[Frameworks] Film and etching

[Karel Doing]

Hi Jonathan,

That’s an interesting connection! The link between dry needle etching and scratching black leader is indeed obvious. But the more widely used etching process involves a chemical process with bleach. The bleach etches a previously made drawing on the plate. After that you can make prints. Doing exactly this on film is in theory possible but to my knowledge this hasn’t been done. However, there is the realm of the chemigram and many experimental filmmakers love to use bleach to partially destroy or alter pre-existing images. There is also a process called mordançage, or bleach/etching producing a surreal distortion of the image. Another technique that comes somewhat close is emulsion lifting. The French experimental filmmaker Cecile Fontaine has worked extensively with this technique. Finally, an interesting link could be made with Richard Tuohy and Diana Barry’s chromaflex technique. They develop the film in stages, partially covering the image before applying the next round of chemistry. Plenty to discover!

Cheers,
Karel 
 

> On 2 Apr 2022, at 16:50, 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)
> 
> 
> 
> 
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