8mm Forum: newb- airport security scan

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Posted by Gary Groch (Member # 2408) on January 20, 2011, 01:26 AM:

Hi
I'm new in this forum and new in 8mm movie making. Sorry if repost.
I'm from London, UK and going for a holiday next month, how does security scans affecting unprocessed, undeveloped 8mm films. I'll be using Kodak 7363 10 ASA.
Is there anything I should know about before travel? How to carry them? What to say if they would like to open it? ... I'm traveling from Heathrow Airport .
Or maybe you know where to buy 8mm films in Bangkok?
Thank You

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on January 20, 2011, 08:56 AM:

Generally it's not a problem at all.

In 2003 I went to Sakhalin Island, Russia with a stopover and airport change in Moscow. The scan history of the trip went something like this:

Leave New York: 1 Scan
Leave Moscow: 1 Scan
(1 week in between)
Leave Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk: 1 Scan
Leave Moscow: 2 Scans (once at terminal entrance, once at the gate)

So this is 5 scans. The telling thing is not my 40ASA movie film but my wife's 400ASA print film: all of it came out fine regardless of the sensitivity.

I've done several other trips since and seen the same results.

You should do carry-on for your film because the story is the checked luggage gets a higher dose. You can request hand inspection but don't expect you'll always get it. Being that your movie film may be something new to Security, they may tell you to "Open It!". For this reason leaving it in the carry-on is probably the better choice.

I thought about using a shielded film bag, but that's just saying "I'm hiding something. Please take me down to the room with the bare bulb and the barred window for a...talk".

I went to Siberia last summer on business. Security is absolutely Orwellian lately. They used the strip-search scanner and some uniformed character in Moscow actually looked between the bills in my wallet. The pat-down was a little too...personal for my tastes too. That and a mug-shot is all I'd expect on a trip to prison! Being that I was nine time zones from home and know like 8 words of Russian I wasn't up to arguing the point.

The Friendly Skies are kind of nasty these days!

Posted by Guy Taylor, Jr. (Member # 786) on January 20, 2011, 09:40 AM:

Hey Steve,

I've been to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk on business myself back in 1995. I used to work in the oilfield exploration industry. We acutally flew in from Sapporo Japan on a Cesna Citation. The only American I met over their that wasn't part of our group was a fish buyer from Long John Silver's restaurant chain.

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on January 20, 2011, 11:39 AM:

Guy,

We went there to adopt our son. I don't claim to be at all wise, but it is one of the best moves we ever made. He's a great little kid: smart, imaginative, adventuresome and best of all he's good-hearted. It's heartbreaking to imagine him growing up in an orphanage.

He's a Cub Scout. Tomorrow night is Pinewood Derby. Sons of engineers seem to do very well for some reason...

(This year's entry is based on a former world land speed record holder...I'm looking to take down the Scoutmaster this time!)

We went to Yuzhno twice. The first time was February and it was running 10-20F with five feet of snow on the ground. The air was so dried out we took turns opening the door so the static jolts would be shared fairly.

Posted by Winbert Hutahaean (Member # 58) on January 20, 2011, 12:02 PM:

Guys, the very topic is currently discussed in the film shooting forum:

Kodak: Baggage X-ray Scanning Effects on Film

Please read through for the exact situation now.

thanks

Posted by Douglas Meltzer (Member # 28) on January 20, 2011, 12:05 PM:

Gary,

Welcome to the Forum! I agree with Steve that you should never keep your film stock in checked baggage since that gets hit with x rays that are stronger than the carry-on scans. I would request a hand inspection. Are these the 25 ft rolls that are on daylight spools?

Doug

Posted by Gary Groch (Member # 2408) on January 21, 2011, 12:38 AM:

Douglas, Yes, I'm using 25 ft rolls that are on daylight spools.
Thanx a lot to all of You [Smile]

Posted by Joerg Polzfusz (Member # 602) on January 24, 2011, 06:50 AM:

Hi,

quote:
The telling thing is not my 40ASA movie film but my wife's 400ASA print film

It looks like colour negative films for still cameras can be scanned much more often (fogging after 25 scans) than e.g. b&w-films (fogging after the first scan):
http://www.i3a.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/i3afilmxraytestreport.pdf

So the problem doesn't only depend on the ASA-rating, but also on the type of film.

Jörg

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