Wow Lindsay that is such a great story. Thanks for sharing it. Still no word about the reels and the archive here.
x On 16 Dec 2018, at 08:54, lindsay mcintyre <email.li...@gmail.com> wrote: > Hi Mary, > > Here's a nitrate film story for you (maybe of what not to do with it). I had > about 3 lbs of some nitrate film in my studio for several years in much the > same fashion - commercials and short ends mostly. Last year, I was moving > from Edmonton to Vancouver so I thought I should dispose of it as my studio > tend to heat and cool wildly and without warning. I made sure that the film I > was holding was not negative originals (you can tell if its a print of > nitrate negative on safety stock or a nitrate print) and with a little > research, I also made sure that there were other copies of the various > items/titles in existence. I was busy with moving and packing, so on my last > day in town, I left the film in a small bowl at my mom's house in her porch > and told her I would figure it out soon. Then I hit the road. I called my > local archive and their advice was to burn it. I didn't think that was very > safe so I called my local eco station and they never got back to me. I > figured that if it needed to be burned, it should be burned with some decent > safety and supervision so I called my local fire department. The only easily > accessible phone number (besides 9-1-1) was the fire investigation number. I > left a message and they called me back within seconds and told me in no > uncertain terms that the bomb squad would be calling me to handle this. This > mostly sounded like a joke to me, but apparently, the bomb squad doesn't > usually have much to do in Edmonton. Within another minute or two, the head > of the bomb squad did indeed call me and wanted to know very many details > about nitrate film and its decomposition. We talked at length and I explained > the different stages of decomposition it could go through and how this film > was quite stable - probably stage 1 - and that it would likely last a good > long time without combusting, longer if it was kept cool. After all, it was > only a little faded and discoloured - it wasn't sticky, smelly, soft, oily, > powdery or warped. He said, 'lady, I'm not moving my ice cream so your film > cam blow up in my freezer." I told him the best thing to do was probably to > burn it in a controlled environment and since it doesn't need air to burn, it > would be good to have some firemen on hand when they did it. I wasn't trying > to insult them, but apparently the bomb squad never asks for help from the > fire department. So then had to call my mom and tell her that the bomb squad > was coming over to her house. They showed up in full gear with sirens and > lights, something that looked like a swat truck, and 5 or 6 other unmarked > trucks. They made her leave the house and take her dogs. Soon after that, > about 10 fully-outfitted officers stood in my mom's front porch staring at a > bowl full of film for over an hour. I had her take a picture. After two > hours, they told her she could come back. They left with the film in a box > and we never heard what happened next. > > Best, > > Lindsay McIntyre > > > On Sat, Dec 15, 2018 at 2:04 PM mstark...@gmail.com <mstark...@gmail.com> > wrote: > Hi all > > Thanks for all the responses. Very encouraging. I’m waiting to here back from > the archive who currently have the films and will update you when I know more! > > All best, > > Mary > On 15 Dec 2018, at 20:19, Larry Urbanski <lar...@urbanskifilm.com> wrote: > >> I'm quite curious as to the title or content of this nitrate film. Although >> one archive may not want it, another might. I've sent nitrate to the LOC >> several times, and I know other archives had footage (it was a Chaplin >> film, Those Love Pangs), but the LOC still wanted it for their collection. >> Larry >> Urbanski Film >> >> On 12/12/2018 6:31 AM, Mandar Gotad wrote: >>> >>> You can do film scanning >>> >>> On Wed, Dec 12, 2018, 16:18 mstark...@gmail.com <mstark...@gmail.com wrote: >>> Hi all, >>> >>> I have three reels of 35mm suspected as nitrate and confirmed by my local >>> film archive recently. They want to dispose safely of the film via a third >>> party… And don’t recommend that it is taken back into a domestic >>> environment as they told me it will invalidate my house insurance. I’m >>> torn between recklessly wanting it back to set fire to myself (!) and >>> document as an artwork. I have very little idea what is on it apart from >>> it’s 1920s (and presumably not thought to be significant if the archive >>> want to destroy it). It’s not in bad condition and has just been sitting in >>> my studio for the last three years. I suddenly panicked about it >>> spontaneously combusting after watching Bill Morrison’s Dawson City: Frozen >>> Time, which includes lots of footage of film setting on fire! >>> >>> Any recommendations, thoughts, warnings, advice from an artist filmmaker >>> perspective, rather than an archival perspective, are welcomed. >>> >>> Mary >>> _______________________________________________ >>> FrameWorks mailing list >>> FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com >>> https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> FrameWorks mailing list >>> FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com >>> https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks >>> >> >> -- >> We will be closed Thursday, December 20th until Wednesday, January 2nd. >> Re-open Thursday, January 3rd. Please note this on your calendar. >> **************************************************** >> Visit Urbanski Film's Websites for film, equipment, supplies: >> http://www.urbanskifilm.com >> http://www.presstapes.com >> Visit Moviecraft Home Video's online catalog at: >> http://www.moviecraft.com >> Larry Urbanski >> 708-460-9082 >> **************************************************** >> _______________________________________________ >> FrameWorks mailing list >> FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com >> https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks > > _______________________________________________ > FrameWorks mailing list > FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com > https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks > _______________________________________________ > FrameWorks mailing list > FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com > https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks
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