Kodak: Behind the Scenes

Kodak invited Studio C-41 to get a small preview of what it takes to make Kodak Film. We travel through the Kodak Factory in Rochester, NY. Along the way, we learn a little about George Eastman and how he democratized photography. We then travel through the finishing facility learning about the three phases in making Kodak film.

To all the employees at the Kodak Factory. Thank YOU for the amazing work you do to continue Kodak's legacy. Seeing the work they put in to keep film photography alive is nothing short of amazing.

If you wish to learn more, please head over to our website to listen to our incredible, 72-minute podcast episode where we interview Kodak:

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This video is not possible without the incredibly generous members of the community. Studio C-41 wants to thank the following for their contributions:

- Matt Stoffel and Eastman Kodak Company for taking us through a trip of a lifetime. Additionally, sharing his historic image of the brilliant minds analyzing the first sheets of EKTACHROME E100's revival.

- RAH Footage: for taking hours of video and creating a story. Without your help, this project would never have taken off.

-Woodlot Media: Thank you for your creative guidance, collaborative support, and masterfully shooting and editing the final act.

- Eric C. Wilder for his 'Super' incredible 8mm footage of Rochester, NY. The opening scene brought this video together.

- Steven Wallace - Partner in crime and sharing the images he shot during the tour while I filmed.

- Marwan Mozayen - Editor in Chief at SilverGrainClassics for his vivid drum scan of EKTACHROME 100.

- Adi's beautiful images of San Francisco, California on EKTAR 100.

- Tim Gander Beefy TRI-X 400 cooked to a perfect exposure.

- David Mihaly's stunner double exposure shot that I still cannot master.

[mattdmb]

Glad I got to share a little piece of this special place with you all!

[averywagg]

I got back into film photography about a year ago after an absence of 20 years. Got all my old film cameras repaired. I’m having the time of my life. Kudos to Kodak!

[TransistorBased]

My grandma passed away just over a decade ago, and my parents have had a lot of her stuff just sitting around for most of that time. Money was always really tight for her and it was her dream to go live in the mountains of Colorado, which was a bit of a far cry from Eastern Missouri. I was just recently given her old Canon AE-1 Program, and very quickly fell in love with film. She only got to visit Colorado a few times, and I know this camera would have been by her side at all times. Given these would have cost a decent amount in the '80s, it was probably one of her more expensive possessions and she certainly would have cared a lot about it. So I'm having it professionally restored and I'm planning on taking it with me pretty much anywhere I go, to help keep her wanderlust spirit going

[Nrdman]

Thank you for that!
While I never worked in the Rochester plant, I did work for Kodak in the Swedish development plant there in Järfälla outside of Stockholm, a place that was later called "Kodak Hill", with the development of Kodachrome slide film.
What we called "kakor" (cookies) was 50 rolls of slide film in a light sealed roll that came down from the first darkroom where the rolls were taped together, down to the "Kodachromegången" (Kodachrome isle) and were taken into the darkroom by us and riveted together with the roll of film before it through the different baths, first B&W development of the exposed film (yes, Kodachrome is a three-layered B&W film with each layer sensitive to each of the prime colours), removing bath (to remove the negative and leave the positive), then the colour baths (cyan, yellow and magenta to add colour to the three colour sensitive layers) and fixing plus rinse and it came out for drying were we cut the 50-roll of film and sent it off to the people either framing them or just cutting them to a roll, depending on the customers choice.

We had a ton of fun together and I especially loved the employee discount of film, Kodak had a small employee-store on the way to the canteen, stocked with the usual and a lot of special stuff too, like Infrared film, Technical Pan etc, loads of fun to play around with as a young amateur photographer, but that was like 40 years ago.
Cheers!

[outspokengenius]

Been shooting film myself since the dawn of the digital age. I just shot a roll of Kodak Tri-X in my Nikon F2 yesterday.

[Sebastian_Astudillo]

I own 9 film cameras, from a Kodak Vest Pocket No 1a to a Lomo Lubitel 166b. Right now I'm returning from my vacation to the Chilean Patagonia where I took pics with my Canon Eos 1300D and my amazing Kiev III camera from 1950 using fujifilm and Kodak film

[dangoldbach]

I went for a tour of that place when I was a chemical engineering student at Syracuse, didn't think much about it at the time. 20 years later I'm a hardcore film photographer and I wish I could go back to that day and kick myself in the ass... Repeatedly.

[ZoltanStefan]

I was in Rochester/Lake evenue from Hungary in 1999. That was my third technical training at my company: KODAK!

[theoldcameraguy]

I loved every frame of this Bill. I can only imagine how much work you put into this, but man, it really paid off. What you’ve created is a beautiful, inspiring film.

[aengusmacnaughton]

Thanks! Both of my parents grew up in Rochester, NY -- in the 30's/40's. I had an uncle who worked his entire career for Kodak. Glad to see that such an iconic part of Rochester history is still there and has survived into the digital photography era (I shoot 35mm and 120). Next time I head up to the Rochester area I will look to see if I can get a tour.

[heymikkao]

Sooner or later, we're gonna need more film cameras. The prices of even the affordable models from back then have skyrocketed due to demand

[keithjohnson]

Great to know film lives on. Although I haven't shot any in years, I still have scanning negs/slides on my to-do list. I taught a darkroom class for 20+ years, 7-12th graders and elementary students as well. Never got tired of the magic.

[sad_cruton]

I'm surprised this doesn't have more views. This was really entertaining! And very well put together it felt like I was watching a documentary!

[painovoimaton]

Really cool to see the exact origin place of every Kodak roll I've shot, thanks for making this video! Analog photography is not dead.

[mannyseguin]

Thank you for the informative video ! I'm a pro photographer in Paris; I work in fashion and convincing clients to pay a little extra for film shoots is getting more and more common these days. I've spent so much in film just for fun, too. I sincerely hope it makes an even bigger comeback like vinyls do.

[VintageInsightPhotography]

Well done. Thanks for sharing. It’s amazing how things change over time. In the 1980’s we pros called Kodak, “The Yellow Godfather.” Digital surely changed that.

[adiw.]

Beautiful video! Thank you for including my photos, Bill!

[christianschonberger]

Really enjoyed this! I am shooting on Super 16 mm motion picture film as a hobby. It's all about sharing with fellow film buffs, making the very best of cameras that are 30+ years old and the feeling of having earned each shot. The results with modern Kodak film stock are simply stunning and worth all the effort.
The film image is silky smooth, it has depth and it has that organic emotional quality to it which can't be measured.
I know that many filmmakers are still fighting to shoot on film. Nothing comes close.

[Stozubw]

Impressed and inspired by the new force, thank you very much for the movie, thank you for being Kodak

[TheIrishfitter]

This is the greatest thing I’ve ever watched thank you !!!!