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Author Topic: Why is my movie scratched? Daryl C. W. O'Shea Film God Posts: 3977 From: Midland Ontario Canada (where Panavision & IMAX lenses come from) Registered: Jun 2002 posted 03-06-2004 10:14 PM                        How, easily. If dust/dirt/whatever builds up on something that comes in contact with the film (making it 'unsmooth') it can scratch the film just as easily as a knife can.  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 03-06-2004 10:17 PM                        Yeah, the booth monitor is always the first thing that should be checked whenever a print gets scratched. The exciter supply is always a suspect, too. As are the masking motors. Remember that it's never the operator's fault. People don't scratch prints, machines do.  |  IP: Logged David Favel Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 764 From: Ashburton, New Zealand Registered: Feb 2002 posted 03-06-2004 10:26 PM                     We had a top roller that was seldom used, 1 day we threaded up using the roller in question, & scratch marcs everywhere. Stopped the movie & gave a quick blow of compressed air & away again. Assume dust buildup.  |  IP: Logged Daryl C. W. O'Shea Film God Posts: 3977 From: Midland Ontario Canada (where Panavision & IMAX lenses come from) Registered: Jun 2002 posted 03-06-2004 10:27 PM                        I've actually seen an exciter supply scratch a print Scott. Talk about a dumb mounting location.  |  IP: Logged Steve Kraus Film God Posts: 4094 From: Chicago, IL, USA Registered: May 2000 posted 03-07-2004 10:03 AM                    Hey, if the digital sound people were more militant they would make their readers destroy the other guys' digital tracks, of course dismissing it with"Sorry but you chose a stupid place on the print to put your track!" Edit: Oddity: Clicking to post this took me straight out to the main forum menu.  |  IP: Logged Edward Jurich Master Film Handler Posts: 305 From: Las Vegas USA Registered: Jul 2003 posted 03-08-2004 11:10 AM                     I had a problem where scratches would come and go. Noticed that the scratch would stop or start right after a splice. Turned out to be that the failsafe was installed out-of-line with the takeup roller on the projector. Splices would make the film jump out of the roller groove (or back in).  |  IP: Logged Chris Hipp Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1462 From: Mesquite, Tx (east of Dallas) Registered: Jul 2003 posted 03-08-2004 11:34 AM                     Yes, dirt build up can scratch a print but wha tI think Chris was talking about was looking to see if there was any build up of dust from the print being scratched. Usually a tale tell sign of how a scratch happened is there will be a lot of dust wher the scratch actually happened.  |  IP: Logged Thomas Procyk Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1842 From: Royal Palm Beach, FL, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 03-08-2004 12:04 PM                     A perfect example of how dirt can scratch would be that horrific print of Pink Floyd The Wall I ran last month. (see the "YOU SUCK!" thread for details) The print was COVERED in dirt. Reel 5 had the least amount of black scratches/abrasion, Reel 4 had more, and so on down to Reel 1, which was the worst in terms of black base scratches. I'm assuming what happened was when the infidel broke it down, they GRABBED the film in their fist and held down TIGHT while it rewound. (Why the hell do people do this? And why do people train other people to do this?!?!)The result, as the dirt built up under the fucker's fingers, was the same as sandpaper as the film passed through it. The only thing worse than a bad projectionist is bad management who are too dumb to solve any problem other than a soda bib being out. And I've been called to help them with that before. =TMP=  |  IP: Logged John Pytlak Film God Posts: 9987 From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922 Registered: Jan 2000 posted 03-08-2004 12:13 PM                        With the widescale availability of affordable on-line film cleaners, "Film Done Right" now includes cleaning the film each time it is projected. If abrasive dirt particles get on the film and the film is cinched, the film WILL get cinch marks. If abrasive dirt particles build up on a film-contacting component, they will cause a longitudinal scratch if the film contacts them. Keep the film path AND the film clean. NEVER let the film or leader come into contact with a dirty floor. Keep all work surfaces like rewind benches and make-up tables clean (wipe them down during the day, or use a central vacuum system), and try to keep the film surface from coming into contact with surfaces that may be dirty. Keep food, drink, and smoking away from film handling areas. Handle film by the edges only, with clean hands (film handlers gloves are recommended for those who have difficulty keeping fingerprints off the film).  |  IP: Logged John Anastasio Master Film Handler Posts: 325 From: Trenton, NJ, USA Registered: Sep 2000 posted 03-08-2004 03:28 PM                        I've had a film scratch a print simply because the medium wasn't moving fast enough to move the residue out of the way before it starting building up (especially old B&W prints). Fortunately it happened while we were watching, so damage was limited to only a few feet, but I learned to clean old prints FIRST before threading up, even with the cleaner operating normally.  |  IP: Logged Brian Michael Weidemann Expert cat molester Posts: 944 From: Costa Mesa, CA United States Registered: Feb 2004 posted 03-09-2004 05:26 AM                        IMAX film path always has PTR's, and they work great! Combined with the minimal wear involved with the "rolling loop", these prints stay pristine (save any operator error!) for years. The prints of Into The Deep 3D we used to run must have had 3000 passes under its belt, and it was clean ... sure it was a Frankenstein print with all the sections of replaced footage, but it was clean!  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 03-09-2004 05:37 AM                     I guess someone needs to call the IMAX Police because I have not seen any IMAX presentations in probably a decade that I would call pristine at any location I've been to. Remember too that the magnification is less, so dirt doesn't appear as large as if you were filling a similar sized screen from a 35mm print. IMAX should be a fantastic experience, but in these parts they need to get their asses in gear and put on a better presentation...picture and sound. There are 35mm 'plexes that slaughter their level of quality, and that shouldn't be happening.  |  IP: Logged Brian Michael Weidemann Expert cat molester Posts: 944 From: Costa Mesa, CA United States Registered: Feb 2004 posted 03-09-2004 05:56 AM                        I'm afraid you've been going to ghetto IMAX theatres, then. I suppose some museum locations that have been running Galapagos 3D since the lizards evolved are pretty shoddy. Dust and debris on IMAX prints are actually MORE visible, since it tends to stick to the field lens (which is designed to then wipe it away), but the image quality shows no film grain (at least not from the middle of the auditorium), and the sound system is all digital, crisp, and properly EQ'ed. We've been on IMAX hiatus until this week (NASCAR 3D opens) and we've been running Return of the King in that auditorium, on our recently retrofitted Simplex 35mm. The throw is incredibly bright, as it actually fills the entire width of the IMAX screen (90 feet). But, the grain, dirt, and emerging scratches just scream, "This is DEFINITELY not IMAX!" And the focus? Forget about it!  |  IP: Logged Gordon McLeod Film God Posts: 9532 From: Toronto Ontario Canada Registered: Jun 99 posted 03-09-2004 10:23 AM                     "I'm afraid you've been going to ghetto IMAX theatres, then. I suppose some museum locations that have been running Galapagos 3D since the lizards evolved are pretty shoddy." Very untrue most museums and non multiplex large format houses blow the comercial ones out of the water for presentation standards  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 03-09-2004 01:02 PM                        I must be lucky. I've never seen a bad Imax presentation. And I've never heard an Imax sound system that didn't put the typical theatre system (even a good THX house) to shame. I think I saw one show once where the glass thing (field flattener?) was dirty and it could be seen moving up and down throughout the show, but I don't think I would have noticed it if I hadn't been shown how the system worked.  |  IP: Logged

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