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Topic: Threading Tips 101

James R. Hammonds, Jr
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 931
From: Houston, TX, USA
Registered: Nov 2000

posted 05-26-2001 05:02 AM

Now, Im not trying to advocate letting the leader hit the floor or say that its not important here, but Ive always wondered...if you use filmguard would it matter since the film is constantly being cleaned?

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Brad Miller
Administrator

Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99

posted 05-26-2001 06:58 AM

To answer your question briefly, yes. If the leader is coming into contact with the floor on every threadup there will be dirt accumulation no matter what form of cleaner is being used and it will wear out for practical use as leader prematurely.

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Kyle Connolly
Film Handler

Posts: 13
From: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 05-28-2001 12:09 PM

I have a problem. I worked over the weekend, and I tried threading bottom - top. It went well, and it doesn't take as long as i thought. The only problem is, i've talked to 2 of the 3 guys I work with, and they don't want to thread it that way. So, even if I were to continue to thread it up, it wouldn't matter. I tried to convince them, but they just won't (one of them has been a projectionist for 35 years). Does anybody have any suggestions?

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-@-

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John Pytlak
Film God

Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 05-28-2001 12:20 PM

As long as the threading leader doesn't come in contact with a dirty floor, it doesn't matter whether you thread bottom-to-top or top-to-bottom. But if their method puts film on the floor, challenge them to do it a better way! Or insist that the floor be damp mopped to pick up all dirt before they thread each show.

If you work in a theatre having enough screens to have multiple projectionists on duty at one time, organize two "teams", each with half the screens, and see which team can maintain the best presentation, including the cleanest pictures and best sound.

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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

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Brad Miller
Administrator

Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99

posted 05-28-2001 12:23 PM

Let's see what the options are...

#1 Just terminate them. (The preferred solution if you have the power, for you do not need people hard set in their ways like this in your booth.)

#2 See if they will thread following one of the acceptable alternatives. (IE: clamp the film with a clothespin before threading to keep the leader off of the floor, or place the film into the holdback sprocket before threading.)

#3 Give up and live with having a poor trailer presentation. Dirt WILL happen with this sort of threading.

This is precisely why I prefer to get some 16 year old kid who has never had a job a day in his life to replace projectionists. They don't have any bad habits to break, you don't have to listen to the "but I've done it this way for over two centuries and my presentation is wonderful" crap and not ever having a job before, they will do the job exactly as you tell them without thinking that they are having to do "too much work". Just as your projectionist was trained to dump the leader onto the floor with the mentality that it does not matter, these kids will leave the job one day with the mentality that film was not meant to be ran on the floor and will always be better projectionists for it.

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