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Topic: Badly Printed UK A Knight's Tale

Michael Brown
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1522
From: Bradford, England
Registered: May 2001

posted 09-01-2001 05:36 AM

I saw this last night (it just opened) and during the last five minutes of reel 2 the brigntness of the image flickered ( at worst it looked nearly black and white) and the SRD dropped out. I assume this is a printing problem. Anybody else see this?

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Aaron Sisemore
Flaming Ribs beat Reeses Peanut Butter Cups any day!

Posts: 3061
From: Rockwall TX USA
Registered: Sep 1999

posted 09-01-2001 03:05 PM

That reel was badly printed, and hopefully has been replaced by now.

It is almost certainly a one-off thing , and others shouldnt have the same problem.

Aaron

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John Wilson
Film God

Posts: 5438
From: Sydney, Australia.
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 09-02-2001 02:40 AM

Ours are all second hand prints (and Photo-Guarded...arrrrrgghh!)

This has got to be the worst Super35 print result since the golfball sized grain of Biloxi Blues! The heads (even Miss Columbia's) are so close to the top frame it's rediculous. No head room at all!

Very nasty...and what is the point of that little tacked on bit after the credits?

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"There's so much I don't know about Astro-Physics...wish I'd read that book by that wheel chair guy" Homer Simpson

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Dustin Mitchell
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1865
From: Mondovi, WI, USA
Registered: Mar 2000

posted 09-02-2001 02:06 PM

When we had the preview screening of Knight's Tale one of the reels (I forget now) actually had part of a leader printed in it. Technicolor never picked up the bad reel (very odd), so I'll scan it in and post it sometime.

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Michael Brown
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1522
From: Bradford, England
Registered: May 2001

posted 02-18-2002 04:36 AM

Now i have had a chance to run this at my place. A doddgy reel 1.
The analog soundtrack was printed about a milimeter or 2 off vertical center. I first noticed when making the reel 1-reel 2 splice. The soundtrack seem to jump down onto reel 2. I didnt get chance to test the print. When it played the 1st reel sounded as if the soundhead had lost its proper alinement. There was a low machine gun like rumble in the background of the sound. The reel change is in the middle of the scene when we are first introduced to chaucer. As the splice went throught suddenly the sound went to how it normaly was. The backgrund interference abruptlly stopped and the slight distortion from the surrounds stopped as well.

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Leo Enticknap
Film God

Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000

posted 02-18-2002 04:56 AM

The machine gun rumble was probably the SVA (analogue) pickup 'reading' the DTS timecode.

The original problem sounds like printer flare. I noticed this very slightly on the BFI's reissue print of 'Out of the Past' yesterday - streaky flashes across part of the image where either the printer leaked light or the raw print stock had been contaminated while loading. Pity - in all other respects it was a beautiful, sharp, well-graded print.

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John Pytlak
Film God

Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 02-18-2002 01:13 PM

Standard SMPTE 40 and SMPTE 203 specify the position and dimensions of the analog track. SMPTE Recommended Practice RP 115 specifies the "data track" (DTS). The reel should be replaced if the track location is out of specification.

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John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 585-477-5325 Cell: 716-781-4036 Fax: 585-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

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Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99

posted 02-18-2002 01:18 PM

Hey Steve,
Is this dejavu or what?
Mark @ GTS

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Karen Hultgren
Master Film Handler

Posts: 492
From: Agoura Hills, CA, USA
Registered: Mar 2000

posted 02-19-2002 01:07 PM

Michael,

The machine-gun rumble in the background is probably your sound head picking up DTS timecode. Thread up some buzz track and check your sound head alignment.

Karen at DTS

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Michael Brown
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1522
From: Bradford, England
Registered: May 2001

posted 02-19-2002 02:32 PM

I was breaking down the print tonight. I checked the reel 1 to 2 spice and yes the soundtrack appears to be printed too high (near to the edge) on reel 1. I think our soundhead is alined since the rest of the film was fine. And the problem dissapeared noticible when that reel change occured.

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John Pytlak
Film God

Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 02-19-2002 02:41 PM

SMPTE 40 specifies the centerline of the analog track to be 0.243 inches (6.17 mm) from the edge of the film.

SMPTE RP115 specifies the centerline of the data (DTS) record to be 0.297 inches (7.54 mm) from the edge.

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Karen Hultgren
Master Film Handler

Posts: 492
From: Agoura Hills, CA, USA
Registered: Mar 2000

posted 02-19-2002 07:34 PM

Thanks for checking the sound head alignment. From your last posting, it sounds like a print problem. The only way to "fix" that is is replace the bad reel(s).

Karen at DTS

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