Showmen's Trade Review (Apr-Jun 1944)

E12 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW May 20, 1944 Print Conservation (Continiii'd from Pai/c £10) from various MGM branch offices. Each is an exhibit of careless or deliberate film sabotage. Just to give you an idea of what these exhibits are like, we now take you into our own little museum of celluloid wonders. Exhibit number one, gentlemen, is a strip of five frames of film acquired by an inspection room collector in the New Orleans MGM exchange. It contains fifteen punch holes (three in each frame) and is a tribute to a blind projectionist who needed heat lightning on the screen to warn 'him of change-over time. Exhibit number two is a strip of film three feet long with four vertical scratches made with ,,a pen knife or razor blade running the entire length of the clip. Exhibit number three is a reel of film which overflows several inches over the outer edge of a standard reel upon which it oiginally fitted. This excess film is the result of a change-over signal which was installed by an exhibitor to count the frames and duly warn the operator. It counted the frames all right but in so doing it made an embossed dent in every frame, thus increasing the thickness of the print by double its original thickness. As a result, the film could not be rewound onto the original reel without over-running onto the floor. Thus an entire print was ruined. Exhibit number four is the product of an ingenious (?) mind. A rubber band was placed around the film and a piece of kitchen match stick wound up in the manner in which the propeller of a toy airplane is twisted to give motive power. The idea was that when the tension of the layer of film over the match stick was released as the film ran off the reel near change-over time, the stick would whirl around making a buzzing noise as the ends of the stick banged on the film to warn the operator. The delicious delirium of this device is that if the projectionist doesn't happen to hear the noise with the equipment and monitor in operation, the trick gadget will jam in the pressure plates, tear the film and ruin the mechanism, since it could not possibly pass through the machine. It is a cinch that the exhibitor for whom this operator, in the Indianapolis territory, worked did not know of the playful antics going on in his booth. Otherwise that operator might have wound up with a little invention, affectionately referred to as the can, or the sack, or the boot, tied to him. Another exhibit is a two-foot length of film with aluminum paint dabbed along the sprocket holes opposite the sound track. This metallic paint energizes a magnetic control on the pressure plates to ring a warning bell or buzzer. It is conceded to be the least objectionable cue marking used by operators, since the aluminum paint does not harm the film, and if all projectors were similarly equipped it would be an easy method of cue marking which might be standardized and supplied on all film by the distributors. So varied are the cueing methods now in vogue that no standardization other than the system now in use can be undertaken. Leaders Kept Intact Mr. Fogle explained that each film inspectress must measure the leaders on each reel of film to assure five feet of blank film and the standard Academy leader with footage numbers making a total of approximately twenty feet for threading up. One very important manner in which each theatre can contribute to the prolonged life of the film while it is in the theatre is to keep water in the booth. Film loses much of its elasticity due to heat, which dries out the moisture in the celluloid and as a result of which it becomes brittle and breaks easily around the sprocket holes. By dousing the booth floor with a wet mop or several glasses of water around and under the film storage cabinet daily, the film will absorb and thus regain much of the moisture lost during projection. This is a daily procedure in the exchange film vaults which are kept cool and damp at all times. Frequently the theatre booth is a very hot, dry place. This practice of dampening the booth floor therefore will not only help keep film in condition but make the room cooler for the projectionists. Rules for Print Preservation The following suggestions for the preservation of motion picture film have been compiled and are being distributed with the compliments of Metro-Goldwyn Mayer : • It is an excellent idea for the projectionist to have a magnifying glass in the projection room for the purpose of examining sprockets for undercut teeth and other faults; also for the careful checking of guide rollers. • All tension should be loosened as much as possible in the film gate. • Take-up should be adjusted to eliminate all strain. • Extreme care should be exercised in placing reels in shipping cases to prevent banging of reels and damage to prints. • Prints should be carefully checked and inspected by the projectionist before shipping, this being particularly important if the shipment is to be made to another theatre. • All machine gates should be thoroughly cleaned between reels, and all machines should be cleaned thoroughly at least once each day. This cleaning should be done when the machine is not running. • Projectors should be kept clean and all surplus oil removed in order that prints will not become oilsoaked. Remember — while proper lubrication is vital, care should be exercised at all times to avoid excessive oiling. • The damage to film is mostly caused by worn rollers in the upper and lower magazines, and also worn pads and shoes in the gate. • Clearance and tension on the idler, roller brackets in both mechanism and soundheads, should be checked frequently. Clearance should be set for twnce the thickness of film to allow for patches. • If the parts are beginning to show wear, they should be replaced immediately, rather than have damaged film which would cost more than the repairs. • Most important, however, is that it may not be possible to replace the damaged film and a brother exhibitor might be injured. 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This means that DeVRY has produced quantity and quality on schedule for 18 consecutive months. To DeVR Y workers, who,se tireless efforts made this third "E" for-production-excellence award possible, it is reassuring that each shipment of cameras, projectors, and electronic gunnery trainers built by them helps to hasten the dawn of a NEW and SECURE Tomorrow! WORLD'S MOST COMPLETE LINE OF MOTION PICTURE SOUND EQUIPMENT