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Author Topic: Hulk: Film damage or bad print? David Stambaugh Film God Posts: 4021 From: Eugene, Oregon Registered: Jan 2002 posted 06-22-2008 07:14 PM                        The print of The Incredible Hulk I saw today had these weird white horizontal "dashes" in the image as shown below. These were present in the entire movie, including the 2 trailers preceding the feature (but not the ones before those 2). It looked like this: These horizontal marks were flashing randomly in that general area of the image throughout the movie. It almost looked like binary code or something. At first I thought it was a bad reel 1 but it continue to varying degrees all the way through. I've never seen anything like this before. Anyone know what the heck would cause that? They were very visible in dark scenes, or on any dark object, and very distracting. Not visible in light areas. Always white. It reminded me of bad pixels on an LCD panel, only these were not all the same size.  |  IP: Logged Carey Barber Expert Film Handler Posts: 143 From: Newport News, VA, USA Registered: Jan 2003 posted 06-22-2008 08:23 PM                     Could it be burn damage from a xenon bulb that was too hot or too close? This can cause a sparkly/starry pattern.  |  IP: Logged Michael Brown Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1522 From: Bradford, England Registered: May 2001 posted 06-22-2008 10:37 PM                     Do a search for the topic "Scratching....Help! " in this forum, that looks to be a similar if not the same issue.  |  IP: Logged James Westbrook Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1133 From: Lubbock, Texas, Usa Registered: Mar 2006 posted 06-23-2008 06:01 AM                     I'm thinking "hot spotted" xenon bulb, where the lamp was not properly focused and there was too much heat on that spot and burned the film. (Then we will be told it's a digital presentation and yet again I look like a dumbass)  |  IP: Logged David Stambaugh Film God Posts: 4021 From: Eugene, Oregon Registered: Jan 2002 posted 06-23-2008 09:14 AM                        It was film, not digital. It was like someone took an xacto knife and randomly scribed small horizontal marks all the way through the emulsion in that area.  |  IP: Logged John T. Hendrickson, Jr Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 889 From: Freehold, NJ, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 06-23-2008 03:07 PM                     Certainly a good case for Xenon burn. We had it on the 4th reel of a Wizzard of Oz print we screened at the Count Basie Theatre a couple of months ago. VERY annoying!!  |  IP: Logged Mike Olpin Chop Chop! Posts: 1852 From: Dallas, TX Registered: Jan 2002 posted 06-23-2008 05:49 PM                     Almost definitely a misaligned xenon hot spotting. Think of it as a very slow burn. The image begins to blister but is pulled away before the base is completely penetrated. Did the white "sparklies" seem to be attracted more to black in the general affected region?  |  IP: Logged David Stambaugh Film God Posts: 4021 From: Eugene, Oregon Registered: Jan 2002 posted 06-23-2008 05:52 PM                        quote: Mike Olpin Did the white "sparklies" seem to be attracted more to black in the general affected region? Yes, definitely. The darker the image in that area, the worse the sparklies.  |  IP: Logged Mike Olpin Chop Chop! Posts: 1852 From: Dallas, TX Registered: Jan 2002 posted 06-24-2008 01:36 AM                     Definitely Xenon burn. The dark areas trap more heat on the film than light colors. The manager should be notified, as every print that is run on that machine will scorch until the bulb is aligned properly.  |  IP: Logged Marco Giustini Film God Posts: 2713 From: Reading, UK Registered: Nov 2007 posted 06-24-2008 05:52 AM                     I had something like that few times in the years. All the time the prints were coming from a cinema with Prevost Projectors and that was the result of too big loops in the projector. The loop was hitting somewhere in the projector causing some greenish/white spot in the same place. Marco  |  IP: Logged David Stambaugh Film God Posts: 4021 From: Eugene, Oregon Registered: Jan 2002 posted 06-24-2008 09:37 AM                        I sent Regal a comment card pointing out the damage. Whether it occurred on that screen or another one is for them to figure out, if they care.  |  IP: Logged Jaime Tuzzio Film Handler Posts: 50 From: Salem, OR, USA Registered: Apr 2008 posted 07-04-2008 06:14 AM                 While comment cards are a good method to get your message to the theatre, when it comes to a presentation issue that can be currently and continuously causing damage, notifying a manager of the issue then and there can be mutually beneficial. They might not have been aware of the issue and can try to get it resolved ASAP, and you will hopefully not find yourself watching another feature with annoying white lines. Now, it's not always certain at any theatre that your message will get to someone who cares, but it never hurts to try. And I know for a fact that the booth manager at that facility does care. Edited to fix a really annoying typo. [ 07-05-2008, 04:20 AM: Message edited by: Jaime Tuzzio ]  |  IP: Logged David Stambaugh Film God Posts: 4021 From: Eugene, Oregon Registered: Jan 2002 posted 07-04-2008 10:14 AM                        I should have said "online comment card", submitted on the Regal web site. I gave Regal my email address but never heard back from them. Usually they reply, but not this time.  |  IP: Logged

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