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Topic: Threading Up a Simplex 35

John Pytlak
Film God

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

posted 04-01-2005 07:37 AM

quote: Monte L Fullmer
I just got done with the presentation of "Lemeny Snickets" and noticed, during buildups, that some of the scenes are in full frame 1.33/1, then when some scenes changes, the frame gets "hard matted" to 1.75/1. And these two different ratios goes back and forth throughout the feature. Would this be different cameras, or some sort of lab work techniques?

Movies composed for 1.85:1 are usually shot with a "full frame" camera aperture. If continuous contact printing is used for all the intermediates and the release printing, the framelines on the prints are the ones defined by the full frame camera aperture. If a step printer (e.g., optical effects) or Digital Intermediate is used for any scenes, those scenes will usually have a "hard matte" defined by the printer aperture or recorded area. Likewise, any CGI is usually rendered to just slightly more height than the normal 1.85:1 aspect ratio.

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John Hawkinson
Film God

Posts: 2273
From: Cambridge, MA, USA
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 04-01-2005 05:41 PM

Martin McCaffery said: "I set the projectors to RP-40 with each new film,"

Really? Wow. That seems like an awful lot of effort. Why not just
mark the position of the framing knob?

--jhawk

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Brad Miller
Administrator

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

posted 04-01-2005 09:32 PM

Because that's just dumb. No framing knob is anywhere near accurate enough that you could "mark it" and have any degree of precision in the projected framing.

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Wolff King Morrow
Master Film Handler

Posts: 490
From: Denton, TX, USA
Registered: Feb 2004

posted 04-02-2005 04:49 AM

Which is why framing knob technology could use a serious boost. I'd like to see a large dial-arrow with degree marks around it on a face-plate. That way you'd know when your setting has been messed with if the arrow isn't pointing at the degree mark you set it to the day before.

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Monte L Fullmer
Film God

Posts: 8367
From: Nampa, Idaho, USA
Registered: Nov 2004

posted 04-02-2005 05:30 AM

quote: Brad Miller
No framing knob is anywhere near accurate enough that you could "mark it" and have any degree of precision in the projected framing.

Exactly true. Now, all we need to do is tell the labs, when they do their contact printing, is to get the frames exactly right inbetween the sprocket holes.

For sometimes, and I'm sure that some/all of us have noticed, that the framelines ISN'T printed exactly right in between the sprockets on some prints.

If one has to "mark" their projector where the exact and proper framing should be, then that operator needs more booth training, because he's doesn't want to have that "perfect presentation" since he doesn't want to do his required "15 minute" booth checks while the film is running.

Nothing more tacky is to have a FLAT Disney feature, which is "hard matted" most of the time, with the top of the "matt" is showing on top of the screen, or opposite with the "matt" on the bottom of the screen.

For we know that some framing devices WILL eventually slip slightly downward from time to time during operation. (TIP-Snug up those two 3/16" allen screws a bit that holds down the framing/intermittent assembly to the mainframe on the Christie P35GPS machines if this problem exists..)

If there is "frame drift" and knob tension seems normal, then your gate and trap assembly settings could be too tight and actually "pulling" the intermittent assembly anti-clockwise, or upwards to cause this frame drift.

-Monte

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Wolff King Morrow
Master Film Handler

Posts: 490
From: Denton, TX, USA
Registered: Feb 2004

posted 04-02-2005 05:43 AM

quote: Monte L Fullmer
If one has to "mark" their projector where the exact and proper framing should be, then that operator needs more booth training, because he's doesn't want to have that "perfect presentation" since he doesn't want to do his required "15 minute" booth checks while the film is running.

While that's true, there's also the flipside of the coin in that if you are showing the same print in the same screen for an entire week, you'd want to have some way of knowing your knob is still set where you centered it for the show in additon to regular screen checks. Marking the knob I agree is not the answer, but a better designed knob like I mentioned would be helpful. Granted, there's the point of not worrying about the knob and just using the screen to check the image centering, but I'd prefer having the extra option, if only to know at a glance where the 35PA centering line is (assuming your knobs don't drift).

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Brad Miller
Administrator

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

posted 04-02-2005 05:16 PM

I have found a useful purpose for the CAP code. Every 24th frame or something, have it make two dotted lines horizontally across the image just a tad outside where the framing is SUPPOSED to be. If you see it flash every second, you're a crappy projectionist and you need to adjust your framing. Voila! Yay CAP code!

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Phil Hill
I love my cootie bug

Posts: 7595
From: Hollywood, CA USA
Registered: Mar 2000

posted 04-02-2005 11:20 PM

That's a great idea, Brad! The dots could be not only used as Crap Code, but spell out in Morse code: "Dumbass Projectionist At Work" [evil]

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Brent Allen Sadler
Film Handler

Posts: 6
From: New Eagle, PA/United States
Registered: Jan 2005

posted 04-05-2005 12:45 AM

I understand what you mean when you say that your theatre is not a presentation theatre. I work for Carmike, and believe me, they DON'T care about the quality of the movie. Just concession sales. But since you are interested in learning the correct way of doing things this tells me that you care. So YOU can turn your theatre into a presentation theatre. Thats what you customers are there for right? I'm not familliar with SPECO platter systems, but the platter should be threaded first. Pull the film down over the upper magazine roller giving yourself some slack to lace the projector. Don't forget to turn the intermittent drive shaft a quarter way until the intermittent sprocket comes into its locked position. After the projector is threaded, I normally just tug lightly on the film leader to engage the takeup platter. But I am also using Christie AW3's and am not shure of the takeup mechanism on the SPECOs. Hope this helps.

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Monte L Fullmer
Film God

Posts: 8367
From: Nampa, Idaho, USA
Registered: Nov 2004

posted 04-05-2005 01:17 AM

quote: Brent Allen Sadler
I normally just tug lightly on the film leader to engage the takeup platter. But I am also using Christie AW3's and am not shure of the takeup mechanism on the SPECOs.

Shoot..I used to do that all the time with LP-270's and the AW3r platters-give a tug to engage the takeup platter.

-Monte

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