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Topic: Interstellar locations running in 70MM
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Leo Enticknap
Film God
Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000
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posted 10-04-2014 02:08 AM
quote: Joe Redifer
So aside from Brad's theaters, any word on where the people projecting the 5/70 and even 15/70 are coming from?
I'd have thought that the Cinerama Dome would be OK, because there are enough people floating around Hollywood with hard core 70mm experience from "back in the day". But even here, I'd guess that many won't have handled and run it for years, and will face a learning curve. Before being hired at the Egyptian, the last time I ran 70 regularly (as in, shows every day) was in the mid-90s. Before doing my first actual show here, I spent half a day threading, winding and splicing with reels of scrap/practice footage, and made a few beginner's errors during that time.
I hope that the projectionists running these Interstellar prints will get the opportunity to do that as well. We saw what happened with The Master in London when that doesn't happen: I'm told that the guy running it had been brought out of retirement, and although he had many years of experience with 70mm, they weren't recent years, hence the print got scratched on its first show.
Incidentally, apologies for hijacking this thread, but for those 70mm fans in SoCal, we've got Ghostbusters at the Aero, Santa Monica, on Friday October 24 at 7.30 (link for info and bookings here).
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Martin Brooks
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 900
From: Forest Hills, NY, USA
Registered: May 2002
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posted 10-04-2014 05:07 PM
quote:
But in other news, I just bought four tickets for the November 8th 6:45pm show at Ziegfeld. This will be my first 5/70mm presentation I attend since 2 years, 2 months and 15 days prior to the 8th. I'm a bit nervous if the Zig crew would handle it properly, but I'm ready for the 5+-hour trip!
While the Ziegfeld was traditionally the best place to see most films in NYC, when I saw "The Master" there in 70mm, the print had dirt end to end. I don't know whether that was the fault of the theatre or the fault of the lab. It was very disappointing. Hopefully they'll do a better job with this film. The Ziegfeld, while still owned by Clearview is now operated by BowTie. I think it was still run by Clearview when they ran "The Master". I don't know whether BowTie operating the theatre will make it better or worse.
In the prime of Dolby 70mm, they frequently would add in special equipment, like additional subwoofers. That was done for both Close Encounters and Apocalypse Now. But that doesn't happen anymore.
Frankly, I think the better presentation is going to be the IMAX 15/70 at the Loews Lincoln Square. The IMAX scenes are going to be cropped in the 5/70 presentation at the Ziegfeld. They'll be shown in the full 1.9:1 aspect ratio at the IMAX.
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Brad Miller
Administrator
Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99
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posted 10-04-2014 11:27 PM
Steve, that's a picture from one of the extra JJs. I do have those under the intermittent in the screening room, but I've never felt they were needed as the film doesn't ever hit them. Loop sizes make all the difference, but there is definitely a big difference between acetate and polyester behavior down here closer to the equator. I've never ran 70mm of any sort north of the Dallas area, so your theory is certainly possible.
Also note depending on the intermittent depends on where the various guides and roller sit with respect to each other and the intermittent. Not sure what was going on with Century during the changes, but the pic I posted above runs VERY quiet and smooth.
And yes everyone please as Steve points out, please be careful. It only takes one pass to ruin a print. Paramount shipped me the only surviving reel of Titanic in 70 for me to test with and it was in DEPLORABLE condition. (Yup that's right, they don't even have a complete print in the US anymore, just this one odd reel.) How it got this bad is beyond me, but we're talking heavy scratches on the base and emulsion side (vertical, horizontal and a standing set of diagonal scratches off center). It's perforations are stretched, and the damage varies throughout the reel. There were no leaders, the film has heat damage, in ungodly dirty and so forth and so on. The condition at the ends of the reels from, well let's be honest, morons who don't know how to handle film...ugh, there are simply no words.
There is simply no excuse for this. If this reel was run for someone that had never seen 70mm they would've joked like we do when talking about old beaten up 8mm home movies. People handling these extremely rare prints have GOT to learn how to do it right. Again, it only takes one pass to ruin a print, but this reel has clearly been mishandled by many different venues. With various theaters installing 70mm so they can have some sort of marketing or booking edge on their competition, and then laying marks on one-of-a-kind archive prints because they don't have someone there that truly knows how to setup and run 70mm is just infuriating. 17 years ago I had the only 70mm Titanic print that went back with zero damage whatsoever (as John Pytlak verified and Paramount backed up in their print replacement report) and I played that for 5 months and 2 weeks (on a platter too). I wonder how many of these Interstellar prints won't leave their playdates in exactly pristine condition, and I wonder how fast they will get destroyed in revival 70mm shows. ![[Frown]](frown.gif)
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Leo Enticknap
Film God
Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000
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posted 10-05-2014 12:32 AM
quote: Steve Guttag
For those of you with Norelco AA2s (DP70)...WATCH OUT on the lateral guide rollers for the gate...if you set the leaf spring too tight with polyester/sans mag tracks...the film WILL curl and rub the middle of the gate runner plate. Older runners have much less clearance than later castings. Without the mag tracks not only are you spaced closer to the gate, you loose some rigidity and that film can curl VERY easily. Please be careful.
And especially if you're running AAs/DP70s in an arthouse/cinematheque type venue that is constantly swapping between acetate and polyester prints. My routine is now after every changeover:
1. Check film coming out of the bottom for scratches with a flashlight (both sides).
2. Glance at the complete film path to check that the film hasn't jumped out of any roller flanges or recesses and is rubbing on anything.
3. Check on screen for focus and framing
4. Glance at the AP20 display to ensure sound has changed over successfully
5. Back off the gate pressure until the picture just starts to look unstable, then tighten it again just as far as is needed for the wobble to go away.
6. Close douser on outgoing machine.
7. Clean and rethread outgoing machine.
8. When ready for the next changeover and if time allows, rewind finished reel, checking again for scratches, edge and perf damage while doing so.
With us changing between acetate and polyester prints all the time, I think a gate pressure check, and setting it to the lowest possible pressure needed for a stable picture, is necessary. The DP70/AA is a wonderful projector mechanism in many respects, but it's not forgiving to an operator who isn't giving it 100% attention.
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