233 ☼ I got a secret roll of film and made a short film with it

Behind the scenes of a surrealist short film shot on Harman's brand new experimental color film, Switch Azure. Plus a film giveaway.

Dear friends,

This week I got to play with a brand new film stock that was announced a few days ago, and instead of doing a normal review, I made a surrealist short film. Welcome, Harman Switch Azure!

SWITCHING THINGS UP

Simon Feilder on Harman Azure Switch

A few weeks ago, Harman sent me some rolls of a new film they were about to release. It’s called Harman Switch Azure, and it’s unlike anything I’ve shot before. It’s an ISO 125 color film where the colors “switch” in unexpected ways. Blues become orange. Yellows shift to a vibrant azure. Reds transform into purple-blue hues. Skin tones go somewhere completely unfamiliar.

My first instinct was, my regular instinct which is that I am never really all that interesting in making a standard “new film stock review” video or newsletter. I’m not very good at those, and I get bored easily so to just stand in front of a camera and hold up a canister and talk about latitude and grain for eight minutes? More power to my friends and colleagues who can do that, it does serve a purpose, but it’s just not for me and my wacky little ADHD brain.

What I wanted to do instead was use this weird, unpredictable film as a plot device.

Here’s the backstory. My friend Simon Feilder is an actor and performer who recently moved back to Amsterdam after two years in India. He needed new headshots. Real ones, for real auditions. So we planned a shoot at Studio 13.

A couple of months ago, I had appeared in a stage reading of Home Alone with Gene Freidenfelds, an Australian standup comedian and filmmaker. You read that right. A stage reading of Home Alone. I played the Joe Pesci part, Gene with his whole 6’4” body played young Kevin. Amsterdam’s English-language comedy scene is a beautiful and strange place. Gene and I got to talking about what we love in short films, and we kept coming back to the same thing: originality. Doing something that could only exist because of the specific people involved.

So we decided to make something small together to see how we worked together. I’m thrilled with how it came out. Check it out here:

The idea was simple. Wesley the photographer (a slightly confused, fictionalized version of me) is doing a normal portrait session with Simon. The assistant, masterfully played by my friend Jens, pops open a roll of Harman Switch Azure. Then things start to get weird. Colors shift. Reality bends. Wesley is alarmed. Simon is excited. Jens is….something altogether different.

We shot it in a couple of hours and had the best time.

After we wrapped the video, Simon and I stayed at Studio 13 and I shot his actual headshots digitally. The Switch Azure portraits may not work for actor headshots but they sure are fun!

When you get the scans back from an experimental film like this, you don’t know exactly what you’re going to see. That’s the whole point. The colors don’t follow the rules you’re used to. A light blue backdrop turns red. Skin tones shift into territory that feels almost hand-painted and let’s call it “dark Smurf” in color. I love the way these came out.

I also ended up taking some pictures of Jens on Switch Azure.

I shot the medium format rolls on my Hasselblad 500cm and the 35mm on my Contax G2. Both cameras handled Switch Azure well, though I’ll say the medium format negatives were richer in the reds than the 35mm one, which I preferred. I edited the 35mm ones to match the 120 to keep the look consistent.

Harman Switch Azure is available now in both 35mm and 120. It’s rated at ISO 125, and Harman recommends shooting it at box speed for the best results. One thing worth knowing: it scans differently depending on your setup. Frontier, Noritsu, and flatbed/DSLR scanning all produce noticeably different looks, so talk to your lab about what to expect.

If you enjoyed this issue, I’d really appreciate it if you shared it with a friend. ❤️

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Your Turn — Film Giveaway

What is your favorite film stock to shoot at the moment and why? Leave a comment so we can all be inspired by each other.

I will randomly select one commenter to receive a mystery goodie bag from my studio with a photo book, a roll of Harman Switch Azure plus some rolls of rare expired film, some test prints, or whatever I pull from the drawer that week.

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Next Week: A special and very moving note I receive about a portrait I took on the street in Buenos Aires eight years ago.

Talk soon,

Wesley

PS Look at this awesome illustration Tim van Damme made for a Process Roll Notes app I am working on. More on this next week!

PPS If you happened to find yourself here but aren't yet a subscriber, hit the button below and receive Process every Sunday.

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This Week’s Camera + Tools

Camera: Hasselblad 500cm, Contax G2

Film Stock: Harman Switch Azure (120 + 35mm)

Process is supported by MPB.com, my go-to for buying, selling, or trading used gear. Everything comes with a 12-month warranty.

Lab: All my film is developed with love by Carmencita Film Lab. Use code “PROCESS“ for a free upgrade.

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