<div>World’s Smallest Film Factory — in a Rochester Basement
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>At a time when many think analog film is dead, Mark Osterman and France Scully Osterman are making real 35 mm film in the basement of their Rochester, New York home. Understand that this is the only film-making operation on Earth where making the photographic emulsion, coating the stock, slitting and perforating 35 mm motion picture film can be witnessed by photography and motion picture enthusiasts.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Join Emmy award winning cinematographer Gerardo Puglia as he chronicles the Ostermans’ struggle to make real 1920s era motion picture film with vintage equipment. Puglia, from Princeton, NJ, has a passion for story telling that will reveal this new research as an adventure into the never-before-seen world of making film. Known for his poetic and atmospheric cinematography, Puglia’s previous cinematic film projects include God Knows Where I Am (2016) and To the Edge of the Sky (2017). For 30 years he was Eastman Kodak's primary cinematographer promoting the art of Cinematography and Photography in Rochester and Hollywood and is a member of the Cinematographers Guild. With an impressive career in filmmaking and too many to mention, you can find more about Puglia’s work here: gerardopugliafilms.com.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>This won’t be the first time he has worked with the Ostermans. In 1999 Puglia filmed Mark demonstrating 1850s photographic techniques in The Wizard of Photography, a documentary on George Eastman for the celebrated series The American Experience.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>This project is about the origins of both still and cinematic film. It offers a rare documentary opportunity to tell a story that has never been shown before because modern film companies such as Eastman Kodak and Ilford Ltd have made modern films that are sensitive to all colors. The operations of making such films are carried out in total darkness. The Osterman’s efforts on the other hand are visually open to the viewer made possible by obscure circumstances.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Your donation can help make this possible. Even a small donation helps.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>In December, 2024 Mark Osterman undertook making of the same type of motion picture film first used in the Leica camera. The Leica was introduced in 1925 and while it wasn’t the first 35 mm still camera, the Leica was arguably the most influential. Anyone shooting 35 mm (analog) film today in hand-held cameras can trace their creative and documentary lineage to the Leica. Because the Leica initially used early cine films that were not sensitive to red light, all of the emulsion making, film coating and development of the exposed film will be documented in this film about making film.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>This landmark research began when Osterman purchased a rare 1928 Leica I camera. This was followed by uncovering the original glass developing drum for visual development and the first enlarger invented for 35 mm film, essentially a complete imaging system from the mid 1920s.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>The work is only possible because the Scully &amp; Osterman darkroom is equipped with a unique experimental coating machine originally made in the Polaroid research lab. Mark used this machine when he was the process historian at George Eastman Museum where he taught public workshops in making and shooting early cinema film in hand cranked movie cameras. Now retired from the Museum, Mark and France continue researching early processes from their home. In early 2025 they were given a vintage Bell &amp; Howell 35 mm film perforator, essential for film making, as a gift of Eastman Kodak Company. Both Eastman Kodak and Ilford Ltd Company (England) also contributed 1000’ rolls of blank acetate film stock for their experimental coatings.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Osterman, who was the photographic process historian at the George Eastman Museum 1999-2020, researched the evolution of photography from the late 18th century to the 1920s to teach photograph conservators by demonstrating the processes. France Scully Osterman has also taught a variety of early photographic techniques, specifically the wet collodion variant processes and early printing techniques at universities throughout the US and in the couples’ Rochester studio. In this project the couple work together making the silver bromide gelatin emulsion, coating, perforating, test shooting and development.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Follow the Ostermans' as they work together in their eccentric home complete with a 19th century inspired skylight studio and Mark’s “daily driver” — a 1923 Model T Ford. It’s a wondrous view of the heretofore unseen world of making film that culminates with the couple demonstrating it to the Leica Company in Wetzlar Germany. In addition, they will present to the Leica Museum an original roll of film shot by Oskar Barnack, the inventor of the Leica camera. A delightful story enjoyable to anyone who has ever shot a roll of 35 mm film or viewed silent movies from the 1920s.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><em>ADDITIONAL LINKS:</em>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><a href="https://www.collodion.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Scully &amp; Osterman website</a>
</div>
<div><a href="https://www.gerardopugliafilms.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cinematographer Gerardo Puglia</a>
</div>
<div><a href="https://www.msslocationsound.com/bio.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sound Engineer Jack Mehlbaum</a>
</div>

