The Educational screen (c1922-c1956])

Page 148 The Educational Screen A Technician's View of Film Damage (Continued from page 147) Film care, of course, starts in the library or exchange which maintains a trained inspection staff. There the film is inspected, repaired, and cleaned. But even the finest care given to film is of no avail if the projectionist fails to do his part. All reliable exchanges and libraries maintain a well trained inspection staff to insure the user a film that is in good condtion for their use. There are man} kinds of film damage. Here are the most common and what can be done to prevent them. Scratches are cau.sed by a dirty projector or a burr on the film channel. The projector should be cleaned before projecting films. A cotton swab dipped in alcohol or carbon tetrachloride should be used on all parts of the projector that the film will touch. Sometimes an idler or roller that has not been oiled will freeze to the shaft and cause scratches. All idlers and rollers should be checked before threading the film over them. Burrs or nicks in the film channel are caused by cleaning the film chaimel with a hard metal object. Use only a cotton swab or camel hair brush. Nicks or burrs can be seen with a magnifying glass. Uusually a new part is needed if it has a burr or nick on it. Sprocket marks on the film are caused by the projectionist's not threading the projector properly. Perhaps he forgot to put the clamp over, the sprocket or he put it on loosely so that it came open when the projector was started and the film rode on the .sprocket teeth. Sometimes the springs on the clamps become weak and they automatically open, unknown to the projectionist ; then the next splice that goes over the sprocket will cause the film to jump off the sprocket and ride it. Scratches and sprocket marks show up very plainly on the screen and often new film has to be discarded because of them. There is no inexpensive way of repairing this type of damage. Pulled or torn sprocket holes result from a variety of causes. The most common, of course, is improper threading. Other common causes are dirty or worn out sprockets, sticking rollers or idlers, bad or bent reels, bad take up belts, a dirty or worn out claw, and of course a poorly cared for or worn out film. Some projectors will not handle a green film. Film should be aged before projecting, but if it must be run, a drop of sperm oil on the film channel will ease it through. It is the projectionist's duty to see that a film is not damaged. He should see that the projector is clean, that it is properly oiled, that it is in good condition for presenting the show. He should sit by the projector and feel the film as it comes through. If any damage is being done, the projector should be stopped and inspected to see what is causing the damage. The adage that "the show must go on" which seems to be so deeply instilled in the blood of most projectionists should be modified. A few feet of damage is excusable, but to ruin an entire film is carelessness. The projectionist is responsible for the film while it is in his possession. His attitude toward presenting a good show should not prevent him from shutting down the projector to correct any failure of the film's passing through the channel in good shape. Film damage is costly, alertness will prevent it. A Teacher's Reactions (Continued from page 147) teachers. They are basically trained to protect zealously, and to teach their pupils to protect, all materials given them to use in their schoolrooms. They are almost over-conscientious in the care of all such material. Anything as expensive as a motion picture ]M-ojector assumes the greatest importance, and anything mechanical presents to them immediately multiple possibilities of damage and waste. They are impressed by the administrators of visual education and by the writers of articles in their professional journals, "that carelessness is cosdy and unnecessary." Immediately their reaction is one of fear. Rather than make a mistake and be guilty of the charge of "carelessness," they avoid using the projectors. But what they are afraid will be called, "carelessness," if their attempts cause film damage is, in reality, the result of ignorance, a complete unfamiliarity with the proper operation of a film projector. It is an unusual teacher who has had adequate, if any, real training in the proper use of a motion picture machine. If upon some happy occasion, she has followed blindly some too technical directions that came with the machine and has had a successful lesson, the relief when the experience is over is so great and the conviction that it was all due to luck or accident so definite, that little self-confidence is gained. "But if the experience is less fortunate and difficulties arise, her confidence is completely shattered and a repetition is strategically avoided. "Ignorance excuses no one" may be the precept accepted by administrators in this case, but it is definitely an unfair one. It is also contradictory to one of the basic laws of education, "We learn by doing." Surely they can recognize that "to learn by doing" in a classroom, without skilled direction, can be an extremely expensive and discouraging form of education. Therefore opportunity for effective learning through actual experience outside the classroom situation should be provided. Few teachers have access to motion picture projectors in their lives outside their profession, as they do their sewing machines and radio. If they are to become thoroughly familiar with the operation of a projector, yes. so thoroughly familiar that they can thread and adjust it almost subconsciously while they are watching a class of forty-five alert, expectant, and restless youngsters, ample opportunity for training the actual operation of a projector must be given. Who is to be responsible for giving this training? That lies between the administrators of visual education and the dealers of visual equipment. Who does it is not nearly so important as the fact that it is done. Would it be too visionary to suggest that a visual education department set up two or three projectors in a projection room open two afternoons a week where