The roll that AGO saved: how to rescue film you shot too dark
Marta shot a whole roll of Kodak Gold 200 at ISO 3200 by mistake, four stops underexposed. The lab could only push two. Here is how push processing works, and how she saved the roll...
What we learned building Fränk with you
In April we wrote that we were building a cine film processor, thinking that we may get a few people interested in Fränk. This is the story of the months since, and what comes next.
In April we wrote a short post saying we were building a cine film processor for Super 8, Double 8 and 16mm. We had a working prototype on a desk in Estonia and a question we could not answer on our own. Would people like a cine film processor based on the success of AGO?
We found out on 31 July, when Fränk opened on Indiegogo. We reached our goal 7 minutes and 13 seconds after launch, something we still find hard to believe, and over the following six weeks 126 people from around the world backed the project. Many of them also wrote to us, asked hard questions and told us what they need from a device like this. We are grateful to every one of them.
Two prototypes, many hands
While the campaign ran, two Fränk prototypes travelled from one reviewer to the next. Filmboy24 and The Cinematography Lab put them to work on camera, and PetaPixel, CineD and Newsshooter wrote about the project. Everyone who used Fränk sent something back, a scan, a problem or an idea, and that feedback changed the machine more than anything we did on our own.
The reel got a small film holder, so a 100 ft roll of 16mm can be split across the two reels without losing a frame, and a larger spiral for the extra film Kodak puts on a 100 ft spool. The lid got proper latches. Fränk got a handle, so you can carry it from the room where you load it to the sink. For long processes like E-6 there will be an optional heat pad.
A slower, better path
When the campaign closed, we sat down and looked honestly at how we would build Fränk for everyone who backed it, and for the shops that want to carry it. Printing the plastic parts, as we first planned, would have been hard to do well at that scale. So Fränk's plastic parts will be injection moulded.
That means redesigning those parts and making the tooling, and it moves Fränk's delivery from Q1 to around Q2 2027. We did not take that lightly. We would rather ask you to wait a little longer than send you a machine that feels like a prototype. Fränkie, the manual reel and tank, is a much simpler product and will be 3D printed, so it stays on track for Q1 2027. Arno explains the decision in more detail in his update post.
The reel goes into injection moulding in October, and Fränk's plastic parts follow in November. We expect the first injection-moulded reels in February, and Fränkie ships in March. Fränk follows in May or June 2027, once its own parts are ready.
If you missed the campaign, ordering reopens on Indiegogo on 1 October. Everything about the machine is on the Fränk page, and we will keep writing up the build, the good weeks and the difficult ones, in the Fränk build diary.
Thank you to everyone who backed Fränk, shared it, tested it or wrote to us with a question. Fränk is a better machine because of you, and we are grateful that you trusted a small team in Estonia with something you care about.
From all of us at Vintage Visual, thank you.
