did. However I think your very trusting. If you do post a script again add Copyright xxxx (your name) All rights reserved. Even If you don't care if someone uses your material. At least act like you care..and that it's important.

Happy shooting