[Frameworks] Film and etching

[Eric Theise]

Hi Jonathan,

One approach to etching and film, which I may be the sole practitioner of,
is to print etchings onto very fine Japanese papers and then to contact
print the etchings, as a negative, to print stock. I did this using soft
ground etchings, a long sheet of glass mounted over a fluorescent light
tube, and strips of mat board used to hold the stock, paper, and gels in
place during a flashed exposure. There's a more detailed description
on the *Hojas
de Maíz <https://erictheise.com/films/hojas-de-maiz/> *page on my website.

Not exactly what you're looking for as the etching is separate from the
filming but it does preserve and take advantage of the textures inherent in
intaglio printmaking – qualities of line, shading given by aquatint – plus
the fibers of the paper itself.

Eric


On Sat, Apr 2, 2022 at 4:51 PM Jonathan Walley <walleyj at denison.edu> wrote:

> Hello Frameworks community,
>
> I’m hoping to tap your knowledge on filmmaking matters. I’m working with a
> student on an independent research project that is primarily “academic”
> (i.e. reading and writing scholarly stuff). However, it has taken a turn
> into filmmaking, as this student wants to work directly with film in the
> interest of producing better ideas and writing on the subject, something I
> heartily endorse. She is especially interested in etching, and is in an
> etching class in which they’re working with all manner of chemicals and
> doo-dads (a press, for instance).
>
> I wonder if anyone here has experience with this sort of thing - i.e.
> subjecting celluloid to the processes and machinery of etching. Of course
> we are exploring scratching on film, but we are both more interested in
> going further with a film/etching analogy. Anything at all would be
> helpful, because while I am familiar enough (for the purposes of this
> study) with cameras, processing, etc. (the student is using my own Bolex),
> I am at sea when it comes to this.
>
> Ideas, references (films or texts), warnings, etc. all welcomed.
>
> Thanks in advance!
> JW
>
> Dr. Jonathan Walley
> Associate Professor
> Department of Cinema
> Denison University
> https://denison.edu/people/jonathan-walley
> Cinema Expanded: Avant-Garde Film in the Age of Intermedia (Oxford
> University Press, 2020)
> <https://global.oup.com/academic/product/cinema-expanded-9780190938642?cc=us&lang=en&#>
>
>
>
>
> --
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> Frameworks at film-gallery.org
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>
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