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Topic: How do you thread --- and why?

Mark J. Marshall
Film God

Posts: 3188
From: New Castle, DE, USA
Registered: Aug 2002

posted 11-11-2008 07:03 PM

Yes they do have that, and to me it amounts to little more than a buffer for people that can't tell time.

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Jon P. Inghram
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 124
From: Wichita, KS USA
Registered: Jan 2007

posted 11-11-2008 07:24 PM

quote: Joe Redifer
Don't most digital pre-shows hold a looping "welcome to our shitty theater, we love showing you tacky ads" screen indefinitely until the projector starts? If not, they most certainly should. I am glad I don't have to deal with the headache (and tackiness) that is the digital pre-show.

I wish our pre-show DVDs were that well produced. They stop playing right after the ending "Welcome" slide and gives the audience the DVD players logo. And the person who makes them apparently doesn't understand the difference between 16x9 and 4x3 aspect ratios, nor even how to properly encode the slides: It's not uncommon for an advertisement to be corrupted bad enough that it can't be read. [Roll Eyes]

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Monte L Fullmer
Film God

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

posted 11-11-2008 07:38 PM

quote: Fred Tucker
kinda hard to do when you thread from the bottom up though.

Not really. One can still reverse thread and still get your mark in the trap where you want it to be - give or take a few frames.

You'd just have to find a new system to make it work for you the same as a forward threading would be.

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Steve Guttag
We forgot the crackers Gromit!!!

Posts: 12814
From: Annapolis, MD
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 11-11-2008 11:33 PM

Oh Jeez. I've worked with both types of Autos and can deal with either. The olden SPA-3 was charming in that it used a start cue and had no real timing function to it. It also couldn't ever burn up your changeovers. I actually liked the SPA-3, for what it was.

By and large though, all of the theatres I've worked for used countdown leaders...they are cheap and effective, plus they are available in multitudes of lengths prior to the countdown. You'd have to be brain dead to now be able to thread up consistantly.

Either way works.

And as to not adding any dirt or damage by threading in the coundown area...sorry...you are just plain wrong. Dirt migrates, period. Your hands can't be clean enough. The part of the leader you touch, will wrap onto the next revolution which transfers a portion of the dirt, which eventually tranfers it to the next wrap and so on.

Think about the arch-typical changeover house of your...they always telegraphed their changeovers as the dirt would speckle the screen even before he cues. Why? no one ever touched the tail near the picture...the just let the film tail out and then before they could shut the machine down, the take up reel would slap the tail on the floor...that is where it started...the dirt/oil then started its migration on back. Things were better when people had magazines instead of just reel arms as the dirt level could be controlled.

When I ran a booth regularly...I put a relatively large amount of scrap film on both the head and tail, used magazines when ever possible too. I also never let the heads/tails slap around after a c/o or rewind. If the scrap started to show its age, change it.

After Film Guard came out, I added that to the arsenal of keeping the film spotless.

In the screening rooms I operate, I use PTR rollers. The prints are often EK type and the shows are 1-offs. The PTRs are changed every reel and every time the film runs through the machine there will be a PTR pass (including tests/run-throughs). Net result...zero visible dirt.

I don't recommend PTRs for platter or even long-reel use and when used they need to be changed (cleaned) on each reel to be effective. You never want a PTR to "fill up". They are great at keeping dust off and keeping dirt from accumulating. They don't do well at cleaning a dirty film...which is generally not an issue for an EK print.

Steve

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Joe Redifer
You need a beating today

Posts: 12859
From: Denver, Colorado
Registered: May 99

posted 11-12-2008 12:22 AM

quote: Steve Guttag
You'd have to be brain dead to now be able to thread up consistantly.

Huh? I am able thread consistently. Does that mean I am brain dead?

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Chris Slycord
Film God

Posts: 2986
From: 청주시, 경북도, South Korea
Registered: Mar 2007

posted 11-12-2008 06:58 AM

It's called a typo. He typed "now" when he meant "not."

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Damien Taylor
Master Film Handler

Posts: 493
From: Perth, Western Australia
Registered: Apr 2007

posted 11-12-2008 08:13 AM

Typo's are inexcusable, they will be exposed and mocked without mercy for multiple pages. Or at least until the next splicer brand argument.

