DIY Positive Prints
Emulsion-less positive prints cut from a laser engraver
To overcome the cost barrier of duplicating motion-picture film, I created an Adobe Illustrator template for 16mm film. Using transparency paper, I printed non-representational imagery and frames from an analog video piece of mine titled Celestial Messages in Three Parts, as seen in the frame-by-frame example below. For the video, each frame was exported as a tif/png and placed in the corresponding spot on the template. After printing, the transparency paper and a PDF of the template were taken to a laser engraver for cutting. The cut must start with the sprocket holes and then the strips.
Scans of non-representational imagery and frame-by-frame imagery
Now that the pitch between sprockets had been corrected, I was interested in seeing whether or not I would be able to create an optical soundtrack to accompany the positive prints. I was pleased to learn that it works- some adjustments still to be made, but it is a good starting place. You can hear the optical soundtrack in the video above.
As for frame-by-frame imagery, the JavaScript to place each tif/png/jpg within the Illustrator file has been updated and works! It is a part of the DIY Positive Print Template package with instructions on how to change the file path. Please reach out to me if you have any questions.
The DIY laser engraver experiments began in 2023 as I was experimenting with anthotype emulsions and interested in textures and the materiality of moving images. I began by cutting Hahnemühle rag paper and dyeing it with the anthotype emulsion (as seen in Anthotype Experiments). Below is a video of the Hahnemühle rag paper put through my Super 8 scanner.
Scans of the first experiment with an optical track. I was less interested in the image than I was the sound, but figured I should have something to project anyhow. The image is the audio converted to a png.