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Author Topic: Main chains & film guard Fred Tucker Film Handler Posts: 90 From: Sugar Land, TX Registered: Sep 2007 posted 04-07-2008 02:35 AM                     Does anyone know AMC's policy on using FilmGuard? I'm told we cant, but yet it is an approved item to order through our distributor + there are some old bottles lurking around in my booth. Thanks in advance.  |  IP: Logged Joe Redifer You need a beating today Posts: 12859 From: Denver, Colorado Registered: May 99 posted 04-07-2008 02:38 AM                        Order it and see what happens.  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 04-07-2008 03:29 AM                     Sounds like a projectionist who doesn't want to put forth any extra effort in the booth (a "its good enough" attitude), or someone who is in a position who can benefit monetarily (a manager who gets a bonus depending on how cheaply they run their theater) told you that. Many AMCs use it.  |  IP: Logged Chris Slycord Film God Posts: 2986 From: 퍼항시, 경상푹도, South Korea Registered: Mar 2007 posted 04-07-2008 11:36 AM                     The official company stance is that it's use is discouraged. That's what I was told at my old theater by multiple managers when I asked then at my new theater the booth manager confirmed that they aren't supposed to use it.  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-07-2008 11:52 AM                        Do they still have that braindead official policy of using silver paint pens to mark splices?  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 04-07-2008 12:35 PM                     Chris, again see above. If the company didn't want you to use it, it wouldn't be on the approved product list, plain and simple. Discouraged in my travels means somebody is trying to save money (for their own personal benefit via raise/bonus, or because they think they will look good to corporate) at the expense of the presentation. Scott, I've not seen anyone use the paint pens at an AMC in forever. However show me an AMC that doesn't masking tape or tuck their leaders on breakdown and I will be amazed.  |  IP: Logged Chris Slycord Film God Posts: 2986 From: 퍼항시, 경상푹도, South Korea Registered: Mar 2007 posted 04-07-2008 01:06 PM                     AFAIK the stuff wasn't available at all through the website that all supplies were ordered from. But that was some time ago when someone had looked it up. Maybe something was wrong with that site at that time?  |  IP: Logged Sean McKinnon Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1712 From: Peabody Massachusetts Registered: Sep 2000 posted 04-07-2008 01:20 PM                        quote: Chris Slycord when someone had looked it up Unfortunately a lot managers would rather lie than; 1. Admit they were wrong. 2. Have to justify a bad decision. 3. Keep having to discuss something with a subordinate.  |  IP: Logged Galen Murphy-Fahlgren Master Film Handler Posts: 405 From: Canton, MI, USA Registered: Oct 2007 posted 04-07-2008 01:26 PM                     Brad, sorry to get OT, but what do you mean by masking tape their leaders on breakdown? If you are referring to using masking tape to hold the end of the head from coming free, what is preferable? I have seen reference to paper reel bands, but have never had a print come with them.  |  IP: Logged Chris Slycord Film God Posts: 2986 From: 퍼항시, 경상푹도, South Korea Registered: Mar 2007 posted 04-07-2008 01:29 PM                     Granted at the time the managers were having trouble finding parts for other projection equipment on that web interface so it could've just been that there was a glitch. quote: Galen Murphy-Fahlgren Brad, sorry to get OT, but what do you mean by masking tape their leaders on breakdown? If you are referring to using masking tape to hold the end of the head from coming free, what is preferable? I have seen reference to paper reel bands, but have never had a print come with them. He's meaning that when you tear down a lot of people, instead of splicing the head/tail back on just use a piece of tape.  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 04-07-2008 03:47 PM                     Yup, the professional and proper way to reattach the leaders is with a single sided splice made with Neumade splicing tape. (Neumade tape can sit on the film for 10 years and still peel off without leaving any residue.) Every AMC I have seen...and for that matter every theater with Strong equipment except for the Angelika Film Centers in Dallas, use a piece of masking tape to reattach the leaders *or* they tuck the leaders under not even reattaching them. I blame this mostly on the retarded design of the Strong MUT since there is no room to place a splicer, but also due to poor training. The films are also wound sloppily and without proper tension, but that's another issue of the shitty Strong equipment. A good operator CAN overcome the issue if he actually cares about what he is doing, but it is more effort during breakdown to constantly apply backtension by hand and sadly few people do. They don't care about the next guy's presentation or the studio's property one bit...hence masking tape and sloppy breakdowns.  |  IP: Logged Carey Barber Expert Film Handler Posts: 143 From: Newport News, VA, USA Registered: Jan 2003 posted 04-08-2008 08:02 PM                     In our AMC booth, all heads and tails are re-attached using a single-sided splice. We use FilmGuard, and I have never a word of discouragement or anything about it being against policy. It would be very easy to make it impossible to order by removing it from the approved products list, but I order it on a regular basis. The silver-paint marker is 'policy' but I have never seen how it is useful and we don't use it.  |  IP: Logged Carl Martin Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1424 From: Oakland, CA, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 04-08-2008 08:17 PM                        is marking with a silver pen harmful in some way, assuming it's done on the tape, on the framline? does it flake off? i don't do that myself, but i do write titles and formats on the tails with silver sharpie.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-08-2008 08:27 PM                        quote: Carey Barber The silver-paint marker is 'policy' but I have never seen how it is useful and we don't use it. When we first got our platter, we also got this device that you could stick a silver marker into (point down) and then you would slide the film thru it, and it would mark the edge of the film evenly. It was the most useless piece of equipment I ever had because I realized after our first platter showing that it's easy to see the reel divisions on the platters. I guess it could be good for old prints that have a lot of splices.  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 04-08-2008 08:34 PM                     Eprad made that unit. I've got one around here somewhere. What sucked about it was that sometimes the paint pen could "leak" a little bit too much ink and then it would invade the soundtrack and picture area of the film. Back in the day when I was testing that idea I quickly found out and trained people to twist the film and do the marking "upside down" so that couldn't happen. Then I also showed them that they HAD to wait until it was fully dry before winding because it could cause a brain wrap when the two layers that were stuck together by the ink tried to pull apart. In the end I said "screw it", because it really is another one of those useless booth supplies, just like yellow tape.  |  IP: Logged

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