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Author Topic: Set the dwell Joe Redifer You need a beating today Posts: 12859 From: Denver, Colorado Registered: May 99 posted 01-16-2011 06:49 PM                        I have never heard it called "dwell" because I live in the USA and am a red-blooded American. When training I usually just say "set the intermittent, numbnuts". But I go a step further than just threading the film when the intermittent is at rest. The intermittent must have JUST STOPPED its rotation to be in the correct position. This makes threading much easier and your loop sizes will be exactly the same each and every time whereas if you just thread when the intermittent is simply "at rest", the loop sizes will never be perfectly consistent. Also, once you thread it up this way, you can take note where on the sprockets the frame lines of the leader are. The next time you thread (from the bottom up, of course) you set the intermittent, put the frame line on the bottom sprocket in the correct position and work your way up, putting the frame lines where they should be. Thread in frame and your loop size will be the same every time. After a few thread-ups you will be crazy accurate and probably faster, too. No need to go back and readjust loop sizes.  |  IP: Logged Manny Knowles "What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???" Posts: 4247 From: Bloomington, IN, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 01-16-2011 10:00 PM                     I agree about setting the intermittent at its "just stopped" position for consistency. But I've never taken to that whole "from the bottom up" philosophy, so I don't get the "of course" part. (And, yes, I've tried it.) A projectionist friend of mine in Los Angeles used to call it "clearing the intermittent."  |  IP: Logged Jake Spell Master Film Handler Posts: 294 From: Johns Island SC Registered: May 2009 posted 01-16-2011 10:46 PM                     I used to thread from the top down all the time till I read the tips here, started goin from bottom up and the leader never touches the floor. And as Joe said, I thread faster and mistakes are non-existent.  |  IP: Logged Joe Redifer You need a beating today Posts: 12859 From: Denver, Colorado Registered: May 99 posted 01-16-2011 11:09 PM                        The direction honestly does not matter, but what DOES matter is that the leader never touches the floor. Ever. Bottom-up is just the easiest way to do that. Some people try it and it is different from what they learned and they just don't have the ability to adapt. If that's the case, just having the leader locked on the bottom sprocket while you thread the rest down (and then re-adjust that bottom sprocket) works well.  |  IP: Logged Sean McKinnon Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1712 From: Peabody Massachusetts Registered: Sep 2000 posted 01-16-2011 11:36 PM                        I have never heard it called "setting the dwell" only "setting the intermittent" but what you are actually doing is setting the intermittent to the dwell position. I agree with Joe about setting it until it just stops.  |  IP: Logged Eric Robinson Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 538 From: Santa Rosa, CA Registered: Jan 2005 posted 01-16-2011 11:45 PM                     quote: Sean McKinnon I agree with Joe about setting it until it just stops. I know Joe doesn't trust me, but everything he says is correct. I do it the same way he does. I'll admit I was a top threader though until I learned the new way here on film-tech. People give me some crazy looks when I go from the bottom up. None of them has asked me why I do it though, they probably just think I'm a whacko.  |  IP: Logged Monte L Fullmer Film God Posts: 8367 From: Nampa, Idaho, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 01-16-2011 11:52 PM                     I can "bottom-up" a Simplex setup in decent time (course, not as fast as doing the "top-down" traditional setup), but still working on it some with the Christie....when I get the chance, but it's nothing to loose sleep over with.  |  IP: Logged Joe Redifer You need a beating today Posts: 12859 From: Denver, Colorado Registered: May 99 posted 01-17-2011 12:31 AM                        quote: Eric Robinson I know Joe doesn't trust me This is true. Your face changes colors. You are clearly up to something. quote: Eric Robinson People give me some crazy looks when I go from the bottom up. None of them has asked me why I do it though Same here, though I don't usually look to see if they are looking at me funny. I've always wanted someone to go "Wait! What in the name of Zeus are you doing??!!" Nobody ever asks WTF is going on when I rewind the film cleaner and thread it right up again, either. I just think that bystanders don't pay much attention. I'm doing my thing and they just let me do it.  |  IP: Logged Manny Knowles "What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???" Posts: 4247 From: Bloomington, IN, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 01-17-2011 12:46 AM                     There isn't one single "correct" way. That's BS. Threading "bottom up" is not the only way to keep film off the floor. Great if it works for you. As for speed: it's over-rated. I hate feeling rushed when I'm working in the booth, and so I avoid creating scenarios where it will be necessary to rush.  |  IP: Logged Joe Redifer You need a beating today Posts: 12859 From: Denver, Colorado Registered: May 99 posted 01-17-2011 03:15 AM                        Who said there was one correct way? To quote myself: quote: Joe Redifer The direction honestly does not matter, but what DOES matter is that the leader never touches the floor. Ever.  |  IP: Logged Monte L Fullmer Film God Posts: 8367 From: Nampa, Idaho, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 01-17-2011 01:16 PM                     ..but....we can also clean our leaders from time to time...  |  IP: Logged Joe Redifer You need a beating today Posts: 12859 From: Denver, Colorado Registered: May 99 posted 01-17-2011 11:09 PM                        $%&*!! Just don't let them get dirty in the first place, much easier! Also much more effective.  |  IP: Logged Manny Knowles "What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???" Posts: 4247 From: Bloomington, IN, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 01-18-2011 02:52 AM                     Sorry, Joe. I guess I was really disagreeing with your statement that "bottom up" is the *easiest* way to keep the leader off the floor. For me, it isn't.  |  IP: Logged Ian Parfrey Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1049 From: Imbil Australia 26 deg 27' 42.66" S 152 deg 42' 23.40" E Registered: Feb 2009 posted 01-18-2011 06:53 AM                     It's ok, Manny. Just don't dwell on it.  |  IP: Logged David E. Nedrow Master Film Handler Posts: 368 From: Columbus, OH, USA Registered: Oct 2008 posted 01-18-2011 12:02 PM                        quote: Joe Redifer But I go a step further than just threading the film when the intermittent is at rest. The intermittent must have JUST STOPPED its rotation to be in the correct position. Absolutely. I show them how to do it in that manner. I warn them not to be fooled by just stopping when it dwells. Sorry, that's what I've always called it, since it's a commonly used term in mechanics, and no one ever had the time to teach me any of this stuff. In a technical/mechanical sense, something coming to rest is very different than something that is dwelling. One indicates it's not going to move again, the other is clearly a pause in mechanical motion. I always have them do a full rotation so that the correct point in the rotation is reached. As Joe noted, it provides a consistent loop, among other benefits.  |  IP: Logged

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