Home Movies (Jan-Dec 1941)

HOME MOVIES FOR MARCH PAGE 123 of m iniiE CURE EIEIEIS... Home movie films will last a lifetime if properly cared for. To insure long life and maximum projection quality, they must be kept tree of dust; guarded against scratching; and stored in suitable containers. Illustrated here are seven tips which, if religiously followed, will insure maximum life for your films. Most scratches on film occur during projection and are caused by dust and particles of film emulsion lodging in film gate, scratching film as it passes through. Best safeguard is to clean gate of projector with soft camel’s hair brush before threading each reel of film. Where projector is equipped with detachable pressure plate or where film gate assembly is removable, same should be removed at frequent intervals for cleaning of any deposit of emulsion particles. 1 The slightest injury to a film — tears, damaged sprocket holes, or poor splices — should be repaired at once. Neglected, they can cause greater damage. It may truthfully be said that a repair in time may save nine. Slight tears, occurring on edge of valuable footage where dropping a frame or two in making splice might inject a jarring note in the smooth continuity of the scene, often may be repaired by cementing a small patch of film to cover damaged area. Cinching of film during rewinding by stopping, momentarily, the lower supply spool with the hand is bad practice; results in cinch or “rain” marks on film. Cinching causes dust, gathered during projection, to be ground between layers of film, scratching not one but t’wo surfaces at the same time. Film, normally wound on reels, should be loose. If there is too much film to allow full rewinding on one reel, re-edit the reel to eliminate surplus footage, or divide into two reels. Humidifying films under certain conditions is important. On the other hand, humidification, improperly administered, may damage films beyond repair. In dry climates, or during long dry spells, black and white films should be protected from drying out or shrinkage by addition of about one-third teaspoonful of humidifying solution or water to the humidifying pad of humidor can, as shovm. Under no circumstances should Kodachrome be purposely humidified. Extreme humidity may cause film to turn brownish in tone. Scratching often starts in the camera. Guard against this evil by cleaning film gate of camera each time a new roll of film is used. Use soft camel’s hair brush and work around film aperture, brushing all dust completely out of camera case. Do not use a sharp instrument to dislodge fragments of emulsion that may cling to pressure plate. Instead, use piece of soft wood — an orange-wood manicure stick is best. Clean filrns as frequently as possible. Simplest method is pictured above: A cotton glove turned soft side out and worn on left hand makes excellent film cleaner. Film is simply run between fingers during rewinding process. Where films have become oily or greasemarked from projector, a drop or two of film cleaner or carbon-tetrachloride on the glove will quickly rid film of oil, dirt, and grime. Liquid cleaner should be used sparingly on Kodachrome. Proper storage facilities are important to long life of cine films. Films left indefinitely in paper cartons in which they were returned from processors, or in other non-air-tight containers, soon dry out; may shrink, preventing smooth continuous projection. All films, black and white or color, should be stored in regulation humidor cans or raw film tins and properly labeled as to contents. With latter, small square of blotting paper cemented to inside of lid will serve as humidifying pad. A special BEGINNER’S feature