Experience the magic of analog filmmaking from shooting to processing and projecting 16mm film over the course of one weekend.

Day One: On the first day, you will learn the basics of shooting 16mm film on a Bolex camera, including:

• Loading film into the camera

• Adjusting the camera settings

• Light metering for film

• Shooting film

• Unloading film

As a group, we will collectively shoot two, 100-foot rolls of 16mm film: one Tri-X and one Ektachrome. A 100-foot roll of 16mm film amounts to a little over 2 ½ minutes of screen time. If the weather permits, we can shoot outside the darkroom, as well as inside with artificial lighting.

Once we’re done shooting, we will mix the chemistry for both the B&W reversal and E-6 color slide processes.

Day Two: On the second day, you will learn how to load 16mm film onto the reel of a LOMO processing tank, which can hold 100 feet of film. We will then process the roll of Tri-X we shot on the previous day, using the B&W reversal process. As that roll is drying, we will load and process the roll of Ektachrome using E-6 chemistry.

Once the film is dry, we will load it into a 16mm projector and enjoy the show!

No prior experience is required for this workshop, although some familiarity with shooting and processing analog film will be helpful.

Instructor bio:
Hannah Pitstick is a writer, photographer, filmmaker, and MFA candidate studying Film & Media Arts at Temple University in Philadelphia, where she has shown dozens of undergraduate students how to shoot 16mm film. She is currently working on her thesis, which involves shooting 35mm black and white motion picture film and hand painting each frame in the style of early cinema. She is obsessed with the hands-on nature of analog filmmaking and believes learning to process your own film can unlock endless opportunities for experimentation. 

This workshop has been generously sponsored The Phillip and Edith Leonian Foundation.

Workshop Withdrawal Policy

We recommend choosing workshops with care after reading our withdrawal policy. If you have questions about any of our workshops, please contact dale@thehalideproject.org