The Moving picture world (March 1925-April 1925)

610 MOVING PICTURE WORLD April 11, 1925 Bluebook School — -Answers 226 to 230 Question No. 226 — Explain the various troubles a stiff splice is apt to cause. A. L. Fell, Collingswood, New Jersey; C. H. Hanover, Burlington, Iowa ; W. C. Budge, Garden City, Long Island; Harold E. Hurlbutt, Oskosh, Wisconsin, Walter Johnson, Champaign, Illinois; G. W. Bennewitz, Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Allie Baron, Lodi, California ; F. H. Moore, Taunton, Mass. and W. C. Allbright, Pittsburgh, Pa., all made more or less complete replies to this one. Hanover unquestionably has the best of it. He says : Stiff splices are apt to cause trouble of several sorts. Of course such a splice will Inevitably cause a jump in the screen image, because it is unable to conform to the curvature of the intermittent sprocket perfectly, which has the effect of pulling the individual picture down past the correct aperture register point a distance which will vary according to the width and inflexibilities of the splice. This is because the lifting of the film away from the fact of the sprocket as the splice passes around it has the effect, insofar as the film is concerned, of increasing the sprocket diameter. Stiff splices, having themselves no flexibility, but having flexible film on either side, cause the film to bend sharply at either edge of the splice, thus setting up tendency to track and break at these points, especially If Richardson's Blue Book of Projection Is the projectionist's dictionary, a competent guide in time of trouble Order now from the Chalmers Publishing Co., 516 Fifth Ave., New York. $6.00 Postage Prepaid. CLASSIFIED ADVERTISEMENTS Help and Situations Wanted Only 3c per word per insertion Minimum charge 60c Terms, Strictly Cash with Order ropy must rem it us by Tuesday noun to Insure publication In that neck's Issue. SITUATIONS WANTED FIRST CLASS EXPERIENCED ORGANIST desires immediate or future engagement. Accomplished musician. Picture player and soloist of exceptional ability. Union man. Magnificent library. Good instrument essential. Wire or write Arthur Edward Jones, Princess Hotel, Atlantic City, N. J. PROJECTIONIST and electrician thoroughly experienced on Simplex and Power with any electrical equipment. A l reference. Finkel, 5225 Arch St., Pniladelphia, Pa. MANAGER PROJECTIONIST desires permanent position first-class picture house. Age 25; college education, reference as to character, personality, appearance, ability; 12 years' active experience; also card writer. Box 367, M. P. World, N. Y. City. Genuine COLT, $11.50 Fine condition. Cart V^-^^^X^^^ w/sf OKES KIRK )m 1627-GK North 1 0th St.. PHI LA.. PA. the film is rather brittle, as it usually Is after considerable use. This sets up a secondary possibility for trouble in that very often there is a break, such as is Just described, at the edge of the film, extending in along the edge of the stiff splice for from a quarter to half an inch. This edge may and often does catch on a sprocket idler, with possibility of several feet of film split along its length. Cause of Murks Stiff splices are a prolific cause of heavy scratch marks In the film when a film containing such splices is "pulled down" In the process of rewinding. I have myself found heavy longitudinal scratches, from three inches to a foot long, the longer ones almost always near the "front" end of the film. I have nearly always found a stiff splice near the seat of damage, which I have found, upon rewinding the film, to lie directly against the point of damage. Stiff splices very often cause the film to "jump the sprocket," thus causing the loss of one of the loops — usually the lower because of the pull of the takeup, which aggravates the tendency to do this. Stiff splices often cause the film to "jump the sprocket" and ride the sprocket teeth for some distance, thus indenting, or even puncturing the film, causing those 'cute' little wriggling things we see apparently crawling up the screen in endless procession. Stiff splices have cut the fingers of projectionists, machine attendants and girl exchange inspectors badly many times, when they were rewinding and holding the film edges between their fingers. I know of one girl exchange inspector who lost a hand that way. Held film between fingers while rewinding. Stiff splice came along at high speed. Fingers badly cut. Blood poisoning. Cripple for life. Question No. 227 — Tell us just what the effect of scraping a splice too much is apt to be. All the before named, plus George Thompson, Chillicothe, Missouri, made good, or fairly so, on this one. Bennewitz says: Scraping a splice too much weakens the film stock In proportion to the amount of celluloid unnecessarily removed, thus Inducing tendency to break along the edge of the splice. Excessive scraping also has a tendency to induce buckling in the splice. This is because the scraping Is seldom uniform, hence it leaves some parts of the film stock thicker than other parts. The action of the cement upon the thinner parts causes them to shrink more than the thicker parts. This is emphasized by the heat at the projector aperture, so that the