Drew Tanner

Andy McGuire

Craig Burlette

Forrest Tosie

Jayne Hinds Bidaut

Mark kirkland

Peggy Ahwesh

Nicholas Kovats

Jefta Varwijk

Steven Gladstone

Mildred Kennedy-Stirling

James Francis

Anonymous

Mrinal Bahukhandi

Samson Lee

Bryan Costin

Bernhard Roth

Adam French

Kai-Pierre Thies

World’s Smallest Film Factory — in a Rochester Basement 

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

$opt_dummy_attribute

English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

dyn_template_ids

Adyen V6 Bene Transfer & MyMoney Campaign Organizers - test01

Bene transfer V6 and AdyenV6MyMoney Campaign Organizers - production

OneTrust next-app audience

fundCountryCode

NextDoor Share Option Users

Fundraisers with Reactions feature capability

fundCurrencyCode

US + Non-charity COs Only

locale

fund country is US and user language is English

personId

comms-internal-person-ids

Enhanced Story Experience Users

Suggested Goal Experience Users

user language is English and fund country: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

Poster share - new funds eligible (newest 9/18)

Streaming widgets beta user

paymentProcessor

3DS payment method

user language is English and fundCountry: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

currencyCode

Money Box Donation List Prompt Experiment Audience

GoFundMe Employees

ipAddress

Mark Rieth IP Address

Version 9.2.0 and above

Fund is in English speaking country

desktop

Android v12.11.0 and above

Platform is Android

paymentMethodType

checkoutType

Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

admin pr kit prod

EUR Donation Upsell

Share Text generation Skip Fundraiser

(prod) new funds eligible for amp12 (UGC gallery)

fintrac_cad_idv_form_v2 audience

paymentProcessorAccountId

fallback mode accounts

proCampaignId

p2p legacy startfundraising page

AMP24 New Funds Only PROD (DO NOT MODIFY)

countryCode

charityId

UKCharities

Federated Search Internal Testing

route.pathname community

US Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks Feature Audience

Supporter Comments Eligible Funds

International Only

fundId

braze fundraiser group 

Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

Fundraiser Saved Payment Method Rate Limit Bypass (Production)

leaderboard-partner-id-audience-givepanel

Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

Mexico country code

Posters INTL

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

Scheduler payment tester gorup

charityCommunityId

Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

UC Tipping v20250115 International

pymk_production_xplr_fe_team

Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

smart goals (fundraiser/manage) on test01

Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

NPO upsell education category

unclaimed charities

prod_ach_audience

AI Chatbot Audience

amp13 only new funds (prod) (anyword auto)

UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

ach frontend audience

Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

smart goals test01

Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

NPO recommendations prod

Fundraiser Without Instagram Deep Link

Native 11.4.0 and above

UC Tipping v20250107

Users Receiving Braze KYC Validation Failed

Native 11.3.0 and above

ai_title_page

anyword

openai

control

manual_entry

userEmail

template_id

userId

fundUrl

isCharityCo

email

appVersion

shouldBucketIntoExperiment

partnerId

donationCadence

isActiveFundraiser

isPartner

isMobile

npoProfileOptIn

fundIsLinkedWithMeta

hasSessionDonation

categoryGroup

isCampaignOwner

fundHasInstagramDeepLink

Native 11.4.0 and higher

New funds eligible - Video Sharing (PROD)

GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

isRecurringFriendly

Is Recurring Friendly

Excluded funds - Video Sharing

NPO upsell animals category

NPO upsell disaster relief category

Logged In Users

CH Donation Upsell audience

Android v10.6.0 and above

NPO upsell essential needs category

NPO upsell medical category

userCurrencyCode

Localized Currency

NPO upsell cancer category

v11.5.0 and above

testAudience

pathname

Survicate

appVersion is at or above 12.8.0

Non-charity fund

isChallengeFundraiser

challenge-fundraisers

Payment Identity Launch Verification - Production

New funds eligible - Posters v2

CAD Donation Upsell Audience

Braze Email Tester

NPO Profile Opted-Out

iOS App Version

hasKnownDonors

PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

World’s Smallest Film Factory — in a Rochester Basement

Still $10,225 to go. Help us build momentum.