A film can is the light-tight container used to enclose

film stock Film stock is an analog medium that is used for recording motion pictures or animation. It is recorded on by a movie camera, developed, edited, and projected onto a screen using a movie projector. It is a strip or sheet of transparent pl ...

. They are typically a circular

box A box (plural: boxes) is a container with rigid sides used for the storage or transportation of its contents. Most boxes have flat, parallel, rectangular sides (typically rectangular prisms). Boxes can be very small (like a matchbox) or v ...

pressed from thin

sheet metal Sheet metal is metal formed into thin, flat pieces, usually by an industrial process. Thicknesses can vary significantly; extremely thin sheets are considered foil (metal), foil or Metal leaf, leaf, and pieces thicker than 6 mm (0.25 ...

, but plastic examples are also used. Film cans are used to hold unexposed film, exposed film ready for developing and also for the distribution of completed

film print A release print is a copy of a film that is provided to a movie theater for exhibition. Definitions Release prints are not to be confused with other types of prints used in the photochemical post-production process: * Rush prints, or dailies, ...

s. The last of these does not require the can to be light-tight, but environmental protection and exclusion of dust makes a similar container just as useful. Cans of undeveloped film must only be opened in darkness, within a

darkroom A darkroom is used to process photographic film, make Photographic printing, prints and carry out other associated tasks. It is a room that can be made completely dark to allow the processing of light-sensitive photographic materials, including ...

Cassettes

Fujifilm Fujicolor Superia 200 - 2010-02-17 at 20-17-04

film cassette file:135film.jpg, 135 film. The film is wide. Each image is 24×36 mm in the most common "small film" format (sometimes called "double-frame" for its relationship to the "single-frame" 35 mm movie format or full frame after the introduc ...

is similar to a film can in that it is a light-tight enclosure containing a spool of film. However a cassette also has a light trap, usually a set of lips covered with

velvet Velvet is a type of woven fabric with a dense, even pile (textile), pile that gives it a distinctive soft feel. Historically, velvet was typically made from silk. Modern velvet can be made from silk, linen, cotton, wool, synthetic fibers, silk ...

, that allow film through without allowing light into the can. This allows a cassette to be loaded into a camera in daylight, then the camera back closed and light-sealed before use. Cassettes are themselves stored in cans, to keep dust off the light trap. Dust caught in the velvet can scratch an entire roll of film. For

35mm film 35 mm may refer to: Film * 135 film, a type of still photography format commonly referred to as 35 mm film * 35 mm movie film 35 mm film is a film gauge used in filmmaking, and the film standard. In motion pictures that record on ...

, these cans were once made from pressed aluminium with a screw top, now moulded plastic with a push fit lid.

Bulk film

Most film is wound onto spools within the film can. Unexposed film supplied in bulk is commonly supplied unspooled, as a bare roll within the can. Before use, lengths of it are wound onto spools in a

, then enclosed in cans or

cassette Cassette may refer to: Technology * Cassette (format) (or ''cassette tape''), a format that contains magnetic tape for audio, video, and data storage and playback * Compact Cassette, a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback ...

Cassettes

Bulk film

See also