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This topic comprises 4 pages: 1 2 3 4
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Author
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Topic: Tape both sides?
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Rick Long
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 759
From: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 09-26-1999 02:01 PM
First of all, thanks to everyone who responded to my "Digital Poll". I passed the comments on to anyone who would listen at the recent Toronto International Film Festival.
During the Festival, a discussion developed as to when shipping out a print, should the leader, and tail-piece, be re-spliced to the reel using tape on both sides of the film or just one side.
One argument held that, since most theatres today use platters, it would make it more difficult for the next (real) projectionist to remove the tape. The other side of the coin was for the (reel) projectionist in single-reel rep houses who may have only time to run the film "out of the can". (Unfortunately, many of the films presented at the Festival will not enjoy main-stream distribution and will only be screened at these specialty houses). The possibility of the film "buckling" above the gate on a Super Simplex could cause no end of headaches.
What are your thoughts?
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Brad Miller
Administrator
Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99
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posted 09-26-1999 02:58 PM
Well, I think perhaps Technicolor has the best solution. My print of "American Beauty" was "integrity inspected" by "Denise" and the leaders weren't spliced on at all! In fact, the leaders didn't even match the reel they were wrapped around!!! Denise should be a negative cutter.Still I firmly back the single sided tape breakdown idea. If the next theater is platter ran, then it will save much time in building PLUS with only a single piece of tape on the film, the operator is more likely to peel the tape off and save the frame. With double sided splices, 99.9% of all operators will just cut the next frame over. If the next theater happens to be reel to reel, most projectors will run a single sided splice through them just fine. I can't imagine a theater not having enough time to add a second side to the splices for reel 1 before projection. During reel 1, the operator can check the other reels. Also, I can't imagine anyone going on screen without a print inspection (although it happens every day). And what print wouldn't get there until 5 minutes before showtime??? (Oh wait, I forgot...Technicolor prints.  ) Regardless of the method the next theater transports the film, I think a single sided splice is still the best way to go. And if I find out who's using masking tape, I'm gonna hunt you down!
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Scott Norwood
Film God
Posts: 8146
From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas)
Registered: Jun 99
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posted 09-27-1999 07:21 AM
I'm sort of indifferent on this point, particularly since getting a print with the leaders spliced on at all was a rare enough event that I usually jumped for joy when I received such a print. (OK, not really, but you get the idea).
The single-sided splices were easier to peel when making up 6000' reels. On the other hand, I always returned prints with two-sided splices, mostly because I tend to believe in the idea that the print should leave the theatre in "ready to show" condition.
My personal favorite shipping configuration would be tails-out, leaders spliced on both sides. That makes for easy inspection without needing to rewind the print twice. Personally, I sent prints back heads-out (with each reel clearly labelled with the title, reel number, picture format, sound format, and "HEAD"), though, so I can't really complain.
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Bruce McGee
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1776
From: Asheville, NC USA... Nowhere in Particular.
Registered: Aug 1999
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posted 09-27-1999 10:31 AM
Here's an odd one. I recently got an old IB print of something. The original leaders were there (!)
There were 18 spliced frames in a row with generous amounts of tape. It would have run on the Holmes, but why risk it?
Why were people too lazy to peel off the tape?I just aquired a Bell & Howell 16/35 hot splicer. It is a beauty. Just needs a total cleaning. Any opinions on this monster? Even the neon lamp is working. When I worked in the film dept in TV, we routinely sent prints out that were in better shape than when they arrived. Thats why when I inspect, it takes awhile, but I dont get suprises on the first showing. But in the real world, you get prints for 16-24 or more theaters. My inspection ways take too long.
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John Wilson
Film God
Posts: 5438
From: Sydney, Australia.
