Is this loosening of the framing lamps a noted and recorded occurence?

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In regard to the loose lamp problem, the mobile communications equipment was plagued with loose indicators. (Especially on the motorcycle police units) They solved the problem by changing to BAYONET based lamps. The are installed by pushing the lamp into the socket and turning. The contacts are under spring tension and the
lamp cannot escape from the socket.

Bayonet based lamps are available for most voltages and lamp sizes.

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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: +1 585 477 5325 Cell: +1 585 781 4036 Fax: +1 585 722 7243
e-mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

To those of you who don't need the framing lamp to thread in-frame, two questions:

One, what technique, if it's not staring at the film through the aperture, do you use, and two, what type of leader do you use? We're currently using black leader with transparent frame lines, but I see that the Film-Tech tips illustrate the use of a transparent leader with black frame lines. It seems to me that the second option would be easier, and maybe we should change.

John said "at least it will be in frame 25% of the time." Not so. That statement would only be valid if the installing technician had locked the framing controls down. As it is, a film could be less than a perforation off and be out of frame with visible matting or frame lines in the picture. The odds are only a couple of percent here.

Picky, picky...but technically correct.

Standard SMPTE 195 specifies the vertical centering of the image to be "within 0.012 inches (0.30 millimeters)" (dimension F=H) or "nominally equal" (dimension J=K), so more than this is technically out of frame.

But as you know, Brad does NOT believe in "Film Done Right"!

He believes in "Film Done Perfect"!

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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: +1 585 477 5325 Cell: +1 585 781 4036 Fax: +1 585 722 7243
e-mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

I'm convinced that the inability of "booth attendants" to master the arcane art of setting the movement is the largest single cause of "intolerable, even to the dense patron" projection errors in cinemas.

One of the best framing lamp set-ups is on a Cinemecannica V8. A 35mm x 1/8inch (excuse my mixed measurments) slot illuminates the entire width of the film (it uses a festoon lamp.) The lamp is only 1/4" away from the actual film, which makes it very bright, allowing you to see the frame line through dark sections of film. Also good: the framing window on a Simplex. The bulb is only a 1/2" away, so the window is lit pretty well.

My "not-so-good" award goes to a regular Century. The framing lamp is fairly far away, and illuminating the film relies on the lamp light reflecting off of the shroud behind the trap. This was not too bad when they were being painted white, but now that they use gray, is really poor. Both a Ernamann 15 and the Kinoton PK60 are not so good. A Cinemecannica V5, V9 is actually worse, since the lamp is off to the the side, and barely lights up the aperture. A AA-II also has a poor method; there's hardly any light at all on the window, which is located in the fixed gate.

On poorly lit framing windows, I usually forget trying to use the existing framing window, and find a location exactly 2-3 frames above the actual aperture, or some other reference point, and "frame" there. Usually it's not a problem framing with the leader, but if you have to thread a dark section of film, (as in; you are fixing a film break while into the feature) only the V8, or maybe the Simplex provides a bright enough light.

Larry said:
> Maybe that should be our new slogan:
>"Kinoton: helping theatres employ the clueless".

That was pretty much the case with the platter...er...I mean "non rewind equipment" and what has that done for presentation?

Sadly true. Of course its the law of unintended consequences. Kinoton originally marketed the "non-rewind equipment" so the projectionist could sit at a console in the middle of the house to best adjust sound and image. Unfortunately that's not exactly how the theatre owners chose to use it.

I wonder what sort of equipment would be in use if Kinoton hadn't invented the platter? I'm quite sure it wouldn't involve well paid and trained professionals making flawless 20 minute changeovers.