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

Week 1: welcome to the sixbyoniverse

(thanks to Louise Curham for the images).

Loading the Projector (with single perf film)

When building reels for Assignment 1, the elements project, it is important to have your film wound properly. This is especially the case with single perf (sprocket holes only on one side) film. Otherwise, the sprocket wheel's teeth can chew up your film.

*Note the above diagram*

The film is coming off the feed reel ~ over the reel ~ and the sprocket holes face right (away from the projector's body). The optical soundtrack faces left (toward the projector's body).

It is also important to note that for any non-abstract images, writing and animation, you should see the images coming off the film reel facing UPSIDE DOWN AND BACKWARDS.

~ Keep in mind though, your perspective to the film reel should be as in the above diagram - with the film coming off the top of the reel AWAY from you.~

This will insure that the images will be projected right side up and forwards. Notice in the below cross-section of the above diagram that the words "DISTRIBUTED BY" are not only upside down, but backwards and that the rainbow in the logo is likewise upside down.


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As for stringing the separate strips of your elements project together, you should start with your reel. Then wedge your TAIL leader into a slit in the reel. You should build in the following order:

REEL < TAIL < 4TH ELEMENT < 3RD ELEMENT < 2ND ELEMENT < 1ST ELEMENT < HEAD LEADER






The reel, tail and head leader fall in a fixed order with the elements in between. Of course, you should consider the rhythm and quality of each of your elements and determine in which order the elements should fall.

PLEASE DOUBLE SPLICE ALL ELEMENTS TOGETHER. (This means to tape both the front and reverse side of two adjoining filmstrips). Make sure that the strip ends are free of dust, grit, oil, etc. so that the splicing tape may stick.

SINGLE SPLICE (tape only on one side) the HEAD leader on filmstrip. Note that the HEAD leader I have given you is longer that the tail to allow enough strip to load through the projector and wind onto the take-up reel - so that your first images don't get cut off from view.

In general your film must be DRY (so as not to rust the film gate) and relatively clean. Pat all of your elements with paper towels (don't rub) so as to remove as much oil and dirt as possible.

Creative Commons

Would you like cream and revolution with your coffee?

Is Equal selling a brand or an ideal or is it simply playing on the fact that other companies try to sell ideals/lifestyles instead of just products.

During the next few weeks in 6X1, we will talk about found-footage filmmaking. More specifically, we'll look at artistic appropriation vs. culture jamming.

Line Describing a Cone

Click To Play

Students at UNC Wilmington "watch" but more appropriately interact with Anthony McCall's 1973 installation film, "Line Describing a Cone," in Dr. Jim Kreul's class. In order to view the film, a dark room is filled with smoke (in this case, from a fog machine), and the film is projected through the fog. By itself, the film would be a white dot slowly tracing a white circle on a black background for 45 minutes. With the fog, however, the film takes on a 3-dimensionality and the white circle becomes a cone.

Assignment 1: The Four Elements

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Students in UNC-Wilmington's 6X1: Variations on the One-Minute Film class worked in groups of two to express the idea of the four elements - Earth, Air, Fire, Water - via direct film manipulation. All 7 of the 16mm one-minute element films were captured on mini-dv. The short video above is a compilation of excerpts from each of the films.

Week 16: 49-hour Video Race Videos

Students in UNC-Wilmington's 6X1 class have 49-hours to make a film without a film or video camera (digital still cameras, scanners, etc, are ok) using a mystery prop - in this case - a toy wooden block.

Click To Play

Part 1: In order of appearance. Matt E., Oliver M., Gigi R., Skip R., Martin H., Landon W.

Click To Play

Part 2: In order of appearance. James G, Collin A., Jason B., John T., Kristen B.

Click To Play

Part 3: Anthony T., Wayne M.