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Author Topic: Splicing Tape Preferences -- Opaque or Zebra Rhys M. Blavier Film Handler Posts: 13 From: Richardson, Texas, USA Registered: Jul 2004 posted 01-31-2005 04:26 AM                     I would like to get opinions from other professional projectionists about their personal preferences for splicing tape. Specifically, between reels do you prefer to use opaque (yellow or white) or zebra (clear with yellow dashes) tape between reels. I personally prefer to use opaque tape for several reasons. First, it is about half the cost of zebra tape. Second, zebra tape is clear tape with the dashes added and, in my opinion, the coloring used for the dashes has a horrible tendency to stain the film where it contacts for any length of time. Third (and, to me, the most important reason), in my experience, an audience member cannot tell when a an opaque splice has gone through any better than they can see cue dots so it is not a detriment to their viewing while on my end it speeds up my ability to find and remove the splices considerably. Over the course of the last 20 or so years, I have specifically asked people I know who have NO projection experience to LOOK for splices going through. Even when I tell them what to look for, no one I have talked to has ever been bothered by opaque splices on a print. In a very rare instance, someone I have coached may see one on if they remember to look for them but all of them have told me that unless they are bored by the movie, it never occurs to them to watch for the splices and that they do not notice when a splice goes through. On the other hand, when I am breaking down a print, especially when I am having to work fast, it is very easy to miss a zebra tape splice go through and I continually have to manually unwind to search for splices that go by without my seeing them. Opaque splices, however, are very easy for me to find and remove. Using opaque tape, my current best breakdown is two movies, 15 reels total (a 7-reel feature and an 8-reel feature), in just under an hour and a half. That is going from platters to 6000-foot reels on portable make-up tables, taking the 6000-foot reels to my base make-up table and then breaking down from the 6000-foot reels to individual 2000-foot reels. This is not something I could have accomplished if I had been having to search for my splices during break-downs. So, to summarize, since cost, film care and speed factors all come out in favor of opaque tape on a consistent basis, while audience viewing is not noticeably or significantly improved by the use of zebra tape, I prefer, without reservation, to use opaque tape to make any and every slice which will later need to be removed. Does anyone else have any experiences, thoughts, opinions, etc. to support or to contradict my preferences?  |  IP: Logged Mike Pennell Expert Film Handler Posts: 150 From: Tucson, AZ, USA Registered: Apr 2003 posted 01-31-2005 04:37 AM                     You just might have opened a big can of worms!! The next question should be which is better: platters or changeovers?  |  IP: Logged Liam Utley Film Handler Posts: 42 From: Australia Registered: Oct 2003 posted 01-31-2005 04:41 AM                    Neither... I prefer completely clear tape. I didn't know any company was THAT tight that you couldn't spend an extra buck on a roll of splicing tape. Maybe this place is a good place for a real opinion... the general public don't look out for splices, and even if they do see one they probably don't know what it is. There are better ways to mark your reel joins than using opaque tape.  |  IP: Logged Carl Martin Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1424 From: Oakland, CA, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 01-31-2005 05:08 AM                        rhys, trust me, you will get plenty bawled out for saying that on this site. clear tape is the way to go. i do agree that most people will not notice splices, or any other non-cataclysmic defect for that matter, to the extent that they'd remember if you asked them afterwards. nevertheless their experience will be worse than it could be, for reasons they can't account for. i've seen many poor presentations, and i'm generally able to live with it. but when i see a great presentation, which is rare around here, it wows me. i can pinpoint many reasons why, but even if i couldn't, the wow would still be there. part of our job should be training our audiences to know what film can deliver and to expect the best. check out don sneed's post in the japan thread to see maybe an extreme example of what i mean. too damn many people seem to think watching a video is just as good. that's the way they've been trained. imagine the most perceptive, discriminating film viewer. imagine giving this person nothing to complain about. now try to make that happen. carl  |  IP: Logged John Pytlak Film God Posts: 9987 From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922 Registered: Jan 2000 posted 01-31-2005 05:26 AM                        Ideally, a splice should never be seen nor heard by the audience. Now you know what kind of splicing tape to use.  