Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Film disposal

This is topic Film disposal in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Luciano Brigite (Member # 1104) on 06-28-2003, 03:14 PM:

Hello,
I'm sorting a lot of old stuff, junk and all that to throw away and during the process of "yanking" stuff out of the places I ended with a few boxes full of old trailers and film bits, they're all acetate,heavyly worn and faded, and they're all .. uh.. the "X" type [Embarrassed]

.. it no longer has interest for me and I don't want to risk a broken gear or any other mess in my projector by running that stuff. Because of the contents of those trailers I was planning to toss them in the paper shreder then in the trash but when I tried it,the machine didn't run ( it was out of use for a very long time and the mech seized up [Frown]

)
Is there any other way I can get rid of all that stuff risk having it's content being seen by ppl that should not see it ? ( minors and so on) Not a long ago I read something here on FT about a way to remove the emulsion from the film but couldn't find it again, it'd work for me too

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 06-28-2003, 03:27 PM:

If you're really sure you want to destroy film forever, soak it in a nice strong solution of household clorine bleach and hot water. (In USA "Clorox" is a well known brand. Use whatever kind you can buy at the market.)

Mix it in a large bucket and let the film soak. The emulsion will come off and you'll be left with clear film base and a bucket of mucky water. Flush the muck down the toilet in small batches. If the film base is still in decent condition, rinse it clean and use it for leader. If it's crummy, toss it in the dumpster.

It's probably silly for me to remind you that this permanently destroys the film. The reason I say it is because you should find out if the film is important or valuable. Once it's gone... It's GONE! If that was an original Star Wars trailer you just "washed away"... OOPS! [Embarrassed]

Posted by Luciano Brigite (Member # 1104) on 06-28-2003, 08:22 PM:

Ah, yes.. that's what I read somewhere on another post here on the foruns, I couldn't remember what else was used along the hot water. (tried the hot water alone but it didn't work), Thanks for the input, Randy! [Smile]

Regarding the film content... I don't think it has any value.. ,as I mentioned in the first post.. they're all "X" rated trailers, or in another word.. porn ( sorry for the uh.. offensive word (?) ) they all where inside a rewind bench/film cabinet I bought along with the rest of the boot equipmentfrom a theatre that was being demolished and didn't think much about what to get out of there and what not at the time . I just don't want to put all of this stuff out and some dumbass kid or someone else rip the box/bag open and toss the film around showing the dirty stuff before the dump truck (sp?) comes to get the trash away and get into trouble because of it.

Posted by David Favel (Member # 1125) on 06-29-2003, 05:25 AM:

List it on E-Bay.

Posted by Dan Lyons (Member # 1454) on 06-29-2003, 12:16 PM:

Go over and post up on 35mmforum.com [thumbsup]

Danny

Posted by Jesse Skeen (Member # 586) on 06-29-2003, 02:27 PM:

Send them to me!

Posted by Luciano Brigite (Member # 1104) on 06-29-2003, 07:40 PM:

[Eek!]

!

I don't know if I should do any of that..first because they're all X-rated trailers (porn), second, I'm unsure about what's right and wrong about the possession of these kind of stuff, I didn't buy these trailers not took them out of a depot or anything like that. as I said before, they came inside a rewind bench/cabinet I bought from a closed theatre and they have no use/interest for me, ohter than the fading/wear/damage.. it's porn.. see 2 or 3 of them and you've seen them all . [Cool]

And for selling them over the net and such.. I'm unsure about what's right and wrong in selling/buying/trading of trailers and other stuff. I have no idea about what distributor/company they came from, the only thing I know, mostly for guessing is that they're about 20 years old or some more. if wheren't because of the content, I'd have dumped them already. Any info about this would be nice too.

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 06-29-2003, 10:38 PM:

It's funny how film seems to be almost indestructible in one instance and super fragile in another. A long time ago I did some "science experiments" at home. I took a length of film from an old trailer and soaked it in various substances... Hot water, cold water, Windex, Formula 409, WD-40, etc.

