Ozaphane film
Ozaphan film was a brand name for 16mm amateur films . Ozaphan was released as a patented safety film process for short films with a maximum length of 140 meters and was aimed at amateurs interested in technology who could operate their own home theater with it. The process was mainly marketed by Agfa , but also by Kalle from the early 1930s. In the 1940s, production had to be stopped due to the war. It was resumed in the 1950s, but then superseded by 8mm and Super 8 film .
development
The process for the industrial production of a robust cellophane film was invented in 1920 by Paul Vanet and Jacques E. Brandenberger , managing directors and chief engineer of La Cellophane SA.
Two teachers, Ernest Louis Victor Rebillon and René Adam, developed a projector in France that they wanted to use for teaching purposes in schools and patented it in 1923. The manufacturer Gallus improved the technology and developed the device to market readiness by 1927. Ozaphan is a flame-retardant security film , a non- flammable cellophane film and a film carrier made of cellulose hydrate with a silver bromide emulsion. The film was developed in ammonia vapor and called "Cellofilm". Ozaphan foil in 22 mm format from the film and projector manufacturer Cinébloc was used on spools of up to 400 meters. One of the projectors was already delivered with a motor. Cinébloc and from 1929 also Cenelux, a subsidiary of La Cellophane SA, followed with further devices.
After the establishment of the cinema, the development of films for private individuals was the next development step for Kalle and Agfa . The focus was not on filming by amateurs, but on the provision of professional image material on a film system, which on the one hand should be affordable and on the other hand easy to use. Agfa praised the Ozaphan film with these properties as an innovation in the field of home cinema and offered a differentiated range of short films aimed at different target groups. Since celluloid films made of cellulose nitrate could not establish themselves as expected in home theaters in Germany, the easily inflammable material was unsuitable for home use and the seamless viscose film developed by Kalle in 1928 was also not accepted by the market, Agfa resorted to one developed by Kalle in 1927 Process brought back to production readiness in 1929, also patented in 1923, called "Ozaphan". The films were exposed to a “master positive” using the contact method with quartz lamps and made durable by varnishing. At 50–60 μm, they were only half as thick as the films commonly used at the time, and thanks to the protective lacquer they were scratch-resistant, but not very tear-resistant. The procedure followed the diazotype . The silver-free, light-sensitive diazo compounds only enabled a coarse-grained resolution, but still sufficient for home use, whereby one meter of ozaphane film had about two and a half times as many images as one meter of “normal film”. It was produced by Agfa, which was part of IG Farben at the time, compatible with the Kalle system.
Films offered
The first films hit the market in the early 1930s. Short films up to 40 meters in length were common. Due to the hand crank operation, information about the planned playing times was unusual; the speed of cranking had to be roughly estimated based on natural movements in the film. Agfa's own projectors followed later. The films were aimed at different interests of children (fairy tale films) and adults (humor, culture and entertainment), most films were produced in several languages for the international market. However, films were also offered that were intended to document the national greatness of the German Reich in the past and present. A film series was introduced which, under the title Ozaphan Monthly Show, collected film sequences from the weekly newsreel and was sold monthly to private users. The films were not only sold individually, but also by subscription at a discount. The technology, which was relatively new for private users, was still experimental. Film loops of two meters were offered and showed moving bodies and demonstrated the principle of moving film from individual images by repeating the same short sequences.
Projectors
The German projectors for the 16 mm films were supplied with hand cranks, the connection to the light pipe was used exclusively for the lighting for the projection. The technically simple devices were intended for a projection distance of two meters and an image format of approx. 30 × 40 cm. The entry-level device was worth 27 Reichsmarks , which in 1937 corresponded to a current value of approx. 111 euros. Better devices had a resistance that roughly ensured a balanced speed, brighter low-voltage lamps or, in the top models, drums for films up to 140 meters in length.
In addition to devices from Agfa, which appeared late, there were devices from Plank and identical models under the Noris brand .
| Projectors | Bulbs | Film length | tension | Others | price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home theater Piccolo No. 1 | without winder | 29.50 DM | |||
| Home theater Piccolo No. 2 | 60 W ("household bulb") | up to 20 m | 110 V
220 V |
with winding device | 36 DM |
| Home theater Piccolo No. 3 | 75 W ("projection lamp") | up to 20 m | 110 V
220 V |
built-in bezel | |
| Plank Home Cinema Model 100 / Magica 100 | 75 W ("special cinema lamp") | up to 50 m | 110 V
220 V |
Motor available as an accessory | 63 DM |
| Plank home cinema model 200 / Magica 200 | 75 W ("special cinema lamp") | up to 140 m | 110 V
220 V |
Motor available as an accessory | 89 DM (without motor)
134 DM (with motor) |
| Plank home theater model 300 | 200 W ("projection mains connection lamp") | up to 300 m ozaphane, up to 120 m silver film | 110 V
220 V |
built-in motor, cooling by fan, automatic light lock (protection against film damage when stationary), visible return projection | 225 DM |
| Home theater Noris 16 Filius | 200 W ("special projection lamp") | up to 300 m ozaphane, up to 120 m silver film | 110 V
220 V |
built-in motor, cooling by fan, automatic light lock (protection against film damage during standstill), | 240 DM |
| equipment | |||||
| Attachment engine | 110 V
220 V |
45 DM | |||
| Gluing press | to repair cracked film | 7.20 DM | |||
| Rewinder | 9 DM | ||||
| Screen (projection screen) | 37.5 cm × 50 cm | 9 DM |
literature
- Paul David Blanc: Fake Silk: The Lethal History of Viscose Rayon. Yale University Press, 2016. ISBN 0300224885 , ISBN 978-0-3002-2488-7 ( limited book preview p. 126 )
Web links
- Ozaphan-Film - Entry in the Lexicon of Film Terms of the University of Kiel
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Agfa historical advertising brochure ("Agfa-Ozaphan-Kurzfilm-Archiv" with offers for projectors), date unknown (approx. Mid-1930s)
- ↑ a b cf. Film Lexicon (Weblink)
- ↑ Paul Vanet is a graduate engineer at IDN ( École Centrale de Lille ) in 1904, chemist at La Cellophane, chief engineer at Le Film Ozaphane in Bezons
- ↑ le Cinébloc - entry on cinematographes.free.fr
- ↑ Cinélux - cinematographes.free.fr
- ↑ a b cf. Paul David Blanc (literature)
- ↑ a b c Ozaphan 16 mm projector in the Kurt Tauber collection (kameramuseum.de)
- ↑ a b Ozaphan film on Plank Magica in the Kurt Tauber Collection (kameramuseum.de)
- ↑ What is special about the Ozaphan film . In: Kalle & Co. Aktiengesellschaft (ed.): "Ozaphan Film Ratgeber" . Wiesbaden-Biebrich, p. 3 (no year, approx. 1960).
- ^ Kalle & Co. Aktiengesellschaft (ed.): "Ozaphan Film Ratgeber" . Wiesbaden-Biebrich, p. 55–59 (no year, approx. 1960).
- ^ Kalle & Co. Aktiengesellschaft (Ed.): Ozaphan Film Advice . Wiesbaden-Biebrich, p. 42–44 (undated, approx. 1960).