Boxoffice (Jul-Sep 1961)

FILM DAMAGE — The Proper Care in Handling, Inspecting, And Splicing of Film Is Responsibility Of Both Projectionists and Exchanges By WESLEY TROUT w E CONTINUE to receive many letters from projectionists complaining about receiving film in poorly inspected condition and asking that something be done about it. Well, there is not too much we can do except set forth some data on causes of film damage and suggest that there should be more cooperation between the exchanges and theatres in caring for the film. INJUSTICE TO BOTH PARTIES We are well aware of the fact that exchanges have had to cut down on help and operate as economically as possible and still try to give exhibitors good service, but if film inspection is neglected to the extent it will be further damaged when run through the projectors because splices were not remade and damaged sprocket holes were not removed, then we think the exchange is doing an injustice to the exhibitor, and if the projectionist does not properly take care of the film when it is in his possession, he is doing an injustice to the exchange. So, it all boils down to the fact that both parties must work together to keep film in better condition. We find that methods of inspection vary in different exchanges. Some inspectors hold the hand below the film, so that film runs between the thumb and finger, usually through a cloth or cotton glove to feel for bad splices and damaged perforations. This method is very good and is considered to be the approved method. Using a clean piece of cloth or cotton glove will detect a damaged place in the film much better than trying to hold it with bare thumb and finger because the cloth will catch partly open splices or cut edges. AVOID CONTACT WITH FILM SURFACE When using cloth or gloves, don’t let too much dirt accumulate on either, as this will cause scratches on the film should the emulsion side come in contact with the glove. Avoid contact with the film surface as much as possible while inspecting. Before we proceed further, for better screen quality all prints should be properly cleaned when they become badly oiled and dirty. Cleaning can be best done in the laboratory equipped to do this with machinery. New prints, of course, can more easily be scratched than films which have been run. Therefore one must handle new prints with care and make sure that no green emulsion or other foreign matter adheres to the shoes which might cause film damage. But keep in mind that you should be just as careful with old prints in order to avoid damage. Much film is damaged and badly scratched in rewinding because the winding equipment is not properly aligned, particularly a hand rewind. The film must feed smoothly and squarely from one reel to the other. There should be no protruding edges. The film should be wound tightly, but not “pulled down” by holding the reel and forcing the film in order to obtain a tight roll of film. There should be just enough tension on the dummy rewind to make it go on smoothly and tightly. Unevenly wound film is often caused by a badly warped exchange reel. Protruding edges are often damaged when placed in the reel can. Exchanges should see that protective lead and trailer strips are kept at full length. This helps to keep the leaders and footage strips in good condition. Motor winding speeds are frequently so high as to cause the end of the film to whip around (on projector takeup as well as on motordriven rewind) a number of times before the reel is stopped. This can be responsible for considerable loss in footage, if the protective leaders are not kept long enough. Splicing has a direct bearing on the life of the film. Splices that are wide, stiff, buckled or out of line may cause the film to jump the sprockets and cause considerable damage before the film is stopped while in the projector. We strongly recommend a good film splicer as we have seen very few good hand-made splices. You should also have a good, reliable film cement, and keep cement container capped tightly when not in use. A good splice requires that each end of the film be cut at exact right angles to the Cause and Prevention Of Drive-In Scorch Recently, there has been a complaint from an indoor theatre of receiving "a very bad print with a horrible drive-in scorch which resulted in several refunds." I take it that the print was damaged due to high-powered lamps and a terrific heat at the aperture. To overcome some of the damage done by heat at the cooling plate, the projectors should be cooled with a fan blowing on the cooling plate, or by some kind of a filter to cut down the intense heat. Most lamp manufacturers can supply these. Prints are subject to more dust in drive-ins and every precaution should be taken to keep the film in a good film cabinet when not in the projector. length of the film. With a good film splicer you will not have any ragged ends and the splice will be held better. The day of handmade splices is past. And, by the way, be sure to scrape clean the emulsion because any left on will not hold and the splice will soon pull apart. Scrape to the proper depth so as to remove all the emulsion and still not remove too much film stock and cause a weak splice to be made, because the film would be thin if scraped too much. Moreover, always apply film cement with a small brush. A dry metal scraper adjusted to remove just enough surface to make a good splice should be used. Slightly moisten the emulsion side for quick and easy removal of emulsion. Don’t use a sharp scraper because it might cut away too much film stock. Wipe patch clean with lense tissue before applying film cement. USE FILM CEMENT SPARINGLY Splices that are wide and stiff will cause trouble and do not need to be made this way. A well-made splice will be only the width of one sprocket hole with good film cement very sparingly used, but enough to evenly cover the scraped surface. Colored film must be scraped on both sides or it will not hold. Sometimes, it is helpful to roughen the back surface slightly where certain films seem to resist satisfactory splicing. If the back surface contains even a slight film of oil, some difficulty may be encountered in obtaining successful splices. When using mechanical splicers, this type of splicer should be kept free of hardened cement and the blade that holds down the splice should have even tension so that it will assure satisfactory contact across the full length and width of the splice. Bear in mind that a good splice is actually a weld, one section of the film being partly dissolved into the other. We cannot over-emphasize that it is very important to bring the two surfaces under pressure as quickly as possible after you have applied the film cement. It is not good practice to notch the edge of the film when small side nicks or breaks do not warrant immediate splicing. We have found that when perforations are broken or the edges of the film have nicks, it is best to remove these damaged portions and make a good splice because simply trying to notch these damaged places sometimes results in tearing of the film and damaging more than would be necessary. The practice of such perforation and edge notching should, therefore, be discouraged. FACTORS IN GOOD PROJECTION We want to strongly emphasize that good projection, which adds patronage and increased revenue to the theatre, is entirely dependent on the skill of the projection room staff and the condition of the film and the projector. We know that satisfactory screen reproduction is not possible with bad prints regardless of how efficient the projectionist might be. Likewise, good projection with a perfect print cannot be expected from projectors in bad repair. Projectors should be kept in good repair, if film damage is to be avoided when it is being run in the projector. Many times we find that considerable damage can be traced directly to the projectors, usually caused by dirty fire-trap rollers, undercut sprocket teeth, excessive damage on film Wesley Trout 6 The MODERN THEATRE SECTION