[Frameworks] X-Ray motion-pictures

[Eric Theise]

Just noticed that Barbara Hammer's Sanctus, a film I offered as an example
having moving x-ray footage, is being presented tonight by Metrograph (8p
Eastern) in the first of two programs keyed to a new book by Genevieve Yue.
Available on demand from the 24th to 30th.

https://metrograph.com/live-screenings/genevieve-yue-presents-implicit-movies-program-1-secret-city/?mc_cid=3b4403f65c&mc_eid=01f02c5b93

On Wed, Nov 20, 2019 at 8:40 AM Eric Theise <erictheise at gmail.com> wrote:

> Since Diana also asked for examples I'll chime in with the most obvious:
> Barbara Hammer's Sanctus which reworked James Sibley Watson's archival
> x-ray footage.
>
>
> http://www.scienceandfilm.org/articles/2710/barbara-hammer-and-the-x-rays-of-james-sibley-watson
>
>
> On Wed, Nov 20, 2019 at 8:26 AM alena williams <alena at lowculture.com>
> wrote:
>
>> love this!
>>
>> > On 20. Nov 2019, at 07:53, Scott Dorsey <kludge at panix.com> wrote:
>> >
>> > Okay, old guy tells stories.
>> >
>> >
>> > Back in the twenties and thirties, doctors would employ open
>> fluoroscopes,
>> > with an X-ray source behind the patient and a fluorescent screen in
>> front
>> > of them.  X-rays passing through the patient would cause the screen to
>> > illuminate and the doctor could see what was going on inside in
>> realtime.
>> >
>> > Many of the old classic sequences that still show up in educational
>> films
>> > such as the man eating and man voicing different vowels and consonants,
>> > were shot off the screen of an open fluoroscope.
>> >
>> > This approach has some problems.... namely it takes a lot of radiation
>> to
>> > get a nice bright image, and all of that radiation (not just the
>> backscatter)
>> > is pointed at the doctor.  So although you can see open fluoroscopes in
>> old
>> > movies where W.C. Fields has swallowed his cigar, you will not see them
>> in
>> > use today.
>> >
>> > Because doctors needed to see movement and didn't want to irradiate
>> themselves
>> > constantly, a number of manufacturers made cinefluoroscope systems with
>> a
>> > Mitchell or Acme 35mm pin-registered camera movement, a very fast lens,
>> > and a fluorescent screen all in one package.  The high speed Leitz
>> Noctilux
>> > lenses were originally designed for these applications.
>> >
>> > These were in common use for heart imaging until maybe a decade ago, and
>> > if you are looking for a film image you may be able to find
>> cardiological
>> > radiologists around with a film cineangography system.  These systems
>> all
>> > provide full aperture 35mm images.  So if you want 16mm you'd have to
>> get
>> > the lab to bump it down.
>> >
>> > All of these systems today have been replaced with high resolution video
>> > systems.  The nice thing about the video systems is that they result in
>> > less radiation to the patient because the light sensor is faster than
>> Tri-X.
>> > These systems are small and convenient enough that some cardiologists
>> will
>> > have their own system rather than contracting it out to a radiologist.
>> > The bad thing about them is that they tend to have more smear on motion
>> > than the film systems because of the longer persistence phosphors.
>> >
>> > Now... if you don't need to deal with human beings, you can pour a whole
>> > lot more radiation into the object.  There are a bunch of fairly
>> inexpensive
>> > X-ray inspection systems for PC boards that give you realtime video with
>> > decent resolution.  Not very high energy radiation since they just need
>> to
>> > be looking at thin board traces for the most part.
>> >
>> > So... if I were looking to rent some time on a machine, I would ask a
>> > cardiologist if they could recommend a local radiology guy, or I would
>> > talk to PC board fab people, depending on whether I was looking at
>> people
>> > or objects.  I have only done static x-rays, not moving ones, and there
>> > aren't a lot of folks doing moving ones artistically today so it could
>> be
>> > really cool.
>> > --scott
>> >
>> >
>> > lens was originally designed
>> >
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