16 mm film in the context of Super 8 film

Film theory is a set of scholarly approaches within the academic discipline of film or cinema studies that began in the 1920s by questioning the formal essential attributes of motion pictures; and that now provides conceptual frameworks for understanding film's relationship to reality, the other arts, individual viewers, and society at large. Film theory is not to be confused with general film criticism, or film history, though these three disciplines interrelate. Although some branches of film theory are derived from linguistics and literary theory, it also originated and overlaps with the philosophy of film.

Film gauge is a physical property of photographic or motion picture film stock which defines its width. Traditionally, the major movie film gauges are 8 mm, 16 mm, 35 mm, and 65/70 mm (in this case 65 mm for the negative and 70 mm for the release print; the extra five millimeters are reserved for the magnetic soundtrack). There have been other historic gauges in the past, especially in the silent era, most notably 9.5 mm film, as well as a panoply of others ranging from 3 mm to 75 mm.

Larger film gauge is generally associated with higher image quality, higher image detail, greater materials expense, heavier camera equipment, larger and most costly projection equipment, as well as greater bulk and weight for distribution and storage (both interim and archival).

46°27′19″N 6°23′24″E / 46.45535°N 6.390115°E / 46.45535; 6.390115

Bolex International S. A. is a Swiss manufacturer of motion picture cameras based in Yverdon located in Canton of Vaud, the most notable products of which are in the 16 mm and Super 16 mm formats. Originally Bol, the company was founded in 1925 by Charles Haccius and Jacques Bogopolsky (aka Bolsey or Boolsky), the company's name having been derived from Bogopolsky's name. In 1923 he presented the Cinégraphe Bol at the Geneva fair, a reversible apparatus for taking, printing, and projecting pictures on 35 mm film. He later designed a camera for Alpa of Ballaigues in the late 1930s.

The Ciné-Kodak was the first movie camera for 16 mm, manufactured by the Eastman Kodak Company and introduced in 1923. It was intended for home movie making. Kodak released additional models, including magazine-loading cameras as the Magazine Ciné-Kodak line and a line of 8 mm cameras under the Ciné-Kodak Eight sub-brand. The final 16 mm camera was the Kodak Reflex Special, released in 1961, dropping the Ciné-Kodak brand altogether; Kodak ceased production of 16 mm cameras in 1968, but continued to produce 8 mm and Super 8 film cameras under the Ektasound and Instamatic brands.

Vinegar syndrome, also known as acetic acid syndrome, is a condition created by the deacetylation of cellulose acetates (usually cellulose diacetate) and cellulose triacetate. This deacetylation produces acetic acid, giving off a vinegar odor that gives the condition its name; as well, objects undergoing vinegar syndrome often shrink, embrittle, and form crystals on their surface due to the migration of plasticizers. Vinegar syndrome widely affects cellulose acetate film as used in photography. It has also been observed to affect older magnetic tape, where cellulose acetate is used as a base, as well as polarizers used in liquid-crystal display units and everyday plastics such as containers and tableware. High temperatures and fluctuations in relative humidity have been observed to accelerate the process. The process is autocatalytic, and the damage done by vinegar syndrome is irreversible.

Ciné film or cine film is the term commonly used in the UK and historically in the US to refer to the 8 mm, Super 8, 9.5 mm, and 16 mm motion picture film formats used for home movies. It is not normally used to refer to professional formats such as 35 mm or 70 mm film, and is incorrect if applied to any video format. In the US, "movie film" is the common informal term for all formats and "motion picture film" the formal one.

Cine film literally means "moving" film, deriving from the Greek "kine" for motion; it also has roots in the Anglo-French word cinematograph, meaning moving picture.

Standard 8 mm film, also known as Regular 8 mm, Double 8 mm, Double Regular 8 mm film, or simply as Standard 8 or Regular 8, is an 8 mm film format originally developed by the Eastman Kodak company and released onto the market in 1932. In the 8 mm system, the photographic film is manufactured as 16 mm film on a spool for use in a home movie camera. The film then gets exposed on one half of the film, the operator flips the spool, and then the opposite half of the film gets exposed in the reverse direction. The exposed film is then processed, slit down the middle, spliced together, and finally wound onto a spool for viewing on an 8 mm film projector.

8 mm cameras and projectors were originally designed for 16 frames per second, but this was later changed by some manufacturers to higher speeds to reduce flickering. Most cameras designed for 8 mm film were made with consumers in mind. Typical features include spring-wound operation, lightweight camera bodies, small viewfinders, and single, fixed lenses. Only brief scenes could be filmed without pausing to rewind the spring or flip the film spool. During loading, the film has to be manually handled to guide it into a camera's film gate and onto a take-up spool, best done in a darkened area.

The Victor Animatograph Corporation was a maker of projection equipment founded in 1910 in Davenport, Iowa by Swedish-born American inventor Alexander F. Victor.

The firm introduced its first 16 mm camera and movie projector on August 12, 1923, the same year Eastman Kodak introduced the Cine-Kodak and Kodascope. Victor advertised through his entire career thereafter that he had marketed the first 16mm equipment, but his claim was incorrect by several weeks, since the Cine-Kodak had been introduced in July, substantially earlier than Victor's August marketing date. Victor's first 16mm camera was a hand-cranked rectangular aluminum box designed for the additional film economy of cranking only 14 frames per second instead of the standard sixteen. A later version of this first Victor was driven by an electric motor. Neither camera sold in large numbers, but Victor followed in 1927 with a more successful camera modeled on the Bell & Howell Filmo. Victor offered many models of 16mm projectors, most with only minor variations, but prior to military contracts won during World War II, all were made and sold in very small numbers, from 20 units to usually no more than a couple of thousand units.The company was a large producer of lantern slides using their "Featherweight" method- a one piece glass positive with a durable emulsion framed by a cardboard mat.