16mm Film Turns 100

One hundred years ago, the Eastman Kodak Company introduced the Ciné-Kodak camera, sold with the Kodascope projector — it offered the ability to make and screen movies at home, with no special expertise.

Upon its inception into the industry, 16mm film’s size and economic value was only further enhanced by its chemical makeup. The new film consisted of a base of non-combustible acetate plastic, a much safer alternative to the dangerously flammable cellulose nitrate used in 35mm. In fact, this safety measure was so prevalent that it helped earn 16mm film the name “safety film.”

Furthermore, 16mm film didn’t create negatives during filming – only the positive camera original. This was monumental because it allowed amateurs and filmmaker hobbyists the ease and convenience of producing films without the time-consuming, two-step process of creating a negative and then printing a positive from it. For the first time ever, the process was as fairly simple as point and shoot.

For decades, 16mm film would continue to be used in homes and classrooms around the country thanks to its mobility, affordability and safety features.

By the time the late 30s were here, Kodachrome (us again!) color reversal film for 16mm and 8mm helped bring color cinematography into family’s homes across the country.

The technical marvel, however, wasn’t just the camera but also the film inside. Until 1923, the film used most commonly in motion pictures was 35 millimeters wide. That year, Kodak produced a new format that was only 16 millimeters. The image wasn’t as sharp when you blew it up on the big screen, but it allowed for smaller, cheaper and more portable cameras.

16 millimeter ushered in a new era of movies made outside the Hollywood system. Regular folks could now record their own lives, journalists and soldiers could film in the midst of war, and activists could shoot political documentaries in the street. Until digital video arrived in the late 1990s, 16-millimeter film was the mainstay of the amateur or independent filmmaker, requiring neither the investment nor the know-how of commercial cinema.

About the Author

Wayne Creed

Administrator

View All Posts