Also... I even tried this trick that was shown to me by the man who passed on his projection knowladge to me. Wherever you are Mr.A, it doesn't work. (slip a white cotton glove on, pinch the film as its being feed out from the brain.)

This problem is just one more reason to hate that stupid, little, yellow creature.

Do a search on this forum for "FilmGuard" or click "Film Cleaning" below.

One thing that can happen is that your print has been "spiked". ("Roping" is the correct term but I think "spiked" is more descriptive.) Let's say that one of your pad rollers has somehow come loose. The film will jump partially off the sprocket and the teeth will put little dents in the film. This will cause the film to run throug the brain (payout control plate) all funky-like. Layers of film will be pulled off as the print unwinds on the payout platter. Is this what's happening to you?

Here is an example of what a roped print might look like:

One thing you can do really quick is to press on the print as it winds up on the take-up platter. Is it all spongy? If so, check your film for damage. You may also notice that when you are in the last one or two reels of the movie, the film starts looking like a many-sided polygon. There are other causes for this, like improper humidity levels but "spiking" can cause this too.

If you have verified that all this is true the first thing you need to do is to go over the projector with a fine-tooth comb and find out where the damage is occuring. You should be able to find the roller that's fouled up. Other possible causes for this are bad splices that cause the print to "jump the track" as it runs. A good indicator of this is when part of the print is OK and part of it is not. You'll find the bad splice right near the place where the damage starts. Look for lab splices (Some people call them "Chemical Splices" although that's not entirely correct.) Another thing to look for is one of your splices that didn't get all the holes punched out properly. Maybe there's a "flap" hanging off the film where the blade didn't cut the film off flush.

After that, the only thing left is that somebody made a Boo-Boo and didn't thread up properly. YOU HAVE TO CHECK THE PROJECTOR BEFORE YOU START THE MOVIE! Sorry if I sound like I'm dissing on you but I've seen this happen all too often. Somebody starts the projector and walks away, never to return. I know YOU didn't do this but now you have ammunition to get on somebody ELSE'S case.

So... OK... what do we do if you do have damaged film? Pretty much there's nothing you can do.
You can filp the film over and run it with the soundtrack down (Or soundtrack UP) Sometimes that will help but not always. Another thing you can do is break the film down onto 6,000 foot reels. Take it over to the rewind bench and turn the tension on the payout spindle way up. What you hope to accomplish is to flatten the film out a little bit. Sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn't. This is a risky move as well. You can scratch the hell out of the film doing this and you can stretch it out as well. But if the film is already in crappy condition, what have you got to lose?

After all this the only option is to either live with it or replace the print. If you elect to live with it you'll have to keep a close eye on this print for as long as you have it. It's liable to wrap on you in a heartbeat. Your only hope is that MAYBE the damage will "Play itself out". (The film will flatten out again after many runs.) This isn't likely unless the damage is very slight.

Lastly you COULD try FilmGuard. I don't know if it will help or not. Again, you have little to lose at this point. Really, I hope you don't have damaged film. This would give you a good reason to try out FilmGuard and see how it works.

I wish you luck! I hope it's NOT really damaged!

Being that you are in Florida, HIGH HUMIDITY can cause the film to be limp and sticky. Ideally, the humidity in the projection room should be between 50 and 60 percent.

Kodak VISION Color Print Film has a transparent conductive anti-static coating on the back side. Most laboratories also use a Kodak-recommended anti-static additive in their print film process. These measures have greatly reduced the incidence and severity of "static cling", but some platters are more prone to build up static on the print. If the problem is due to static, try some of the procedures recommended in my article in the September 1998 issue of Filmnotes for Reel People:
http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/newsletters/reel/september98/pppp.shtml

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So THAT's whats wrong with me!! Seriously, that shouldn't be a problem now. Florida is in the middle of the dry season, and temperatures are down.

Randy gave an excellent description of some of the things that can happen. I'm not sure about "ironing" the film by pressing it on the rewind bench though. That seems a little brutal, and I've seen the scratches that can occur when tightly wound film cinches on the reel, digging any stray dirt into the emulsion.

I suppose if you wanted to try to push the spikes back in, you could try running it between some free-rolling metal dowels. Maybe that is an idea for someone to invent, a spike-pusher-inner. It could go right next to the film stretcher.

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John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Eastman Kodak Company
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7419
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 716-477-5325 Cell: 716-781-4036 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

I said that because it CAN work if you have nothing else to lose. I had a print that was so badly spiked that the picture wouldn't stay steady on the screen. It was noisy and it tried to wrap all the time. I wound it back and forth about 3 or 4 times and I got it so that it would play "passably".

Here's a digital hygrometer from Radio Shack for less than 30 dollars:
Link to Radio Shack Hygrometer

------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Eastman Kodak Company
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7419
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 716-477-5325 Cell: 716-781-4036 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

For Evans

"I agree that a sling psychometer is fun to use. But I may need new reading glasses to see the fine print on the psychometric chart!"

------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Eastman Kodak Company
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7419
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 716-477-5325 Cell: 716-781-4036 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion