Bren, It looks like your Xmas eve message hasn’t been responded to yet, but these are important questions I wrestle with too. Even when students have access to gear—like they do when they take my 16mm class—they have to spend a lot just on film and processing. It’s one reason I don’t teach that class more often.
That said, I do think cameraless filmmaking is one of the answers. We have a giant bin of cast-off 16mm educational & industrial film (that was left over after an installation of Gibson + Recoder’s “Light Spill” at a local campus gallery) & I give students access to all that film as source material. My students made a lot of direct animation loops this semester & basically didn’t spend a dime. For shooting, I was lucky enough to be given 100 rolls of expired Tri-X by a local filmmaker who got it as a prize at a festival about a decade ago, so I’ve been letting our students use that too. Before I had that, we tended to shoot lab stocks, which are about 1/3 of the price of camera stocks. You can get 3378E from Mono No Aware for $20 a roll. We hand process, which means no shipping & very minimal costs there too. (I was also gifted dozens of pouches of powdered Dektol & D-76 this summer, so we’re working our way through that.) After they graduate, they will need at least a splicer and projector. A Kodak press tape splicer can work to get them started. It looks like you can still get one of those for about $30 on eBay. They’ll have to invest more in a working projector, but it’s still a lot less than an annual subscription to Adobe & should keep them in business for a lifetime. For cameras, B&H Filmos can still be had for relatively cheap, although they’ll need to look for one of the models that only has a single pull-down claw (or can only shoot double-perf film). Depending on where they are, a Bolex rental could be an option too. Mono rents them for $55/day. You asked about 35mm, but that’s something I haven’t done much of, mostly because I don’t have an easy way to see what I’ve done. I do think working on 16mm can be cheaper than working in video, largely because the gear won’t become e-waste in 5 years… Best, Roger From: Frameworks <[email protected]> on behalf of Bren Vienrich-Felling <[email protected]> Date: Wednesday, December 24, 2025 at 12:22 PM To: [email protected] <[email protected]> Subject: [Frameworks] How to Make Analog Filmmaking Financially Accessible? This Message Is From an External Sender This message came from outside your organization. Report Suspicious<https://us-phishalarm-ewt.proofpoint.com/EWT/v1/KGKeukY!vYQd06ktgEpjC7ceUMakuqlqV9pXlkJknso4VjTxsCB9yDdb51JIC8IVDpuc2deHokedsb9_tsguzu85KhaUGeRSahgbKZBQiVXS61hC5zObZY6xzubpMWjTdyve$> Dear Framework Community, How do you teach analog filmmaking as a financially accessible practice? As I continue to scour Ebay for analog equipment and supplies, I question how I can explain to others how to continue pursuing analog filmmaking after they finish a course, workshop or online tutorial? What if home for someone is on a different continent with limited resources, or perhaps they live nearby but on a limited budget? Does anyone have any creative ideas or experiences regarding this matter? Curious to hear thoughts on how to teach 16mm and especially 35mm through cameraless and lens-based approaches. The factors I'm thinking about are: - Equipment (splicer, tape, camera, scanner, projector, computer, digital editing applications, analog editing equipment). - Developing film (developer, fixer, photo flo, depending on film type). - Acquiring film * I'm an educator just starting out. * Continuing to pursue camera and cameraless approaches with celluloid film, but have not taught an analog filmmaking course, (hopefully one day, maybe). * I realize that as I go further into this deep well, I question how I can teach others that want to continue this hobby after they finish a class, workshop, etc. * I'm in the process of experimenting with different approaches (natural-based developing techniques, sewing instead of taping, cameraless animation on recycled filmstock, etc.) but want to hear from you all. If someone wants to just continue exploring this interest and aren't trying to send film off to a lab for developing, scanning, etc. and applying for large grants is an inaccessible thing, what are some DIY cheapest-of-cheap ways to continue doing this? - Bren -- Bren Vienrich-Felling [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>
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