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Author Topic: Why remove 1st head and last tail? Joe Beres Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 606 From: Minneapolis, MN, USA Registered: Nov 2000 posted 03-21-2003 04:21 PM                     I have never built a film for platter projection, but I've received hundreds of films that have been built prior to getting to me. 98% of the time, if a film has been built, the head of the first reel and the tail of the last reel have been removed (then reattached, if I am lucky, after breakdown.) It seems to me that it would be simple to leave those parts intact, and then attach any necessary threading/tail leader to the existing head and tail. Can anyone explain why films are built this way? Iam curious.  |  IP: Logged Daryl C. W. O'Shea Film God Posts: 3977 From: Midland Ontario Canada (where Panavision & IMAX lenses come from) Registered: Jun 2002 posted 03-21-2003 04:23 PM                        There's no reason to cut the tail off the last reel. As for the head of the first reel, I sometimes like to stick in a couple trailers between the leader and the head. In either case, it makes no difference whether you're using a platter or changeovers -- unless of course you have your trailers on a seperate reel and are changing over to the first reel of the feature (which I'd hazzard a guess you are doing).  |  IP: Logged John Hawkinson Film God Posts: 2273 From: Cambridge, MA, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 03-21-2003 04:38 PM                     I believe there are three reasons to cut the tail of the last reel: 1. So you can put the threading leader between the end of the feature and the tail, so that the tail can get all damaged, dirty, twisted, and crumpled, and then reattached, so the next projectionist has an inconvenience to deal with. 2. Some people like to see the tail lettering (e.g. slashed titles if Deluxe Hollywood) on the outside of the built film on the platter, to save themselves the having to make a label. [this justification is also relatively weak...] 3. Projectionists who are to lame to notice the reel they are building up is the last reel. --jhawk  |  IP: Logged Joe Beres Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 606 From: Minneapolis, MN, USA Registered: Nov 2000 posted 03-21-2003 04:45 PM                     I'm pretty dumb, I forgot all about those little trailer things. That's another thing I rarely, if ever have to deal with. Thanks for the reminder. The tail cut still baffles me though.  |  IP: Logged Daryl C. W. O'Shea Film God Posts: 3977 From: Midland Ontario Canada (where Panavision & IMAX lenses come from) Registered: Jun 2002 posted 03-21-2003 04:49 PM                        4. Dumbass projectionists that consistently have platter tail wraps and have to cut it off (along with a bunch of titles) to repair it.  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 03-21-2003 05:09 PM                     If the tail leader is nice and clean, but was cut off, odds are the end of the movie (rating band, studio logo, end of credits, etc) is beaten to shit. The reasoning is at theaters that do not have functioning dousers or automations that they do not want the noise (visual and audible) showing at the end of the movie. So instead they just cut it off and REALLY trash up the end of the movie. People that do that just suck. (Fix your equipment guys!) Additional protection leader should be added to the end of the factory leader. Otherwise there is unnecessary handling of the end of the movie in cutting it off to move it to the end of the factory leader. Plus anyone who does that is just trashing the tail leader to the last reel which in turn when spliced back onto the print will muck up whatever care there was to the end of the show. To add to the stupidity, it takes more time to do this than to grab a piece of tape and make a label.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 03-21-2003 06:05 PM                        Maybe they are running a second feature in the same screen and both are on the same platter, hence cutting the tail of the last reel of feature #1.  |  IP: Logged James R. Hammonds, Jr Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 931 From: Houston, TX, USA Registered: Nov 2000 posted 03-21-2003 06:23 PM                     Am I reading somethhing wrong here? Why would anyone put extra leader between the end rating and the tail leader? Doesn't sound to make any sense.  |  IP: Logged Rachel Craven Madam Moderator Posts: 2190 From: Pensacola, FL Registered: Dec 2000 posted 03-21-2003 06:31 PM                     I work at a 2nd run house and I rarely, I mean RARELY ever see the last reels tail cut off. Do you commonly get prints from the same theater to have 98% (or so) of your tails cut off?  |  IP: Logged Pete Wolla Film Handler Posts: 71 From: Tioga, ND, USA Registered: Jan 2003 posted 03-21-2003 08:20 PM                     we're second run and most end reel tail leaders are still attached.since we don't have any blank leader i've just been using an old ad to keep the movie off the floor.(no automation)is this ok?  |  IP: Logged Daryl C. W. O'Shea Film God Posts: 3977 From: Midland Ontario Canada (where Panavision & IMAX lenses come from) Registered: Jun 2002 posted 03-21-2003 09:07 PM                        Pete - anything that is long enough to keep the tail of the print off of the floor is fine. I can't think of a better use for an ad than dragging it across the floor. Just make sure you change this drag strip regularly if you're not always using a film cleaner.  |  IP: Logged Jason Black Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1723 From: Myrtle Beach, SC, USA Registered: Nov 2000 posted 03-21-2003 11:20 PM                        Cutting the tail and adding leader seems like a fruitless waste fo time, IMO. It is much simpler, and smarter, it would seem, to add the blank leader to the extreme tail of the film rather than cut it and insert it just prior...  |  IP: Logged Patrick McDonough Expert Film Handler Posts: 118 From: Greenfield Ma. Registered: Jul 2002 posted 03-21-2003 11:39 PM                     We never cut the tail off, unless the other projectionist gets it ripped off.  |  IP: Logged Nicholas Roznovsky Expert Film Handler Posts: 156 From: College Station, TX, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 03-21-2003 11:59 PM                        I can't really say that I've seen the tail cut off of too many prints either, even at our sub-run locations. The only time it seems to happen is when we get an older print for an auditorium rental.  |  IP: Logged Michael Schaffer "Where is the Boardwalk Hotel?" Posts: 4143 From: Boston, MA Registered: Apr 2002 posted 03-22-2003 12:21 AM                        We usually cut the first reel leader off since we had preconfigured threading leaders with all the sound logo or THX and company logo trailers permanently attached to them so that we didn`t have to cut the precious logo trailers all the time. The first cue was of course on our leader too so that we simply had to remove the head leader from the first reel, usually after the "3", and splice our leader on. But we never cut off the final leader either. We would rather often attach some extra film so that the end of the film didn`t get scratched when leaving the projector.  |  IP: Logged

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