Motion Picture Herald (Apr-Jun 1933)

28 MOTION PICTURE HERALD April I , 193 3 lllllllllllllllllll III TECHNCLCeiCAL lllllllllllllllllll iiii. iiiiiiiiiii The BLUEBOOK School By F. H. RICHARDSON 1 BLUEBOOK SCHOOL (pUESTION NO. 166.— (A) Tell us just what, If any, effect the projection of film In poor mechanical condition or smeared with oil and dirt will have on box office receipts. Don't exaggerate. Just reason the matter out. (B) Tell us just what mechanical faults. If any, Including oil smear, you have found In films received from an exchange recently. Don't add anything. Just set It forth as nearly as possible "as Is." In some cases it may be quite bad enough without exaggeration. (C) Tell us the Importance of having the two reels on the rewlnder In perfect alignment. Answer to Question No. 159 Bluebook School Question No. 159 was: {A) Give lis your idea of the damage Likely to be inflicted upon film if its rewinding and repairing be entrusted to an usher or other well meaning but incompetent man. (B) Name all those various things whicli may inflict damage upon film during the process of projection. (C) Name the various possibilities for damage to film in the process of rewinding. The following made creditable answers (though the answer selected for publication will convince you that deeper digging might have returned worth-while results) : C. Rau and S. Evans, Lester Borst, Dale Danielson, G. E. Doe, Kenneth Dowling, P. W. Edwards, J. Wentworth, T. Van Vaulkenburg, Wilbur Ostrum, J. E. Raynor, H. Edwards, E. E. Parkinson, M. L. Tomlinson, D. L. Prindley and E. O. Olliver, G. C. Hendrie and B. T. Sampson, D. Holler and B. Eliers, T. McGruder, N. McGuire, L. Peterson, K. L. Knight and L. V. Smolley, S. Kay, P. L. Davis and T. Buckstone, D. N. Peters, D. Johnson and F. L. Lindsey, H. Anderson, M. S. O'Brien, D. L. Gaitsley, P. L. Algey and R. Dinmat, F. B. Gamble, J. M. McKinzie, T. R. MacAllen and D. E. Ellis, L. C. Deniels and T. Lewis and F. T. Welter, M. H. Sanders and T. L. Shelton, P. Lambert and S. G. Goss, D. U. Shelton and B. R. Thompson, J. Ahrenson, W. D. Lalley, S. Chestney and T. Lavery, G. M. Marxley, R. Titsey and L. G. Binn and F. Pulter, D. U. Tomms and P. L. Mangan, J. S. Bischoff and L. S. Marksley. L. U. Jumel and D. R. Jumel, J. D. Schneider and C. Cummings, A. inks and B. R. Rouen. J. L. Richards and T. B. Cudmore, D. L. Solomon and P. Hadley, L. M. and R. Wright, A. Altmand and D. T. Holmes and P. Tapsley, C. L. Daniels, B. Diglah and O. Garling, H. D. Schofield, D. R. Donaldson and B. Sponn, L. Simmons and W. D. Adomson, D. L. Stanhope, A. Lomberg, B. M. May, H. Steele and T. Potter, H. D. Davis, H. D. Cylor, T. L. Banks and W. T. Smith, L. Peterson and D. Donahue, H. B. Jenkins, L. Evans and H. M. Evans, B. E. Danning, L. N. Daliels and M. R. Wining, L. G. Thompson and D. Lilley, T. Torr and L. Davis, B. R. Compton and T. Gaits ley, W. A. Andres, L. T. Chotes and B. L. Buckley, W. S. Andrus, L. Cranio and G. Deckson, F. D. Prindley, D. Golding, T. H. Heins and G. Framann, G. Lombard and G. Breston, D. L. Stanhope, H. M. Evans, T. G. Sawyer, H. M. Evans, and F. D. Samuels. I have selected the answer of T. VanVaulkenburg to Section A for publication for the reason that it is perhaps the most complete of any, though several others did very well indeed. Van A^aulkenburg says, "In general it may be said that film inspection and repairs in the theatre should only be entrusted to a competent projectionist for the reasons that (a) he has a direct personal interest in having the work well done, which no one else except the manager himself has, (b) he is presumabily capable of doing the work well, if not perfectly, (c) if trouble results he must blame himself. "If film be inspected and repaired by an usher or other incompetent person we surely might expect to find weak, poorly made splices ; film eliminations not replaced by proper length of blank, with resultant break in sound when using disc reproduction ; edges of splices improperly scraped, with resultant occasional flashes of white light on the screen ; cracked sprocket holes either given no attention at all or improperly 'notched' ; changeover marks not eliminated : film cement not properly protected from moisture and evaporation, with result that splices pull apart in use ; too much or too little film cement used, with resultant weak splice ; mismatched sprocket holes ; film rewound too loosely and then 'pulled down,' with resultant scratches in emulsion ; film injured by handling with dirty or oily fingers ; sound track not properly blocked at splices ; injuries inflicted by rewinding too fast; injuries inflicted by improperly adjusted rewinder head and tail pieces ; film injured by unnecessarily rough handling; film left unnecessarily exposed, which adds to fire hazard ; possible mis-frames not cut out." (B) I believe Rau and Evans did best on this one. They say, "The various things which may inflict damage on film during the process of projection are (1) worn, hooked or under-cut sprocket-teeth, (2) too much tension at aperture, (3) idlers set too close to film causing idler to ride film, (4) idlers set too far away from film causing film to jump sprocket and become marked and torn, (5) hardened emulsion deposit on film tracks thus scratching film, (6) sprockets out of line causing film to jump sprockets and thus become marked and torn, (7) upper or lower magazine out of line causing film edges to scrape against fire trap, (8) worn magazine valve rollers thus scratching film, (9) too tight takeup tension causing strain on film sprocketholes, (10) too loose takeup tension causing lower reel to jerk film, (11) too tight feed reel tension causing strain on film sprocketholes, (12) too loose feed reel tension causing film to be jerked downwards and broken, (13) poor reels causing damage to edges of film or allowing varying tension on film thus causing it to snap back and break, (14) poor film or poor splices, (15) too much oil used on projector so that film is covered with oil, (16) too intense heat on film thus shortening its life, (17) too high starting speed of projector motor, causing great strain of film sprocket-holes, ( 18) improper threading of film in projector so that too large loops cause film to scrape against mechanism, or film not set properly on sprockets so that idlers or sprocket-teeth damage film." (C) We will let A. Altman, D. T. Holmes and P. Tapsley talk to us about this one. They say, "(1) Crooked reels, (2) parts of rewinder so mounted that reels on same are out of line with each other, (3) rewinding too fast, which is progressively harmful as faults 1 and 2 are increased; (4) too little tension on tail reel, with result that film is rewound too loosely and likely to be, or even must be pulled down; (5) too much braking tension on tail reel, which means unnecessary strain on film and possibly some minor injury; also wasted electric power, (6) permitting rewind motor to run after rewinding is completed, with result that tail piece slaps around, with probable resultant injury; (7) splice pulling apart in course of rewinding, with possibility of considerable film being run ofT looselv and perhaps injured ; (8) pure carelessness in handling the reels."