Video Artifacts

Photochemical film

Film is both an image-forming material and a physical carrier. Exposure changes a photosensitive emulsion, chemical processing makes that change stable, and the developed strip must then survive transport, storage, scanning, or projection. Each stage leaves a different family of evidence in the image.

Film is transported and exposed in a camera, developed, stored, and reproduced Scene light exposes silver halide in emulsion layers coated on a clear film support. Processing converts the latent image into metallic silver or dye densities within those emulsion layers. The developed strip is transported and stored before a projector or scanner reads it.EXPOSED PHOTOSENSITIVE EMULSIONCLEAR FILM BASE / SUPPORTDEVELOP / FIX / WASHDEVELOPED IMAGE IN EMULSIONTRANSPORT / STORESCAN / PROJECT01020304SCENE LIGHT
  1. 01Emulsion responseSpectral sensitivity, exposure, latent-image formation
  2. 02Material structureGrain, emulsion thickness, support and backing layers
  3. 03Development chemistryDeveloper, fixing, washing, drying
  4. 04Storage & ageingSilver and dye stability, support ageing, environment