Scratching on Film Supplies!

Well, some of you may ask,
"Hey Tim, what are the kinds of tools and techniques I can use to best work on a Scratch-On-Film animated piece?"

Well here ya go:

- FILM! I practiced on some color positive 16mm Tungsten film first which was fun and had a nice blue coloration. For Mirounga though, I used a Exposed Color Positive that allows me to scratch the film emulsion away at different pressures and get those greens and yellows you see in the final film.
- LIGHT BOX! I bought mine from Cartoon Color in Culver City, CA
- a clay-board or scratch-board tool (these tools are great for detail and for broad lines!) (sometimes art store will sell these nibs separately to go onto your calligraphy pen shaft)
- An fine etching needle! (this was my personal favorite tool because it was super sturdy, didnt bend, could do details of anything tiny and I felt like i could draw pretty fluidly with it) (Unfortunately I misplaced it or I would post of pic of it for you all to see)
-A Black Sharpie marker or color Sharpies if you like. I used the Black Sharpies to color over my mistakes and after a few coats on the film, you cant even tell you made a goofy scratch.
- White China Markers, good for drawing directly on the film before scratching.
- Black Micron Pens to draw with (more details on this to come below)
- A Magnifying Glass - To see what you are doing!
- A good lamp, dont screw up your eyes. you already have to squint to see these tiny images, dont do any more harm then you already are doing.
- Other sharp objects such as: Exacto knives, Push Pins, Wires, A Plexi-glass Scorer, Steel Wool, Shaving Razor Blades, Clay tools, Etc.
- ___________ <----- the best tool EVER! for Scratch-on-Film Registration! SEE BELOW!

MY SUPPLIES

MY LAMP/MAGNIFYING GLASS COMBO!

<- You Can see me holding a small frame from a scratched frame from Mirounga that was taken out.

<----Lamp and magnifying glass in one....GENIUS! :)




AND now my secret ingredient for success in REGISTRATION!: I used a couple techniques for registration since essentially what i am doing is character animation on 35 mm. I needed to be as precise as possible. So I tested out some things and used graph paper at times and film strip templates such as this one: BUT! The ultimate registration technique and SUPPLY!, which seems obvious but is amazing how well it is suited for this medium of 35mm Scratch-on-Film, is.....................SCOTCH TAPE!

Regular sized SCOTCH TAPE! First off its CLEAR, Secondly it is conveniently the size of 4 SPROCKET HOLES which is the EXACT height of the top to the bottom of one frame of 35mm film! WOWZA! (best piece of advice i can give anyone looking to register a scratch-on-film piece......trust me! you'll thank me later! the process is TEDIOUS, but works like a charm! I felt a moment of Enlightenment when I discovered this through experimentation hehe)

What I did:
- Scratch the 1st drawing or your key pose at the top of the film strip.
- Scratch the last drawing of the sequence (another key pose) at the bottom of the film strip.
- Use SCOTCH TAPE, trace the 1st drawing w/ a black fine point MICRON PEN
- Take the traced tape drawing from the 1st frame and place it over the 2nd drawing at the end of the sequence.
- Place another piece of SCOTCH TAPE over top, and draw the inbetween.
- Take the inbetween and find your spacing or timing to where it should be placed.
- Place it down and scratch through the tape to place your scratched drawing onto the frame
- Then work straight ahead between your drawings to make your sequence, using the SCOTCH TAPE along the way on every frame to make sure it is falling in the same registration.

HINT: If you take your SCOTCH TAPE with the MICRON PEN drawing of the last frame on it, and you move it down a frame on the FILMSTRIP, place it even with the 4 sprocket holes, and press down on your needle around the outer contour line of your figure or drawing on the tape to push little holes through your SCOTCH TAPE. Once you remove the scotch tape, you will have a series of little holes showing through on your film strip. DON'T JUST CONNECT THE DOTS! that is your last drawing, so you use those holes as reference for your last drawing to alter slightly, thus creating movement (sequential drawings = animation :) ).

DON'T BELIEVE ME? Have a look at the hundreds of tape drawings (that survived) I had to trace in the registration for this film (I felt wierd throwing them away since I devoted so much time to them, so I stuck them on bristol board and thought one day someone could get use of them hehe). There were hundreds more of these but tape does rip when you are putting holes and cuts into it, and therefore most of these tape drawings were lost, but the ones I did manage to save I think illustrates the point just fine:

Seeing is believing, eh? :)