International projectionist (Jan-Dec 1958)

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rsfffrsfffrt^??^^ INTERNATIONAL PROJECTIONIST extends to all its friends Reason 6 KjreetinaA Volume 33 DECEMBER T958 Number 12 Handling and Projection of 16-mtn Sound Motion -Picture Film It becomes increasingly apparent, as technique improves, that the differences between the presentation of 16 and 35-mm professional theatre film are being narrowed. After all, the proper presentation of either film size grows increasingly dependent upon not only technique but also equipment — that is, get ting the most out of that which is provided to do the job. The appended article, we think, is inclusive in setting forth those values which contribute to the overall process, and is highly instructive for both the professional and non-professional worker in this vital field of mass communication. M .ANY of the characteristics of 16-mm film seem quite topsyturvy to the 35-mm projectionist. Theatre-release prints are oriented in the projector so that the dull, or emulsion, side of the film faces the lamphouse. In 16-mm projection, however, the shiny base side of the film usually faces the lamphouse, a convention which originated with the introduction of reversal-processed camera films in 1924 for amateur use. Soundtrack Positioning To permit inter-cutting with reversal films without disturbance of projector focus, therefore, nearly all 16mm prints made from 35-mm originals are oriented so that the shiny side of the film must face the lamp. Contact prints made from 16-mm negatives, or duplicate reversal prints made from 16-mm positives, color or black-and By ROBERT A. MITCHELL white, must be threaded so that the dull emulsion side faces the lamp — the "off-standard" orientation. 16-mm films are also wound opposite to 35-mm practice. For normally-oriented films (base side toward lamp), the emulsion side of the film is on the outside of the roll. This is because the film comes down from the right-hand side of the feed reel as the projectionist faces the operating side of the machine, not from the left as in theatre practice. If this were not enough to confuse the 35-mm projectionist, the soundtrack of a correctly-threaded 16-mm film is on the inside edge, that is, on the side of the film nearest the pro jector mechanism case. (With 35-mm, the soundtrack is on the side of the film nearest the operator.) There are also notable differences in the films. Aside from the small width of 16-mm film (% inch), it has only one sprocket-hole-per-frame instead of four. Moreover, there is only one row of perforations in 16mm sound prints, the opposite margin bearing the soundtrack. It is thus impossible to thread 16-mm sound film incorrectly without having the picture upside-down and backwards! 16-mm Results Very Good Despite the smallness of 16-mm film and its great differences from professional 35-mm film, the results obtainable from it in picture and sound quality are remarkably good. In fact, the pictures projected from cameraexposed 16-mm reversal originals, and INTERNATIONAL PROJECTIONIST DECEMBER 1958