Topic: Messing up film emulsion on purpose

[Mojave]

Does anybody know of a way to mess up the emulsion on a negative? I have seen negatives that have been "messed up" chemically or with heat but I dont know what chemicals were used and any time I try to heat a negative, I ruin the cellulose material the emulsion is on and not just the emulsion.

When I was cleaning some Fuji 3000b negatives, I accidentally washed some of the image away and realized that I would like to do that intentionally going forward but I just cant figure it out. I would love to make the emulsion bubble up or look fried in a way.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks all!

[Sandeha Lynch]

#1 ... buy a box of matches.  One by one, light and blow out, and drop onto the emulsion.  Some of those little wax paper matches (if anybody still makes them) might be neat.   

#2 ... buy a drinking straw, use it as a blower.  Experiment with a variety of liquid droplets - household bleach, lighter fluid, green tea, developer.

#3 ... chop up some lettuce and sprinkle over the negative.  Encourage small garden snails to lunch.

#4 ... all of the above, in reverse order.   

[Francois]

Here's a fool proof way of reticulating the emulsion!

Process the film normally. Fix using a non-hardening fixer (important). Wash as usual.
Mix some Sodium Carbonate (arm and hammer washing soda), up to 1 ounce per liter.
Water must be somewhere between 100-160°F.
Soak the desired negative in the solution. Once desired effect is obtained, wash in cold water and dry. If
crystals are present on the dried negative, wipe dry crystals off and re-wash negatives.
Higher concentrations give a more wrinkled effect. Higher temperatures accelerate the reaction.
Low concentration at low temperature gives a leopard skin look. High concentrations at high temperature will
peel the emulsion off.
When the emulsion is soft, it is possible to manipulate it with solid objects or imprint textures in it like
Polaroid Time-Zero films.
Drying of the negatives takes longer than average.

I read that rolling a clean tennis ball across the film gives an interesting texture

[Mojave]

LOL!!! Kinda liking the snail luncheon idea Sandeha. Too bad they dont exist out here in the desert.  And thank you for the other ideas as well, especially the matches!

Thank you so much Francois! Im looking forward to giving it a try and seeing what the baking soda and heat will do.

[Abdul Hye]

This is alcohol based ink on 16mm. I have used it on a strip of colour negative and printed from it. you need to play around with the filters  on the enlarger a bit. It’s safe and easy to do at home.


Apophenia_still04_full by Tea, two sugars, on Flickr

no-w-here, in east london, run  ‘A workshop in the destruction of film emulsion’.
http://www.no-w-here.org.uk/index.php?cat=3&subCat=docdetail&&id=306

They run it every once in a while. When I’ve tried to book into it it’s been full. Seems very popular. People who work with 16mm use this technique a lot to make experimental films. 

[Mojave]

Thank you so much CtrlClick!!!

I think I have some of that ink already here at the house. Im going to try it. I have lots of wasted film I can experiment on.

And that workshop sounds awesome! Wish they had something like that out here. They might, but I dont even know how to search for it.

Now I have 4 things to try!!! Yay!!!

[Francois]

Thank you so much Francois! Im looking forward to giving it a try and seeing what the baking soda and heat will do.

Actually, baking soda won't do much. Baking soda is Sodium Bi-Carbonate which is just a mild base. I'm talking about the cleaning supplies stuff. Washing Soda is actually Sodium Carbonate which has a much higher ph.

What happens is that the highly alkaline solution will over-soften the gelatin of the emulsion rendering it very fragile.

If you can't get Washing Soda in the cleaning supplies, try the pool and spa stores. Just ask for it by name, they should know what it is.

And if you can't get sodium carbonate, you can always set the bicarbonate to decompose by heating it at 392°F in the oven. It will cause the bicarbonate to release some carbon dioxide and will give you the carbonate you need... but it's just a lot easier to get the proper stuff from the start.

[Mojave]

Gotcha Francois. Thanks for clearing that up. I think I have a box of that stuff. You use it caffenol C right?

[Francois]

Yes, it's the same that is used in Caffenol.