What is Film Emulsion Deterioration, and why clean movie film?
Recommended reading: www.kodak.com Emulsion deterioration results from fungus, mold, and mildew. Micro organisms are attracted to the organic part of the film emulsion. The higher the humidity, the more likely to have this type of problem (>60% – tropics, or storage in attics and basements are especially a problem). Fungus and mold are normally found on the film emulsion side. Left unattended, the fungus and mold continue to grow, and will eventually destroy the emulsion. Damage tends to be greater at the beginning of film rolls. Damaged film must be thoroughly cleaned to remove fungi, some sections of the film may even need to be removed and respliced. Depending on the extent of damage, images may be only slightly mottled (we have often seen “snowflake” patterns on film), to excessive visual distraction and at times absence of discernable images. We recognize that these images may be the only memory available, so we limit the editing, but will edit out major damage. Our editing is nor
