International projectionist (Jan 1961-Dec 1962)

INTERNATIONAL PROJECTIONIST Volume 37 toy, 1962 Number 5 COMMON-SENSE... • • • Best Film Preservative By ROBERT A. MITCHELL Motion-picture film is a unique concentrate of artistic vision, technical effort, and commercial enterprise. Without film there would be no demand for projectionists, no movie theatres, no exhibition industry. Imprisoned in cans of film are human emotions by the foot, vicarious experiences by the reel, and all the action and color, all the speech and music, all the intense personal communication of the photoplay. And it is only through the art of the projectionist and the magic of his machines that the film, undamaged and unabused, fulfills the destiny envisioned for it by the inspired labor and hopeful faith which created it. It therefore behooves the projectionist to treat this vital "ribbon of celluloid dreams" with tender care in order that its latent visions of motion and sound be faultlessly materialized in luminous, audible splendor on the giant theatre screen. This is the projectionist's first responsibility. And his second duty is to pass the prints on to the next projectionists in as good condition as possible — unmutilated, unabused, and carefully repaired. The proper care of motion-picture film involves all the various things that are done to it during its inspection, repair, projection, rewinding, storage, and subsequent shipment. Film can be ruined in any of these projection-room operations. It can also be preserved by intelligent handling, or even improved by conscientious repair of breaks, tears, and badly made splices. Proper cleaning and waxing or lacquering also improve the condition of film, although these are specialized operations not recommended for the projection room. Now, the proper care of film during all phases of its handling should be based on a sound knowledge of the 4 physical behavior and properties of release stock, not on unverified notions that have been widespread in the industry ever since the earliest days of nitrate stock. Film "Humidification" A Screwball Idea Hints and reminders addressed to our brother projectionists anent the conservation of prints during inspection and projection have been given many times in the past, and will doubtless be reviewed in the pages of IP at appropriate epochs of the future. Our present attention is directed to less well known territory, that is, to the twilight zone of mythical, but fondly cherished, attempts to restore the original flexibility and pliant toughness of baked-out prints by treatment with water vapor. Sad to relate, theatre-release prints have sometimes been subjected to more punishment by misguided methods of "rejuvenation" than they would ever receive from actual projection under severe heat conditions. These moisture-restoring treatments have involved everything from a Turkish steam-bath over the snout of a boilingteakettle on the rewind bench to exposure to open tanks of water in the bottom of the film-storage cabinet. The "cure," rest assured, is worse than the "disease." These methods of attempted moisture restoration are almost certain to accomplish nothing but damage to the film. Although it is true that the expulsion of natural moisture from film base by high-intensity projection tends to make the film brittle and likely to curl, exposure of dry film to moisture can have very harmful results, particularly if the temperature of the film and the moistureladen air be higher than 55° or 60° F. For example, short-term exposure of film to an excessively humid atmosphere (80% to 100% relative humidity) may fail to International Projectionist May 1962