Wacky Wednesday #93—Got Film?

 

Let’s talk about film—that plastic stuff (celluloid) rolled into a tiny tube that we used to load into cameras, hoping we were loading it right—how many times was I supposed to turn it around that crank? Is it advancing? Did I just mess up the whole roll? (Or was that just me…)

 

 

Anyway, film. I’ve taken a lot of fun photos using film, but in the last ten years I’ve been all about digital photos. So much easier, and don’t forget the instant gratification of digital pictures. (I feel no shame in my addiction to instant gratification, in case you were wondering.)
 

Now, how did this post come about? The way all good posts come about: quite randomly. I happened upon a roll of film in a box, and thought it would be fun to use the film in a costume. I realized I had other plastic film negatives, just waiting for a second use. The curving strips of film had potential as an awesome sculptural element. And so the project began.
 

I know that you film purists will be horrified that I am cutting and splicing film negatives, and while I don’t want to upset you, you must understand that for me, using these negatives helps with my clutter issue—decreasing it only a teeny, tiny bit—but it does cut down on the clutter I have saved in boxes. So really, I must do this.
 

On a related note, did you ever watch movies on film projectors? I remember this from when I was a kid and the local libraries played movies during the summer—with actual reel to reel film projectors like this:

 

There’s something so charming about light shining through a long roll of film. These days, some films are made using digital video, but many feature films still are shot with actual film.

In case you’re wondering about my dress, it’s a refashion. Several years ago I made an Eiffel Tower Halloween costume and I made a gray dress to go under it to tie in with the gray/silver tower and all its geometry. I added more geometric shapes onto the dress, as a nod to the rectangular pattern on rolls of film. The dark strips of film pop against a lighter background.

Necklace, earrings, hat and sunglasses—all created with film and hot glue. Cost: approximately one dollar for hot glue sticks.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, it’s time for my closeup…