Film is not something we cover often on CineD, but Kodak has announced a change to their VISION3 Color Negative films worth noting. After more than eight years of development in Rochester, the company is replacing the long used remjet backing with a new Anti Halation Undercoat (AHU). It is the first major structural change to VISION3 in decades. For context on Kodak’s bigger picture struggles, see our earlier piece: Kodak Faces the Fade Out – Is This the Final Call? From Remjet to AHU Remjet has been part of Kodak stocks for nearly a century, protecting against halation, scratches, and static. But it also attracted dirt and required extra water and energy to remove during processing. Kodak’s answer is the new AHU design: a permanent anti static and scratch resistant backside layer plus a protective undercoat beneath the emulsion that washes away during development. Unprocessed AHU stock looks different, glossy dark brown instead of remjet’s matte black, but once processed, performance is the same. The update will roll out across all VISION3 staples: 500T, 200T, 250D, and 50D, in formats from Super 8 to 65mm. Behind the scenes in the film processing lab at Fotocinema, Rome | Image source: Kodak Kodak VISION3: what filmmakers and labs gain For filmmakers, the transition is seamless. The look of VISION3 stays the same, but results are cleaner, with better protection against dust and halation. Labs meanwhile save water and energy, since remjet removal is no longer part of the bath sequence. Person...
Published By: CineD - Yesterday