That's AWFUL close to your left eye, Rachel. If that thing had've gone one inch to the other side, you probably would be living the rest of your life with only one eye. This isn't a rant in my opinion, but an extremely serious problem that people have been complaining about for years. The old posts on this forum alone should be enough proof of the quality control that TES sends out and as sad as this is, it will take this incident as well as others (if you are not able to succeed in a MAJOR lawsuit) to get them to change their ways and actually show a little bit of concern for the safety of the projectionists who must work with their reels. I've cut myself so many times from a chipped/cracked reel (some very bad) it's pathetic, but like I said, hopefully the studios will get onto TES about this and hopefully no projectionist will ever return a reel to TES again that is defective in ANY way whatsoever. Getting these reels OUT OF CIRCULATION is an absolute must!

You've got to chase this up with a lawyer. Their cheapness has almost taken out your eye and though you are still young and it may not seem like the end of the world to you right now, those things are not replaceable and you're going to need them in the future. What if you did nothing now and in ten...twenty years times something else bad (God forbid) happened and took away your sight in your other eye leaving you completely blinded? Or maybe you would just go blind in that eye anyway? You'd never see your kids or Grandkids ever again.

Think about the future...take it to a lawyer. He'll take one look at you, pick up the phone and immediately order that extension to his house.

I hope you are feeling ok now though...and that you have kept the evidence.

Shall we all agree to throw out any broken reels that we receive? This seems to be the only way to remove them from use. In the past I've asked for empty reels to replace broken ones. Never received any. So I discard the broken reels and ship out on a core. I've never heard any feedback about my shipping out on cores.

Maybe Technicolor will get the message if we all start doing this. Just like Alice's Restaurant!

After looking at the pictures, I'm beginning to think that I _should_ be taken literally. I know that I would no longer be as casual as I used to be, if I were still making-up prints. At a minimum, I would demand safety glasses and wear them religiously during make-up and break down.

I'm going to digress for a moment and direct a comment to any circuit executives that might be reading-

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I know that some of you are going to be saying "These film handlers need to slow down the speed at which they put films together. If they would just run the make-up tables at a safe speed, then this couldn't happen. We might even get out technicians to physically limit the speed at which the reels rotate. It is easier to get the little guy to change than buck the system." That is a nice thought, but you are the folks that have agreed to fall in line with the "anti-piracy" bullshit from TES and the distributors, that dictates prints arriving at the last minute. That gives the film handler a minimum amount of time to put together a number of prints, often while having to tend to other shows. If you want the feature on-screen for those first shows, the film handler usually MUST run the make-up table at speed. Any film handler who doesn't get a print on-screen is often subject to disciplinary action or, at minimum, veiled harrasment from management and threats of being fired.

The effectiveness of last-second print shipments in preventing piracy is a joke, and you know it. The one or two days lead that would be given to any pirate is just that - a one or two day period where the pirated film would be available early. If a pirate really wanted to snag a film, it could be done in the early morning hours following the first showings. The real bitch, underneath all the rhetoric, is the possible financial damage to a distributor from a film handler pre-screening a print. This is ludicrous (especially with off-the-break prints)and any reduced revenues from prints arriving early is nil.

Demand that the last-second shipping be rolled back - at least until all the defective shipping reels have been replaced. Now knowing that there is a problem, and knowingly continuing to put your employees at risk, you have a liability. The current situation, as dictated by the distributors and TES puts you between a rock and a hard place. Please think and make a decision that will benefit everyone in the industry in the long run.
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Rachel, I'd like to ask you to give the members of this forum the right to reproduce the pictures you uploaded. One effective way that this wheel can be made very squeaky is by a group action to promote awareness of the danger, in ways that cannot be ignored.

If you agree, my suggestion is that every film handler that wants to take a stand against defective reels copy the photo to his or her hard drive, then use an ink jet or laser printer to print up a few dozen copies of the photo alnong with a suitable caption. Stick a copy (loose) inside each outgoing can of film, and possibly glue one to the interior or exterior of the can so it can't be easily removed. If enough film handlers include enough copies of the photos in enough prints, there is no way that TES or the major circuits can ignore it.

A possible caption might read:

"This young woman was almost blinded when a shipping reel self-destructed and flew apart during print make-up. Please complain to your corporate management, booker, and film company representatives that defective shipping reels are a health hazard, and let them know that you intend to personally destroy any and all defective reels shipped to you, for your own protection.

While the reel in question came from T.E.S., this is an industry-wide problem that has been ignored, benefiting only those who purchase cheap reels that are easily damaged, saving them a few pennies. Register your displeasure with NATO, T.E.S. and any person that you think can help effect a minimum standard for safe reels and better inspections.

Full details of the incident are available on the web at www.film-tech.com."

If you get a letter or call demanding that no more notes be included in film cans, take note of the source. Be sure to include the name of that person and the company he or she represents in any follow-up letters or e-mails. Posting those names here might be fun too.

Use whatever caption you want, but be aware that your purpose is _not_ to dump on T.E.S. but to get a reel safety problem solved.

If Boxoffice Magazine and Film Journal were more than house organs for the film companies, I would expect them to pick up on something like this and turn it into a big article. However, my bet is that if it gets covered at all it will be a single column stuck in the back pages. I'd sure love to be proven wrong.

I also realize that there are going to be people out there that will want to black-list me for pushing this issue and formenting a stink. If that is the case, so be it. I've been called names before, and I'm sure I'll be called names again.

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"Blood is thicker then blondes" - From the movie, Save the last Dance.

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"Blood is thicker then blondes" - From the movie, Save the last Dance.

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Now I wish I had more pictures of the bad reels I have encountered over the years. The only known picture I have is in my Technicolor review on this site. That reel came with a piece missing. Could have easily cut my hand when grabbing it from the can.

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"Blood is thicker then blondes" - From the movie, Save the last Dance.

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When TES comes and picks up their prints while the movie is still running, tell them politely and professionally to "bend over". Some of them are so dumb, they might take it as a complement.

They will undoubtedly tell you to hurry up with the idea that you will do a high-speed dismount. It is very typical for those idiots to try and hurry you along. Furthermore, tell them when the print will be ready for pickup. If they show up earlier, that's just tough. Feed them some popcorn you swept off the floor and make them wait until you can safely dismount your print.

TES is nothing more than a pain in the rump. Always has been, and probably always will be.

Everytime I saw their broken-down beat-up busted orange film cans that look like they have been through 3 World Wars, I had this pain..... , and I didn't even have to touch the film cans before this pain developed.

TES is a classic example of WHAT NOT TO DO.

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