Accelerated print development for effect

[Robert A. Zeichner]

Okay, darkroom chemists, maybe you can suggest some magic way of accelerating print development (or simulate that effect) so that the image comes up in seconds rather than a minute or so. I need to videotape this and am hoping some of you might have some suggestions.

[Gerry Harrison]

Use widest aperature on your enlarger lens and crank up the temp of your developer.

Gerry

[Ole Tjugen]

Use RC paper...

[robc]

In the dark? And if there is enough light for the video then won't the image be fogged in even a second?

[optV]

Many people develop negatives by inspection using an infrared light source (eg. night vision). I would suggest a camcorder that has infrared "night shot." Decrease your dev times with less dillution and more temp. It prob won't provide the best print, but it should work.

-Dan

[NER]

Why don't you just speed up the video tape?

N. Riley
http://normanrileyphotography.com

[Robert A. Zeichner]

Let me elaborate further. I need to shoot this in real time, live, with actors. Has anyone used a bleaching routine that allows a redevelopment to be done at a faster rate than normal development? There is no reason why I can't fake the process to speed it up as long as it appears to look like a print coming up in developer. If such a process could be done in normal light, than I can also fake the ambient light to appear like the room is lit with safelights.

[robc]

I've done this with bleach and then selenium sulphide toner but I wouldn't recommend that unless you can get pre made toner which is hard to come by. It stinks as well.
A better option would be a bleach and then Thiourea tone/redevelop which will do what you want in daylight. The only thing is that the bleach will not remove the image completely but in dim light I don't think the camera would see the bleached image if it is done to completion.

See formulas:

http://www.jackspcs.com/tpt.htm

there are ready made kits from photographers formulary:

http://www.photoformulary.com/DesktopModules/StoreProductDetails.aspx?productID=274&tabid=9&tabindex=2&categoryid=13&selection=0&langId=0

[NER]

Let me elaborate further. I need to shoot this in real time, live, with actors. Has anyone used a bleaching routine that allows a redevelopment to be done at a faster rate than normal development? There is no reason why I can't fake the process to speed it up as long as it appears to look like a print coming up in developer. If such a process could be done in normal light, than I can also fake the ambient light to appear like the room is lit with safelights.

In that case, simply overexpose the print.

N. Riley
http://normanrileyphotography.com/

[Doremus Scudder]

Hi Robert,

Just some brainstorming about your problem for what it's worth.

First, try paper with a developing agent incorporated. I believe some Ilford RC papers have this (though I'm not really sure).

Use concentrated, warm developer; a dev-incorporated paper developed in warm undiluted developer should show an image in 15 seconds or less and develop to completion well before one minute.

If you need to hurry up the scene, you can always edit out the first part of the developing in which the paper shows no image. Further editing could be done, removing a few seconds or so, as the image comes up. Just plan on having the actors leave breaks with no movement and dialogue every so often.

Kodak red safelights can be very bright and still not fog paper, so maybe you can shoot a real print in real time with available light.

If the problems are insurmountable, maybe you can re-story-board the scene, cutting away to show the print coming up. Then you could show it somewhat speeded up...

Good luck with the project,

Doremus Scudder

[Robert A. Zeichner]

Thank you all for your suggestions. I'm going to do some warm developer experiments this weekend and will report my findings.

[Donald Qualls]

Just in case it's not too late -- however you do the process, if you're digitally editing the video, it should be easy to "compress" the action in the editor, so that 30-45 seconds for the image to come up can be compressed into, say, 10 seconds to avoid straining the attention spans of the uninitiated. Alternately, you could even to a fade dissolve from blank paper to fully developed print, and if the print doesn't move between the two shots, be almost indistinguishable from the original except for the time elapsed.

[C. D. Keth]

While it's not quite accurate to the development if prints, I know a solution that will be by far the easiest. Just use an already developed print and, for the scene, "develop" it in water but don't have the person agitate it. Then shoot a shot of a blank white sheet of paper in the water. In post, lay a mask of the black paper in water over the print and clean up the edges. Then it's just a matter of changing the opacity of the mask to develop the print. Easy as cake, any decent post guy should be able to do it in a jif. Just remember to shoot both parts of the equation for each shot of the developing print you will want.