Registered: Dec 1999
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posted 09-27-1999 05:13 PM
I'm for the one sided taping. I work in a cinema where we regularly run BOTH on 2k and 6k spools. It takes next to no time to splice the extra side on the leader and if it breaks on the tail, who cares? No-one will see it happen and it most likely won't.It makes making up to 6k's such a shorter task, and the fact that most of us are on platters or at least 6k's that it most definately the way to go. As for prints arriving late, it doesn't take too long to throw a splice across spl 1 then do the rest as you go. If it arrives late and you're supposed to get it onto a plate, you'll be glad of the forethoughted single sided splicer that had your print before you. ------------------
John
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William Hooper
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1879
From: Mobile, AL USA
Registered: Jun 99
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posted 09-28-1999 01:08 AM
We run older rep stuff here, from both old & new prints, on a platter.I've found that on many prints, splicing tape on the emulsion side will often try to take the emulsion with it when peeled off. Older prints & newer prints frequently come here with spliced leaders, indicating that they've been made up on platters or big reels before. And it's most likely that the next place they go they'll be made up for platters or big reels. So my take has been that the most responsible way of sending them back out is with splicing tape on one side only, the base side, to reduce splice-peeling & handling injury when they're next run. At first the idea bothered me a little because anyone running single reels would be at a disadvantage, but it seems the best way since: 1. The next place the print goes will have a 95% chance of being a house that removes the leaders again anyway 2. It's better for the print 3. The houses running 2k reels by now MUST be expecting that a print last came from a platter house & should be inspected for mismatched leaders, funky splices, etc. The point about it not being much trouble to slap a piece of tape on the other side of a one-sided splice sorta makes me feel better about this approach. ------------------
William Hooper <wjh@mindless.com>
Junk drawer: http://www.geocities.com/hollywood/theater/3622
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Scott Norwood
Film God
Posts: 8146
From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas)
Registered: Jun 99
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posted 09-30-1999 07:59 AM
My experience with Carmike is that they are the only chain that makes AMC look good. They owned two houses (one 4-plex and one 7-plex) in the same town as the place where I used to work. These theatres were late-70s builds that had been chopped up to add additional screens, and the booths were filled with junk equpmnet (run-down Simplex X-L's, AW-2 platters, Kintek sounds systems, etc.; one screen in each theatre had a DTS unit slapped on top of the 4-channel Kintek system so that they could advertise "DIGTIAL SOUND!!!" even though it sounded worse than our analog sound, using an upgraded CP-50 and the Voice of the Theatre speakers from the 1950s). Their screens were tiny, with fixed masking. Aperture plates for most houses were cut so sloppily that it was not uncommon to see both top and bottom framelines with scope films.
Anyway, I was lucky enough to only have to deal with a couple of prints from the local Carmike houses...they both arrived with (I kid you not) what looked like popcorn grease ALL OVER the film--every reel! Leaders were masking-taped on (often with the soundtrack side of the leader opposite the soundtrack side of the film), and the reels were not well labelled.
OK, I realize that not all Carmike houses are this bad, but I was sort of amused at how two run-down theatres with tiny screens and lousy presentations still managed to do good business. Argh.
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Erika Hellgren
Expert Film Handler
Posts: 168
From: Denver, Colorado
Registered: Jun 99
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posted 10-01-1999 06:25 PM
Brad had a good idea about making a list of etiquette when tearing down prints. I thought I would list a few of my grievences, and encourage everyone else to do the same. I not only want to educate others out there about the simple things you can do to make the next projectionist's life easier, but I also want to learn about things I can do, that I'm not already doing. Here are some things that irk me:
- It's been said before, but masking tape should not be used at all with film.
- I don't really find it necessary to use tape (any kind) to attach the reel band to the head or tail, you can just tuck it under the film a few inches then wrap it around and it should stay snug as long as the string is holding it tight. (I hope that made sense)
- This is in response to the two used prints of American Beauty I built up today: please, please, please do not mark frame lines with magic marker!!! Especially when the frame lines are so easy to see If you have trouble finding them (which we all do occasionally), you can use a film counter, or hold your place with your fingernail on the edge of the film until you can cut it. Marking them with a pen can cover up the digital and sometimes bleed into the picture. Not to mention the fact that it's just plain tacky!
- I know I'm probably going to get flamed for this, but I really find that more than one reference frame is unnecessary. (Hopefully, at least one person will back me up on that).That's all I can think of right now, but I'm sure other people have suggestions, and I'm anxious to hear them.
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