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Joe Tommassello
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 547
From: Coatesville, PA, USA
Registered: Jan 2008

posted 11-12-2008 11:16 AM

I started with the soundtrack facing the tree and the screen, over the top roller, down through the bottom roller (track still facing the screen) and back to the take up deck. Our automation was timed to a specific interval so I started with the top sprocket on the projector keeping the show start at approximately 18" from the top roller above the projector in order to match the automation. Then I threaded down through the projector and up through the digital readers and/or film cleaner. Why? I was taught that way and it never gave us any problems. Of course our equipment was always properly maintained. Starting with the top sprocket gave us a standard by which to time the aperture opening regardless of which combination of digital readers or cleaner we had above that spot.

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Steve Guttag
We forgot the crackers Gromit!!!

Posts: 12814
From: Annapolis, MD
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 11-13-2008 08:28 AM

God, there are about 50 typos in my previous post. I never proof read these things so yes meanings can change as "can" could be used instead of "cant" with the mere omission of the "t."

Then there are the spelling issues...in my previous post I used "your" instead of "yore." They sound similar, they mean different things. I generally don't go back and re-edit even when I see that I've goofed up a bit.

And yes, Joe, you ARE brain dead. I think that has been confirmed for some time now. [Razz]

Steve

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Joe Redifer
You need a beating today

Posts: 12859
From: Denver, Colorado
Registered: May 99

posted 11-13-2008 04:45 PM

I'd have to have a brain to be brain dead. Joke's on you, Steve!

quote: Joe Tommassello
Why? I was taught that way and it never gave us any problems.

You should revise that sentence. Here, I'll fix it for you:

quote: Joe Tommassello
Why? I was taught that way and I never thought about doing it differently even with a mountain of evidence that it would improve my presentation.

Just because you were taught a certain way doesn't make it correct.

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Laurie Higgins
Film Handler

Posts: 45
From: Norcross, GA, USA
Registered: Jun 2008

posted 11-15-2008 07:39 PM

We thread with the sound facing the tree then when it comes off the top roller and over to the projector it's facing the screen, then down through the bottom roller that leads back to the platter it is still facing the screen until it goes through the first roller on the tree and from that point it faces the tree and faces up when attached to the ring. We then pull out the slack and thread the projector from the bottom up. No mater which side the platters are on.

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Dominic Espinosa
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1172
From: California, U.S.A.
Registered: Jan 2004

posted 12-23-2008 03:50 PM

quote: Fred Tucker
However, it is preferred to pull leader through to where running the motor is not necessary, kinda hard to do when you thread from the bottom up though.

This is the general attitude I wish would go away in this job.

That argument, along with the ol "this is how I've done it for xx years" statement are the two cheapest cop-outs I've heard over the years.

I kind of wonder why it is that folks don't want to explain to the operators how the automation works, how the projector works, how a changeover is supposed to happen.
That modicum of information can make a huge difference to someone who actually wants to be there yet so many are kept clueless!

I'm intending to shoot a bit of video this coming week demonstrating a few different threading procedures that produce the same end result: film threaded to it's starting position in hopes it will illustrate for some folks I mean to convince of the benefits of threading "up".

Anyone else wants it, let me know.

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Joe Redifer
You need a beating today

Posts: 12859
From: Denver, Colorado
Registered: May 99

posted 12-23-2008 04:32 PM

Post a link.

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Jonathan Althaus
Master Film Handler

Posts: 435
From: Bedford, TX
Registered: Dec 2008

posted 12-24-2008 12:43 AM

I've been a booth worker for 2 yrs now, booth mgr for 1. I tried to thread up and it just didnt feel right and took me a lot longer. I'm sure I could retrain myself, but not til it calms down a lil bit.

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Monte L Fullmer
Film God

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

posted 12-24-2008 03:00 AM

I shot this thread up below 2yrs ago on this same topic. I still use it today (tried it on Century's and Christies also with the same results) and ones I've "retrained" to this procedure, find it much easier to use.

For those who wanna try this for snickers and giggles, give this a whirl.

"Perfect Threading Procedure"

You have nothing to lose.

-Monte

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