Hopefully this recent anecdote will offer you some encouragement: I recently worked at a theatre that was wonderfully well-equipped for 70MM and was in the process of closing down (well, being taken over, but I digress). I found a 70MM reel of the movie 'Can't Stop the Music' - reel 3A/B, which has the 'Magic Nights' segment on it. Yes, it was red, but the whites were still good. Interestingly, there were no scratches or marks whatsoever - it was absolutely clean! I told my head projectionist about it and we ran it one night after work. When it first hit the screen we agreed that it was a bit red alright, but soon enough that didn't matter. Far more noteworthy was the perfect image registration (rock steady!), excellent focus and tight grain structure. Moreover, we watched it on a very large screen and noted how effortless it was to get this screen so brightly and uniformly lit with a 70MM aperture! The New York street scenes near the end of the reel jumped from the screen, and the contrast was superb. The musical number, 'Magic Nights', was a real 'blast from the past' and was absolutely infectious to listen to/watch. The next morning I was at work and the same projectionist I watched it with rang me just to express his delight with the experience of watching that reel. I felt the same way, and we agreed on how vastly entertaining it was to see 70MM again and how much steadier and brighter it was, and how the largest screens ought to be using 70MM release prints as standard. The redness was not mentioned, because it 'paled' in comparison to the other advantages of that presentation and the sheer enjoyment level that was attained.

So with 'Raiders', I am sure your audience is just going to love it. Your concerns are absolutely valid and I would use some kind of disclaimer and filtration if successful, but I have no doubts whatsoever that they will remember the experience for all the right reasons! Also, you have the advantage of showing 'the best movie ever made'.

Wish I could be there!

I would have several frames to complete spools of about 30 70MM films and hardly any of it is unaffected.

What I have learnt over and above from reading Kodak, this site and the various National Film archives is:

1. Never store it near flourescent light (or any light) it will fade before your eyes!

2. If you want VS to take hold fast store it on aluminium/magnesium spools. These were common as house spools and were thought to assist in preventing mag tracks disappearing. Metal spools are better, but my best kept 70MM has been stored on cores, in cardboard boxes for over 35 years.

3. At the first sniff of Vinegar remove the spool into isolation from the rest of your collection.

I would do anything to be able to run my "Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" footage again, but alas it is too late.

I ran both "Raiders" and "T.O.D." in 70MM. We ran T.O.D. with only one "off" in 9 months (the prince did a little skip down the stairs of the Panquot Palace). This print circulated until at least recent times in Australia. I have not seen it on the screen since it left my hands over 15 years ago.

The Raiders print ran for over 12 months in 70MM with no incidents that I can recall.

The worst 70MM print I ever ran was a faded 2001. It was 25 years old on last run I did and spl 2 had a heap of splices and the print had faded. It was razor sharp and still had very crisp sound.

Reasons for your observations:

1. Prolonged exposure to fluorescent light can fade dyes prematurely. Daylight and fluorescent light both have considerable ultraviolet energy, which cause the fading. Tungsten light has much less effect, or display photographs and film clips behind glass that filters UV.

2. Free iron (e.g., rusted or corroded metal reels and cans) can accelerate vinegar syndrome. Haven't seen much data on aluminum or magnesium, but they certainly are reactive metals. Plastic cores are usually inert. Storing film in an acid-free cardboard box does allow any acid vapors to vent, which helps prevent vinegar syndrome. But cardboard does not protect against water damage.

3. Yes, once acetic acid starts to be released, it can affect other film in storage. Either segregate the film in a well ventilated area, or store the film in a sealed can with Molecular Sieves to adsorb any moisture or acids.

70mm and 35mm striped prints seem to be most prone to vinegar syndrome, evidently because of the iron and binder materials in the striping. Cool, dry, and vented (or sealed with Molecular Sieves) storage will go a long way to retard or even prevent vinegar syndrome on triacetate prints.

SMPTE Recommended Practice RP131 specifies "Storage of Motion-Picture Films". An Adobe Acrobat .pdf file of the latest revision is posted on the SMPTE website for public comment:
http://www.smpte.org/stds/rp131.pdf

As you note, Kodak has much good information on film storage available on the Kodak website:
http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/support/h1/index.shtml
http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/support/technical/care.shtml

Thanks for the feedback. I agree that mag striped 35mm and 70mm is more prone to VS.

Why is it then that my Std 8mm and Super 8mm collection of 100's of mag striped films is not affected by VS? Many titles date back to the late 1960's.

I suspect that you stored your 8mm and Super-8 films under much better conditions (cooler and drier) than found in most film exchanges. Also, if your films were stored in cardboard boxes, the acid vapors were able to vent and not build up. Storing film in closed metal or plastic containers traps any acid vapors formed, accelerating the VS reaction. If sealed containers are used, use Molecular Sieves in the container to adsorb moisture and acids:
http://www.kodak.com/country/US/en/motion/support/technical/vinegar.shtml
http://www.kodak.com/country/US/en/motion/support/technical/molecular.shtml

Another factor may be that the 8mm and 16mm films were usually pre-striped by Kodak during manufacture of the film, whereas 35mm and 70mm prints were striped and sounded after processing.

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John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Eastman Kodak Company
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7419
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 716-477-5325 Cell: 716-781-4036 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

I've also done some experimenting with color gels on faded prints, and found that Rosco offers an effective gel.

Rosco makes a series called CalColor, the various colors of which are designed to particular wavelengths. Their 15 Cyan (1/2 stop) #4315 does a good job of "restoring" cyan to the image. Since it takes away only 1/2 stop of light, that's not objectionable, and its effect on the white parts of the image are minor.

Something else to try.

Hillary

Hillary: Thank you for the e-mail last week suggesting the Rosco #4315. In fact it was such a help that I was going to copy the text and post it here. Looks like you beat me to it.

None of the theater shops I called on Saturday actually had the #4315 in stock, but I was able to get a couple of swatch books and test out a sample. The difference was significant and the light loss on the screen was very minimal. Monday morning I tracked down a shop that carried the #4315 sheets and went and bought one.

Although, we only had two complaints (out of nearly 2500 people) over the weekend about the pinkish tint, it still looks much better than it did. Without comparing this gel to any of the other suggestions here I cannot say whether or not this method was better than some of the other color filters. However this sheet of gel was about $7.00, compared with some of the filters coming in at over $50. So I am quite happy with the results for the price.

Thanks again Hillary.

I'm so glad to be of help. Thanks for the update.

The reds and blues on Super-8 Kodachrome are just stunning, even after all these years!

Kodak KODACHROME film has always used unique technology. The dye-forming couplers are not contained in the film, but are in the color developing solutions of the process. This means there is much less "residual chemistry" to be washed out of the film. But it does greatly complicate the processing of the film, because three separate color developing solutions are required:
CLICK HERE
CLICK HERE
CLICK HERE

------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Eastman Kodak Company
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7419
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 716-477-5325 Cell: 716-781-4036 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

You may have noticed already that 35mm slides "tourists souvenirs" fade also and much sooner than a 35mm or 70mm motion picture film, even if properly stored (low cost stock obviously).

C.