OVERVIEW
Throughout its lifetime, celluloid film undergoes a series of phases during which precise environmental conditions optimize quality, performance, and longevity. It begins with transforming raw materials to manufacture a thin, pliable surface for emulsions, followed by producing a movie and developing the film, then projecting the film on theatre screens, and lastly preserving the films until they inevitably decompose; additionally between these steps are distribution and storage. Within each process, specifically controlled air conditions are implemented at different scales ranging from of vast factory floors to intimate cans. The film is constantly enclosed in tempered, regulated settings; these are the containers of film. They create it, transport it, and protect it throughout its linear lifespan.
Because film stock changed over time, this research primarily focuses on cellulose-nitrate film, the first type of film to be used for motion pictures. It also strongly relies on resources from before 1950 when nitrate-based film was in its prime, except with regards to preservation practices that became popular after that time. The nitrate base was fully replaced by a safer acetate base by 1951, and then later color dyes were added to the images. Each type of film base requires different conditions as a result of their different chemical and physical properties which is intriguing, but will only be slightly addressed at this stage of inquiry. Although nitrate-based film is no longer manufactured today, it does still exist, especially due to efforts made to delay an exponential rate of decay so that the stunning black and white snapshots captured on its surfaces can live forever.
This investigation begins with a comprehensive breakdown of the chemical properties of cellulose-nitrate film. The film is classified in the nitrate group and has cellulose as a raw material. Its properties due to its nitrogen compounds make it very unstable and combustible. Therefore it will decay, although at a slowed rate, even in the most favorable conditions and once it dissolves completely into a powder, its disposal must be handled as if it were an explosive. These properties pose challenges for working with the material and especially for storing it, but also create the clearest black and white images when compared to sequential film types. Nitrate-based film is favored for its ability to achieve an end goal of quality motion pictures, however, processes, machines, spaces, and buildings must then be designed in response to its chemical and physical composition with appropriate technologies for controlling artificial climates and reducing risk of fire. These considerations are made for the ‘containers’ the film passes through at each phase. This work guides one through the journey of film from one container to the next with explanations of the air conditions and other related factors at play.
Furthermore, while the foundation of the research is material and spatial in scope, there is also the opportunity to evaluate how materials and space impact non-material spheres. For example, the entire experience or effect of viewing a movie is dependent on material processes derived from the meticulous fine-tuning of countless scientific experiments that involved measurable and observable data. A material-driven analysis regarding the film itself, as well as the materiality of other processes, machines, and equipment, can generate a deeper understanding about the ways we experience movies as recreational pastimes or educational ventures, and the ways we recognize and value history as memory. Film is believed to shape America’s cultural heritage, and consequently the continuation of its production and awareness of its preservation are important matters with serious ramifications. The material ‘thing’ of nitro-cellulose film not only informs the procedures, organizations, and mechanical equipment involved in its formation, operation, and storage, but also influences branching topics of consumption, economics, sentiment, culture, and politics within society- the reasons why these films are continually produced and saved for future generations to enjoy and learn from.
