August 25, 2008

Week 2: Magazine Transfers

This week, we continue exploring film manipulation techniques (last week, we broke the ice with film scratching).

Two of the techniques we'll learn this week are magazine transfers and film painting.

For the mag transfer, we'll be tearing up bits of magazines, newspapers, phonebooks etc. and sticking these bits onto clear packaging tape.

Then, we will cut the packaging tape into strips, dunk the strips into buckets of warm to hot water, leave the strips immersed for about 3-5 minutes and then rub the magazine pulp off the tape.

Only the ink remains on the tape. Then, just slap the strips of tape onto 16mm clear leader film (avoid the sprocket holes) and project.

It's important to note that variables like color vs. black and white or glossy magazine vs. newsprint have an effect on the overall look of the image patterns we create on film. See how printing styles differ, below, by clicking on the CLOSE UPS to see the detailed printing patterns:


above: black and white newsprint


above: black and white glossy magazine print


above: color newsprint (wide view)


above: color newsprint


above: color glossy magazine print (wide view)


above: color glossy magazine print

To catch a snippet of what your magazine transfer might look like, in motion, CLICK HERE