In reponses to the replies to my gripe on the thread for reviews of A Knight's Tale…

Running print #2488 (If my memory serves me right, not sure about the rest, I'm not at work right now.)

As for the platters, Christie AW3R. Older ones.

Now, the rest of the story…
Normally, the booth I work in, has very few issues with static problems. We have a couple of humidifiers to put into use to keep the air from getting too dry. No 'tail tucks' are done to films, instead loops made from old trailers get placed around each print. So usually I can just go to work, and know that the beasties will all behave themselves.
That has not been the case lately.
For a while now, construction has been going on in the building the cinema is in, not in the theater itself, but next to it. When the work next door started, so began a dust plague in my booth! It continued for about two weeks. We coped, we cleaned stuff more often.
Then someone decided to alter the 'regular' projectionist schedule. It amounted to my being scheduled to build films on 4/5, 4,10, 4/19 and 5/10, where I had been taking care of all Thursday & rare Tuesday builds.
Add to this the odd fluke of having a few days in a row of 90° weather, and the AC in the booth not working so well, leaving the booth at about 76° instead of the usual 65°-68°. But that has returned to normal.

Now, I was scheduled to build prints for this weekend, but when I arrived for my shift, the two prints that were coming in that day were essentially, already built. I was not exactly amused by that.
The person who built the prints that day, had also built the print that has been giving me the most grief for the past couple of weeks - Driven.
From what I observed, this other projectionist was building the films onto 6000' reels - shouldn't be a problem with that... except that he left them winding at top speed at the rewind bench, unattended.

What I am really wondering is if maybe it is the manner in which the prints were built that is the reason behind these problems.

Thoughts? Comments?

Do you have a multimeter? If so, check the "Christie Platter Tips" page for timing instructions to stop the erratic payout. It is extremely simple to do and should be checked every 6 months. Don't go by the Christie platter manual. The instructions in there result in a faster than necessary payout, which can wreak havoc with staticy prints.

Have you buffed and grooved your platter decks? That will go an amazingly long way to keeping prints from moving around on the platter decks. Instructions are also in the tips section.

Are you using FilmGuard either via a film cleaner, or by wiping the edges of a print? Many theaters spray FG onto a cloth and wipe the edge of the print before it's first run from outer edge to center. That will kill a LOT of static on that crucial first run and can be reapplied anytime static starts to become an issue again.

Well, I have now figured out why I've been having static trouble with Driven, and no further trouble with A Knight's Tale. Both prints were carelessly wound at too high of a speed at the rewind bench. Both prints were troublesome during screenings. Since the screening of 'A Knight's Tale' the print has run fine. 'Driven' is another matter. That print is playing on a platter system that was recently timed, (by the same operator who built the aforementioned prints) and I'm pretty sure that he followed the instruction manual to the letter.

Thanks for the tips though.

~GLB

I agree with your hypothesis that excessive winding speeds could induce a static charge or tension profile that lingers on the film, causing later "cling" problems.

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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

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