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Author Topic: Indian prints are weird Joe Redifer You need a beating today Posts: 12859 From: Denver, Colorado Registered: May 99 posted 06-05-2010 05:41 PM                        So the other day I was building up a brand-new print of Ragnjeeti or whatever. Many (not all) Indian prints like to number reels in a strange, third-world way. For example, they will call reel 1 "reel 1+2" and so on. Anyway, I get to reel 9+10. I see that it says 9+10/19. OK. I figured that meant out of 19 total reels. I've seen that before. But nope! Reel 19 was included on that same reel! I noticed this as I was winding the reel over and suddenly it came undone and started flapping around. Reel 19 was fairly short. It could have easily fit on reel 17+18. What the hell? Is there no professionalism in India? I know it is on the decline here for sure , but DAAAMN! At least the movie came on cores. I've had brand new Indian prints come sans cores. Almost all used ones come without cores. I do not understand this.  |  IP: Logged Frank Angel Film God Posts: 5305 From: Brooklyn NY USA Registered: Dec 1999 posted 06-05-2010 06:24 PM                        Not so much weird as just ancient; the old ways evidently don't die easily in India. That lab must be still numbering them the old fashion way -- 1000ft reels incriments. Hey, we started it in the early days of silents and 1000ft lab capacity. When we got it together and started shipping on 2000ft reels, it became the 1A & 1B thing. So if that particular Indian lab was still numbering them the 1000ft way, reel 19 would mean you had 9 and a half 2000ft reels. Pretty long movie, was it? Must have been all those musical numbers in it I'll bet. They don't know from editing over there. If you ever play old silents or even many early 30s titles that haven't been re-edited but just printed from original elements,, you will see consecutive reals numbered 1, 3, 5, 7, etc. Of course usually by the time you get it, a brother projectionist would have numbered them 1, 2, 3, 4, etc, but you can still see the original numbers on the leaders & tails.  |  IP: Logged Joe Redifer You need a beating today Posts: 12859 From: Denver, Colorado Registered: May 99 posted 06-05-2010 07:00 PM                        I've also seen them include 3 reels on a single reel from the lab, printed as one. There was no reason for them to do what they did with reel 19. Also, Indian movies are notable for bajillions of lab splices per print. They must have an extremely low capacity on their printers over there. Time to upgrade! I'd like to see an Indian 70mm print some day. I wonder if they can even imagine such a thing.  |  IP: Logged Michael Brown Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1522 From: Bradford, England Registered: May 2001 posted 06-05-2010 07:39 PM                     The 9/10 plus 19 thing didn't surprise me all that much. I've seen it done like that before. In adition to the lab splices I also got a few reels with several tape splices (where the film has been cut for UK exhibition.)  |  IP: Logged Victor Liorentas Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 800 From: london ontario canada Registered: May 2009 posted 06-05-2010 08:05 PM                     The last one i ran had tilted images all the way through like my scope lens was turned a bit but it was their camera lens! They are not to particular about setting the anamorphic lens straight in the camera.  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 06-05-2010 11:35 PM                     Joe, the solution is to stop running Indian movies.  |  IP: Logged Joe Redifer You need a beating today Posts: 12859 From: Denver, Colorado Registered: May 99 posted 06-06-2010 12:39 AM                        I like that solution.  |  IP: Logged John Wilson Film God Posts: 5438 From: Sydney, Australia. Registered: Dec 1999 posted 06-06-2010 05:22 AM                     The Sound Of Music could also benefit from that theory...get to the wedding and go straight to the credits. Try programming it that way on DVD sometime...works well and saves you a good 60 minutes without all the boring war bits.  |  IP: Logged Martin McCaffery Film God Posts: 2481 From: Montgomery, AL Registered: Jun 99 posted 06-06-2010 10:09 AM                        Joe, was Reel 19 all credits? If so, it could have been something tacked on after the body of the film was printed, or made that way so the credits could be dropped. Or, just your run of the mill half assed lab job. Maybe they print using ends  |  IP: Logged Joe Redifer You need a beating today Posts: 12859 From: Denver, Colorado Registered: May 99 posted 06-06-2010 10:19 AM                        No, there was still full motion movie action for nearly half of rel 19.  |  IP: Logged Gordon McLeod Film God Posts: 9532 From: Toronto Ontario Canada Registered: Jun 99 posted 06-06-2010 04:54 PM                     India used to do alot of 70mm prints the standard is still 1000' per reel and many smaller labs still number the prints accordingly  |  IP: Logged Edward Havens Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 614 From: Los Angeles, CA Registered: Mar 2008 posted 06-07-2010 09:49 PM                     I recently asked one of the Bollywood distributors what I should do with my print of his movie, since Bollywood movies neither ship through Brake Water or UPS. The response? "Dumpster."  |  IP: Logged Phil Blake Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 558 From: esperance western australia Registered: Nov 2003 posted 06-07-2010 09:56 PM                        similar experience here ran one few weeks back noticed it was not like our "normal" prints. also the film stock was very thick and the one sheet posters were very thin. also the attandance was terrible and I too have a feeling my return address may be the dumpster.  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 06-07-2010 10:02 PM                        There is some other (eastern Eurpoean?) country that numbers reels this way, too. They go 1,3,5,etc., but ship on 2000' reels (cores?). Russian films (at least older ones) ship in 1000' lengths and are, of course, numbered as such. Then there are the countries that make films intended to be shown at 25fps. I can count on one hand (with fingers left over) the number of venues in this state that can show those properly....  |  IP: Logged F. Hudson Miller Film Handler Posts: 48 From: Los Angeles, CA, USA Registered: Jun 2009 posted 06-07-2010 11:08 PM                  Until the late 1990s all films made in Hollywood were cut and mixed on 1000 reels. After the final mix the sound stems (dia, fx, mx masters) were spliced together into A/B reels or Big Reels. R-1+R-2 = R-1A/B or Big R-1. The pull ups (35mm) & pull downs (70mm) were added and 2000ft print masters were recorded. Optical tracks were made and married to 2000 ft release prints made from 2000ft cut pix negs. In the 1990's With the advent of digital editing/mixing (Avid/Protools), 1000ft reels were abandon for "Big Reels" throughout post-production. There you have more than you ever wanted to know about the demise of the 1000ft editorial reel.  |  IP: Logged

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