cinematography 16mm film is (almost) all black

[ChristopherW]

Hullo,

So, I shot some B&W Plus-X reversal film on an Arri BL. I got it back from the lab, and almost the entire reel is black! However, there are occasional frames that appear properly exposed and framed between two sprockets.

As far as I can tell, the registration pin was fine, there are no scratches or tears in the film. The film ran without any hiccups or odd noises.
I think it might be a camera issue rather than one of exposure. I say this because I was testing out a variety of exposures using the same/similar shots. I would assume then that at least SOME of them would turn out. Also, the occasional frame which does appear tells me it might be something with the shutter?

Towards the end of the reel, I have a couple 50' of working footage. This also happens to be some of my low-light test shots, which again, tells me that the film was not improperly exposed.

Has anyone else encountered this? What did you make of it? It was a film society camera, and they told me that it hadn't been tested in a while. I guess I was the lab rat

 

[2001 Productions]

Definitely does sound like shutter. If the film had been overexposed/flashed it would have turned out clear instead of black. Since you have an occasional good frame it sounds like the shutter must either be sticking or somehow the timing of it has gotten off.