What I found, for the most part, water did relatively little damage even when soaked in alternating hot and cold baths. As long as the film was allowed to dry completely, it could be projected almost normally. I would imagine that under lab conditions film that was simply soaked in water could be restored to virtually original condition.

When I started going to other substances, progressively more damage was done. Alcohol or alcohol based substances did some damage but I imagine with good lab treatment the film could be rendered playable again, although with noticible damage. Glycol based substances (Formula 409) and ammonia based substances did more damage that I don't think could be restored but I don't know for sure. Anything stronger than that was murder. Even a little bit of clorine (Clorox Bleach) totally wrecked it.

If you want to speed up the destruction, agitate the film in the bucket while it is soaking. Even though film can stand a soak in water, obviously it becomes more vulnerable to abrasion when it's wet. If you REALLY want to destroy the film faster, let it soak for a while and then use an abrasive scrubber sponge like is used to wash dishes. ( e.g.: Scotch Brite) If you are using chemicals, do remember to wear rubber gloves, lest you bleach the skin off your hands!

Regarding the pornographic content of the film... What are the laws like in Brasil? In the USA, it's not illegal to have porno films provided that you are of legal age ( > 18 years old) and all of the "actors" are of legal age and you don't knowingly allow it to fall into the hands of anybody who isn't of legal age.

Pornographic films, especially on 35 mm, are getting to be quite the rare commodity these days. There's got to be somebody out in the world who will pay you money for it!

If your stuff is just "run-of-the-mill" naked people having sex it's probably not terribly valuable but there are a few porno films where the "actors" have moved on to more legitimate movies or have otherwise gotten famous. THOSE films can be worth some serious cash! It's worth a bit of your time to do some research. Once gone the film can't be brought back.

On the other hand, if there are laws in your country/town about this kind of material the sensible thing to do is to get rid of it as quickly as possible. In this case you are right to destroy it.

It will add a new meaning to the words, "Bleached Blonde Bimbo"! [Big Grin]

Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 06-29-2003, 11:48 PM:

I think it is FOX who is sending out letters now that are asking for the previews to be returned. I think one of the reasons why is because people are dumping some of the previews on Ebay, and making a profit doing so.

Posted by Carl Martin (Member # 1146) on 06-30-2003, 02:09 AM:

i can't speak for brazil, but there is no law in the u.s. preventing you from boxing them up and sending them to me. email me and i'll send you my address and postage!

carl

Posted by Luciano Brigite (Member # 1104) on 06-30-2003, 08:20 AM:

The law is about the same here about having porn material, be 18 Y or more and the actors also be 18 or more. porn tapes and dvd's can be found for sale even on newsstands here. what is bugging me is the format ( 35mm film),FWIK.. a lot of people here that collects or have 35mm stuff got into trouble in the past months after the major distributors found out that their prints were "walking away" from the depot and no one "knew about it", the same apply to trailers and ad. material.
I've been out of a booth since Sept. and trying to keep in the busines as a projectionist/tech for hire is being very disapointing, then I want to get back into a booth and not going behind bars . [eyes]

Carl,sending all the stuff to you? the shipping costs can be very scary..about a $100 or something.. still want? [Big Grin]

----------------------

A while after I too the fisrt batch of "bleached blonde bimbo" out of the "printer" , I met a friend that works in one of those palces that prints leaflets, booklets and so on ( can't remember the name right now [Embarrassed]

) and he told me they have a heavy duty paper shreder there and that I can use it any time I need then.. all the rest of those trailers will meet the blade by the end of the week .
Bleaching film was an interesting ,but a little messy, thing to do. Now I have several feet of spotty film for leader and a can of yucky gooey water to take care of .
Thanks you all for the input on this [Smile]

[ 06-30-2003, 07:34 PM: Message edited by: Luciano Brigite ]