net result will, sooner or later, probably be a more or less badly buckled splice. Question No. 228 — Tell us your idea as to scraping the back of the "other end" — the celluloid side — of the film when making a splice. Bennewitz, Hanover, Fell, Johnson, Hurlbutt, Baron and Thompson all had the right idea as to this matter. Fell says : No matter how new the film may be when received by the projectionist, It has passed through the hands of the film exchange inspectors and packers who, according to my own observation, are not half careful enough in handling the films. I have seen new film, in the process of being mounted on reels In exchanges, dragged across a dirty cement floor. It follows that oil or dirt with which it might come into contact would adhere to its new, more or less soft, receptive surface. Naturally some would adhere to the celludoil side also — especially grease or oil. Film also is handled time after time by men with none too clean hands, and is apt to have oil thrown on its celluloid side in passing through the projector. Cement and dirt or oil do not mix well, therefore It is advisable to scrape the celluloid side LIGHTLY making a splice — just enough to remove all oil and dirt, and to slightly roughen the film stock, but not hard enough to remove any appreciable amount of celluloid. Question No. 229 — Tell us what mis-matched sprocket holes are likely to cause in the way of trouble. All those I have named seem to have done more or less well on this one. When I say "more or less well," or words to that effect. I do not mean it in the way of criticism, but merely to say that some have done better than others, but that all have replied at least in a fairly satisfactory way. Hanover says : Exactly what will happen may depend upon just how the mismatching Is done. If It Is so done that the film as a whole Is left In a straight line, then the sprocket holes will be reduced in size exactly the same amount on both sides, hence the inevitable jump of the screen image will be straight up and down. If the holes be so mismatched that the film as a whole Is left crooked, then the jump of the screen image will be a combination of up and down and sidewise. In either event there is sure to be a movement of the picture, as a whole, upon the screen when the mismatched splice passes over the aperture, and probably there will be a slight sidewise movement as the splice passes down through the projector gate and over the aperture. Other Trouble Mismatched sprocket holes, aside from the trouble belore named, cause, or may cause other trouble. The size of the sprocket holes are, in the very nature of things, reduced, hence they may, and probably will fit tightly on the sprocket teeth. This wedging of the tooth or teeth into the sprocket holes may be so tight that the film cannot ''let go" and will be dragged around and wind up on the sprocket, tearing the film in two in the process, of course. Mismatched sprocket holes very often cause the film to "ride the teeth" of a sprocket, and since this is done under pressure of the sprocket idler spring, a row of indentations are made in the film emulsion, which forever after will show on the screen. When such climbing takes place it is altogether possible that the film will run oft the sprocket entirely, the amount of resultant damage depending upon whether the projectionist Is "on the job'' or not. It not infrequently happens that when this occurs at the upper sprocket, with the upper magazine reel running freely, that the film will ride the sprocket in such way that the teeth hit the film between the sprocket holes, thus straining the holes themselves and setting up a condition under which the picture on the screen will thereafter have movement which that bit of film is being projected. Mismatched sprocket holes not infrequently cause the loosing of one of the loops, usually the lower one, with ripped sprocket holes and possibly a torn film and the stoppage of the show as a result. Question No. 23C — Name the various important points in making a film splice. Fell, Bennewitz, Hanover, Moore, John • son, Hurlbutt and Thompson came through on this question. Bennewitz answers thus: All points in making a film splice are Important they are (1) Cut the film exactly on one frame line and .114 (about 1/8 of an inch) beyond the frame line on the other end if an "in-between-sprocket-holes" splice is being made, or .150 of an inch if an overlapping hole splice is used; (2) scrape the emulsion off the entire surface of the "stub end," without removing an appreciable amount of the film stock; (3) scrape the celluloid side of the other end lightly to remove dirt and grease. (4) use a straighted edge for scraping the stub end, and scrape to a perfectly straight line; (5) apply cement with tip of brush, using one stroke only, since more than that rubs particles of disolved cement up into the cement, which prevents a perfect weld; (6) perfect matching of sprocket holes and the application of even pressure of considerable amount is imperative; (7) leave pressure on splice until welding is completed; (8) wipe splice off with a bit of clean cloth and inspect carefully to be sure it is perfect.