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Author
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Topic: Purple Dust?
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Craig Kocher
Film Handler
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Posts: 10
From: West Hazleton, PA 18201
Registered: May 2004
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posted 05-16-2004 12:26 PM
hello everyone, This being my first Post I'll introduce myself. My Name is Craig. About 3 Months ago I became a Projectionist by Default when I became a Manager at my Theater. Thats not a Bad thing, Its one of the reasons I wanted the Job. I always wanted to do this sort of thing, I'm quite good at Projecting, Framing and all, but I dont know many technical things, but I'm willing to learn. In a few months my Company will be teaching me more and certifying me, but I Figured I'd probably learn alot on here.
So, I have a few questions...
Recently, I Noticed some Purple Dust coming off one of my Christie Projectors (we have 10 of them in the building) after the film is over. Any Idea what would cause this? its kinda clumpy and powder like.
Also, I Noticed the Flaking during my First Reel of Kill Bill Vol 2, what are the odds of this happening to other Black and white reels of films in the future? is this common? should I expect this with My Prints of Van Helsing that we have?
Thanks a Bunch.
Craig
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Randy Stankey
Film God
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Posts: 6539
From: Erie, Pennsylvania
Registered: Jun 99
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posted 05-16-2004 01:09 PM
Purple dust is a "feature" of Christie projectors. It's a special signal to let the operator know it's time to clean the projector!
Seriously... Christie projectors are pretty well known for this. It comes from the film gate abrading the emulsion off the film. By itself, purple dust doesn't signal a problem, per se. It's just the way Christie projectors are built.
Not to say that you should ignore purple dust building up on your projector. What is now purple dust USED to be film! Double check your film gate. (The two metal "straps", the two metal lateral guide wheels, the flip-open "shoe" and their associated film-bearing parts.) Make sure everything is properly aligned and there are no nicks or scratches on them. Any rough spot will act as a cutter that will literally scrape the surface of the film, producing your dust.
Do the same checks on the intermittent pad shoe. (The flip-open runners that hold the film onto the intermittent sprocket.) Same goes for all your sprockets and pad rollers.
Like I said, there's a certain amount of this that is to be expected when you have Christie projectors. If it doesn't get worse or seem to be damaging the film in a major way don't worry too much. I suggest you call your theater technician and see what his opinion is. I bet he'll say pretty much the same thing.
Here's the thing: Christie projectors must be kept scrupulously clean for them to work properly! If that dust gets too thick the projected image will start to get all jittery and unstable. The projector will give you all kinds of trouble. Yes, all projectors should be cleaned well but Christie's are more sensitive to dirt. Take your average Simplex or Century projector and run it for a couple of shows without cleaning it and it'll be mostly OK. Do the same thing on a Christie and you're begging for trouble!
When I was in charge of theaters with Christie projectors, my edict was to have every projectionist carry a cleaning cloth in their back pocket. Upon starting to thread a show, the projector was to be wiped out. (Alternately, a cleaning cloth can be placed on a shelf next to each macnine.)
Done regularly, this job takes less than a minute. (More like 30 seconds!) This simple task will save you all sorts of trouble in the future!
If you are going to be in charge of the booth I advise you to keep an eye out for the the famous Christie "Clean Me Signal". Any projectionist who works in your booth who leaves a shift without cleaning ALL projectors should receive an unfavorable review. It will take you only a minute or two to walk down the row and point out which projectors haven't been cleaned.
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