When I worked in TV on 16mm prints, I rejected prints left and right. After awhile, the film distributors stopped sending me the rotton prints and started sending the new prints, or ones with few plays. Of course, we would receive prints up to 3 weeks before the playdates, and we would inspect the prints usually a week before the air date so there would be time for the replacement to show up.

This is impossible for the theaters.
I do feel for the operators that get these prints that have masking tape, shoe polish, and leaders tossed in the cans... The depots dont do anything anymore except give you a hard time about replacing things.

It's just not right that the theater is left holding the bag with a dark screen because of a shoddy print that was mis-handled by a previous theater.

If all theaters were the same, then all prints would be ready to go straight out of the cans. I know that in this day and time, this is impossible, due to the idiots being "trained" to operate the equipment.

Sure, Brad, Joe R., Ken L. Steve G, Ian P, and others do a whiz bang job on their prints. I would not hesitate to run a print that they have run straight out of the can, BUT 99% of the time, that won't be the case, so I HAVE to check them out by hand. I, too, can look at the soundtrack and see the difference in reels. Having a visual frame is added insurance that the reels will run in the proper order on the first run.

I am typing this after wearing the tips of both index fingers raw last night repairing damage in a single reel of a 1990 turtle movie for a total of FOUR hours. Unfortunatly, I am stuck with this because I cant just order a new print. You guys are lucky!

That is the goal but it's rarely achieved and that's why editors take that into account. Yes, I know there is some lousy editing out there on some films.

As for Steve, does his claim apply to films run hundreds of times where one can tighten the changeover up considerably (and practically do without the dots)?

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Brad does not want any frames at all cut off. I think he was making a 'last-ditch' suggestion, but he would not do that way himself. I thought his idea was reasonable; the frame could almost never be lost and you'd only need one. But, again, you would have to trust that the previous guy did it right.

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-"The next guy is not going to cut a frame closer to the tail but rather closer to the body of the film."

You are using common sense, which is lacking in many projection rooms. I would do that, you would, but not some person who was hired on Monday and is left alone in the booth to make up a show on Wednesday. Prints come in cut either way, plus other weird, stupid, things. Most are (closer to the body of the film) but many are not. I even see tape that is more than 4 perfs wide; in that case, people will cut off two frames. We use the Nuemade tape and its not always easy to peel it off. Many people won't bother, anyway, and we get their print. The only rule is; there is no rule.

-"John: all you are doing is giving the frame-removal process a 5-frame head start."

I know what you mean, but I'm viewing it differently. I think I'm allowing frames on either side, so regardless of which way the leader is cut (closer to the tail or body) there will always be at least one all-important uncut ID frame, at least after 2-3 runs. It sounds bad to say, but I'm planning for future poor make-ups and break-downs.

-"And to think about losing a frame each time the print is made up just makes me shiver."

I just don't understand this; "can't loose even a single frame" idea. I mean, I'm not saying this like I'm better than everyone else (I'm not) or I'm smarter (God knows that's not true, either!) I can see where people think six is too many, but one?

<everything that follows can be treated as a rant, if you want>

My priority is that the reels are in the correct order. I need a simple 'catch-all' way to show even untrained people what to look for to insure that goal. No way would I ever have time to show people how to match the soundtrack, or other (how ever good) tricks. I can't make choices on the people that are hired, but I can decide what actions give me the best result for the time spent. I view it as: either a few frames are lost, or the reels may be out of order. And loss of a few frames is minor toward that goal.

As I have said, anything after the last c/o mark is 'run-out' (24 frames.) It's slop purposely placed there to make a clean looking and sounding c/o. If you were running c/o's, I bet there's less than a 1/2 second delay between the last mark and stomping on the pedal. But, let's say it's 1/2 second. That 'looses' 12 (image) frames from the end of a reel (outgoing.) The audio is ahead 18 frames. Therefore, 6 (audio) frames are also lost. If the incomming projector could be perfectly matched to the outgoing, it would be the same, only reversed.

When run on a platter, I cut six frames. Now, when the last c/o mark is shown (last important image frame), the last 'important' audio frame (18 frames ahead) is heard. Then, there are 18 frames of the next reels audio while the last of the previous reels image runs out.

I know what you are thinking; Ha! If the next guy cuts off a 7th frame (toward the body of the film), there goes the audio. You are right, but that guy could go the other way. I want one frame left despite his direction. I'm willing to loose a few (even important) frames towards that.

When some yo-yo gets my print, he can peel off the tape because I only put it on one side to save a frame. I know 'reel-people' don't like this, but with the vast majority of theaters running platters, it seems the prudent thing to do. Yet I still get prints back with that one-sided splice- they didn't even bother to unpeel it.

And I need the editor to do his job, and not cut it so close, or to place a note in the can saying so. You could tell me one hundred places in the past where the image or audio was too close to the reel end or beginning, and I would not change based on that alone. Tens of thousands of films have come out in the same time period, done correctly. I don't have time to train someone to watch out for something that; a) shouldn't have happened at all, and; b) happens less than 1% of the time.

No one has yet said anything techinal that disproves my reasoning. If you can, please do!

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As for dailies, Mark all that fresh mountain air is getting to you. The editors don't put cue marks on dailies rolls! You run until you see it go to leader, roll, and change right over. Let me send you a bag of smog so you will regain your faculties!

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I guess it's also been awhile since I've worked at an AMC, so I forget how many morons are out there running a booth, and that's a damn shame. And it's a shame that there are those of you who are idiot proofing your prints for those who have trouble. Of course, I also have to agree with that POST MORON proofing that was mentioned several posts ago too. So it seems there are idiots among us in the projection world. Maybe going to video projection will be the best thing. I'm sure that if the retards that are out there in the world can return a tape to a Blockbuster without incident, we'll all fare just fine.

Technicolor has "scans" of each reel's beginning and ending frame and they keep them on file just for the purpose. They will fax them to you if you ask nicely enough. If you don't have a fax they might even give you a verbal description of each ID frame over the phone.

I just got our print of "Princess Mononoke" today and EVERY SINGLE REEL had the wrong heads and tails. Some of them even had the ID frames MISSING. Even WITH Technicolor's help it took me almost THREE HOURS to build it up!

That's not a bad compromise. If everyone was to ONLY cut ONE frame off of the head of the reels EXCEPT for reels 1 and 6, that's enough to make even our new friend Steve Krams happy!

Really, there is no need for an ID frame on the first or last reel as well as on the tails. (It would be more helpful to have the ID frame on the head and not the tail for breakdown and loading purposes. Plus preserving the frames on the tails wouldn't chew up the changeover timing.) Damn good idea!!

Another very inexpensive solution would be for the studios to insert a black and white photocopy of a "breakdown sheet" in the cans with each film, just like with DTS discs. On it would be nothing more than shots of the ID frames and their corresponding reel numbers.

No ID frames taken off of first and last reels.
No ID frames taken off of secnod reel.
Middle reels only have ID frame on head.