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 01-31-2005 06:50 AM                     quote: "I would like to get opinions from other professional projectionists...blah, blah, blah..." Sorry, but if you are using opaque tape, you have no right to call yourself a professional. Most will also say that people using zebra tape have no right to be called a professional either, but occasionally you will find people who feel zebra is ok. Still, all of the GOOD professional projectionists I know use clear tape exclusively. There really is no need for any marking on the print (or tape) of any sort. You should also be breaking down directly onto the shipping reels off of the platter. Running onto 6000 foot reels and then breaking the film down further is just plain retarded. Not only is it an incredible waste of time, but you won't achieve the same quality wind on a rewind bench that can be obtained on a platter MUT. Also your 90 minute record for 2 lengthy movies is pretty slow. Both could easily be done in 30-40 minutes tops if broken down properly (and this includes either clear tape or ultrasonic splices being used on the initial buildup). Remember, you don't LOOK at the film while searching for splices, you FEEL the edges of the film for the splices. That's how professionals do it. I do have one question for you though...who trained you??? They really need to be outed here.  |  IP: Logged Thomas King Expert Film Handler Posts: 119 From: Sheffield, Yorkshire, England Registered: Oct 2004 posted 01-31-2005 07:12 AM                        I find clear tape can be tricky to spot on it's own (especially if you're making down in the dark) so I use a chinagraph pencil to put a white line down the splice, and along the top and bottom edge of the tape. That way I'm only marking the tape (so it all comes off easily) and it's much easier to spot. Certainly don't bother making down off 6000's unless you need the platter clear in a real (five minutes!) hurry. I always prefer to make down off the bottom or middle platter, because if you're taking film off the top one, it goes over one fewer horizontal roller and the tension seems to suffer accordingly.  |  IP: Logged Michael Cunningham Expert Film Handler Posts: 186 From: Anchorage, AK Registered: Nov 1999 posted 01-31-2005 08:47 AM                     For those of you advocating the use of various splice "marking" devices, the problem is that you keep talking about seeing the splices. You shouldn't be LOOKING for splices at all. Looking across the top of the film roll will show you the different colored bands of film for each reel. When you start getting close to the end of one, FEEL the edges of the film, just like during inspection and you'll never miss. Notice if the splice is on a scene change, check it against your ID frame, match up the soundtrack or whatever to determine that it's really a reel-change splice and you're good to go. - Mike  |  IP: Logged Mark J. Marshall Film God Posts: 3188 From: New Castle, DE, USA Registered: Aug 2002 posted 01-31-2005 09:12 AM                    The whole point of what makes a splice better, is making it so you (and the audience) CAN'T see it. So why folks try to make really really good splices, that will be invisible to everyone, and then struggle to LOOK for them is beyond me. Clear tape. Always. 100% of the time.  |  IP: Logged John Pytlak Film God Posts: 9987 From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922 Registered: Jan 2000 posted 01-31-2005 09:18 AM                        With good light, it is usually easy to see the slight gloss difference on the edge of the film for each reel as the film lies on the platter. The only time there may be confusion is when there is a lab splice, such that two different slits of film are used for the same reel, so the gloss is different for each half of that reel. Other threads have discussed the technique of putting a piece of artists tape on the flange of the shipping reel, and marking the diameter to which the film fills that reel. Then when breaking down the print onto its shipping reel, you know the splice is near as you approach your "fill line" on that reel.  |  IP: Logged Jeremy Fuentes Mmmm, Dr. Pepper! Posts: 1168 From: Corpus Christi, TX United States Registered: Jan 2004 posted 01-31-2005 09:47 AM                     Thats really the only reason for an id frame John. To easily distinguish a reel change or lab splice or perhaps a spot where there was a brainwrap and the film had to be spliced back together. I used to use opaque tape, but realized it wasnt the best way to do things. Try the clear tape, its not nearly as hard as it seems..  |  IP: Logged Randy Stankey Film God Posts: 6539 From: Erie, Pennsylvania Registered: Jun 99 posted 01-31-2005 10:12 AM                     If you're worried about cost then you should stock clear tape and ONLY clear tape. You will only have to keep one item in inventory at any time, versus TWO items. If you use opaque tape, zebra tape, splice-mark tape or any other item, you must also keep plain clear tape on hand as well. If you don't, how are you going to repair film if/when it breaks? How will you remove lab splices? Clear tape must be kept on hand in any professional booth. The use of opaque tape thereby necessitates the need to keep a SECOND kind of tape. You will need to stock, inventory, order and PAY FOR a second kind of tape. Even if both kinds of tape are EXACTLY the same price you will STILL have to keep inventory on two products. The time and energy used to inventory two products equates to cost. (Time = Money.) Using clear tape only is the only way to go. It's cheaper all the way around. If you can't find a splice using clear tape you need to get with the program. If you need to be able to tell the difference between repair/lab-splice repairs and splices between reels you can differentiate them with some kind of marking system. (Sharpie marker on the splice tape, etc., etc.) Oh! And customers DO notice the difference between good splices and crummy ones. They just don't tell you about it in so many words. They just stop coming to your theater. Case-In-Point: How many times have you heard somebody say, "I don't want to go to [some theater]. I always get a headache when I go there." (We've all heard this at least once, if we haven't said it ourselves.) Why does it happen? Because something's wrong with the projector. A jittery picture or a dim lamp or a shutter out of time or one of 1,000,000 tiny little things could go wrong. Customers notice these things but they don't know WHY they happen. They only know they don't like getting a headache when they come to your theater. Here's the thing... It may have happened ONE TIME several YEARS ago but because of CONFIRMATION BIAS they will seem to remember the one bad incident at your theater. The customer will tend to stay away from your theater. The same thing happens with splices and other "little" things you don't think they notice. Poor focus, crappy sound, crummy splices... They all add up in the customer's brain. Even if they don't specifically remember that crappy splice they just won't be as "satisfied" with the movie. People DO notice crappy splices! They just don't tell YOU. They just don't come back!  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 01-31-2005 12:46 PM                        quote: Randy Stankey you must also keep plain clear tape on hand as well. If you don't, how are you going to repair film if/when it breaks? That's easy...just use the opaque tape for everything! My personal record is, one time I had to redo 17 (!) splices in one print that were all made with opaque tape. This was a print that had been thrown, I'm sure. Add my vote for ALL CLEAR, ALL THE TIME. Also - to aid with the light on the middle and bottom platters, I installed a couple of flourescent lights from old standees. (strapped them onto the platter arms with plastic ties.) They light up the film much better than the platter lights ever did and it's possible to see the reel changes easily.  |  IP: Logged Monte L Fullmer Film God Posts: 8367 From: Nampa, Idaho, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 01-31-2005 02:09 PM                     ..seems like we had a thread on this before on splicing and marking techniques. Yeppers, using opaque (yellow or white) is just plain laziness and very unprofessional. I don't use china markers, I use Edgemark tape (for I have to since our theatres have idiots who can't see very well), otherwise I'd be clear all the time with no markings whatsoever. BUT.....if you're going to do the opaque thing, here is a trick to make the splices not so noticable: when cutting the film: Cut each frame in half so you have two sprocket, half frame on each side of the splice line on the splicer. Then draw the yellow goop across this, and then you would be only covering up one complete frame and this is not as noticable as the conventional one and a half frame coverup, which is extremely annoying to see - like missing a changeover between every reel after the second cue. You want to make your presentation as smooth and flowing as possible, for the audience is expecting a complete, uninterrupted show. Not "broken" apart with the black blip between reels. You don't see this "breaking" apart on video and DVD movies, so why not make your theatre presentations the same. (why the home theatre industry is taking off some-perfect presentations) -Monte  |  IP: Logged John Hawkinson Film God Posts: 2273 From: Cambridge, MA, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 01-31-2005 03:12 PM                     Monte writes, "...if you're going to do the opaque thing, here is a trick to make the splices not so noticable: when cutting the film: Cut each frame in half so you have two sprocket, half frame on each side..." That's a terrible suggestion! Please don't do this. At least if you use opaque tape normally, the next projectionist can peel it off and not lose anything. But now the next guy has to cut off your two half frames (thus losing two frames of the print) in order to get an acceptable splice on the screen. As for the initial question at hand, full agreement with the consensus: opaque tape is not acceptable for any on-screen use, and has no place in a booth. --jhawk  |  IP: Logged

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