NewsBy FilmFocus
Retrospekt launches "Grafx", a color film series with pre-exposed graphics
This is an AI translation of an article originally published in Japanese. If anything reads oddly, the Japanese original is the authoritative version.
Retrospekt, based in Wisconsin, has released Grafx, a new series of 35mm color film with graphics already exposed onto it. Existing artwork is pre-exposed onto ISO 400 C-41 color negative film, so the graphics appear layered over the photos you take.
Source: retrospekt.com
Three designs
The series comes in three designs. "Shattered" was made by photographing an iPhone whose screen had cracked after being dropped, and it puts a web of cracks across every frame. The idea is to burn a thoroughly modern motif into film.
"Shattered", one of the newly announced designs. Source: retrospekt.com
"Hot Ink" takes its inspiration from 1990s tribal tattoos, with border-like patterns along the top and bottom of each frame. "Sparkler" scatters small star-shaped points of light across the image, which Retrospekt describes as "a twinkly bit of magic."
The pre-exposed graphic itself is the same throughout a roll, but how it actually shows up depends on the composition and lighting of each shot, so even with the same design, every frame apparently turns out differently.
Character editions in the past
This isn't Retrospekt's first pre-exposed film. The company has previously sold custom films featuring popular characters such as Peanuts and Hello Kitty.
The company's earlier "Hello Kitty Strawberry Kawaii Collection". Source: retrospekt.com
Price and availability in Japan
The film currently sells for $22 per roll. The company ships outside the US, and Japan is on its list of supported countries (import duties may apply).
Photographers have long enjoyed unintended effects through techniques like multiple exposures, light leaks and physically scratching or damaging film. What sets Grafx apart is that the manufacturer designs and builds that "accident" into the film in advance. Since it's ISO 400 C-41, it can be developed just like any ordinary color negative film.
At $22 a roll, the per-roll cost is quite high once converted to yen, and it climbs further with shipping and import duties added. Since you'll be shooting all 24 exposures with the same graphic, it's probably best thought of as a novelty film meant to be shot through as a themed roll. Because you can't control the results, it's the kind of product you can start enjoying from the moment you begin thinking about what subjects to pair it with.