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This topic comprises 2 pages: 1 2
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Author
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Topic: Curious
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Paul G. Thompson
The Weenie Man
Posts: 4718
From: Mount Vernon WA USA
Registered: Nov 2000
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posted 03-02-2001 01:29 AM
And, then there was an incident that happened in the '60's at a drive-in theater where the projectionist forgot to insure the upper reel was "locked" in the magazine. About one minute or so after the change-over, the reel fell out of the magazine, took several bounces on the concrete floor of the booth and rolled out the booth door on the field, leaving a trail of film as it rolled. Up and down the ramps for a couple hundred feet, it found its way off the theater property and on to the adjacent freeway, where it was promptly run over by a bunch of cars. What was funny was the poor projectionist running after it to try to stop it. Well, needless to say, he failed. What a way to ruin your show!  If it is possible to happen in a projection booth, IT FLAT ASS WILL, no question about it! (been there) 
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Leo Enticknap
Film God
Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000
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posted 03-07-2001 08:03 AM
I've never forgotten to lace up the incoming reel, but the first time I ran a changeover show by myself my boss did something not very nice.The film was 'Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade' - reels 1 to whatever, neatly lined up ready for the show, all cue marks checked &c. &c. Except that the boss had removed reel 4 of the kids' feature and replaced it with a reel from a porn film called 'Female Foxy Boxers'. Fortunately the smell of (what I now know to be) vinegar syndrome alerted me to something wrong before I laced it up. If it hadn't, the audience would have seen a cut from Harrison Ford hanging out of a Zeppelin to.... well, whatever was in that porn film. Incidentally, some places, especially art/rep cinemas, still use changeovers. Here we have two projectors plus a platter in each box, so we have the option of showing films either way. For one-off shows, early morning educational screenings, late night specials, archive prints and so on, I always run changeovers. Every now and again I make the other projectionists (none of whom has ever worked in a changeover-only cinema) do it as well. None of them like it, and they'd happily spend two hours assembling a worn-out old print onto a platter rather than watch for the blobs.
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John Pytlak
Film God
Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000
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posted 03-07-2001 02:02 PM
Scott said: "With carbons, my usual method is to make the changeover, then open the lamphouse on the idle projector (so as not to forget to adjust the carbons!..."Just a note of caution. If you are using glass reflectors with a carbon arc lamphouse, let the inside of the lamphouse cool a few minutes before you open the lamphouse to set a new trim. The rush of cool air on the hot reflector could break it. And to keep from burning your fingers, always assume the carbons are HOT!  ------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Eastman Kodak Company
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7419
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 716-477-5325 Cell: 716-781-4036 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion
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Jerry Chase
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1068
From: Margate, FL, USA
Registered: Nov 2000
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posted 03-08-2001 09:30 AM
About mirrors breaking from cool air hitting them: How many actual incidents of this do you know, and what type of mirrors were they?What we are talking about is thermal stress from uneven expansion of the glass. While I can see this happening in a mirror that has been improperly mounted and ready to break anyway, I've never had the experience or a mirror breaking like this. I'll admit to pulling stunts like getting lunch out of the lamphouse during the middle of a reel, and doing live carbon changes. (Not that I suggest anyone else try it) The intake air from the base of the lamphouse is not, to the best of my recollection, pre-warmed, so cooler air hits the mirror all the time. The glass is thick enough to have some thermal mass, and I would guess that new mirrors are made so that the glass doesn't have internal stress. Either I was lucky _thousands_ of times, or there is some other factor involved. FWIW, these were Strong Futuras and Peerless Magnarcs. The Futuras had cold reflectors and the Peerless were plain silvered. What I would be more concerned about would be a hot xenon bulb, with the gas at high pressure, breaking from thermal shock. You couldn't pay me enough to open a hot xenon lamphouse.
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John Pytlak
Film God
Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000
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posted 03-08-2001 09:56 AM
Jerry --- In my days at the Grandview Drive-In, I was told that the large chunk out of the bottom of our Bausch & Lomb Bal-Cor (?) coated reflector broke when the other operator opened the Ashcraft lamp too quickly on a cold spring night. You are probably right that the thermal shock is more likely to break the reflector if there is stress from improper mounting.BTW, I do admit that we sometimes ran without lamp exhaust running on the cold nights, just to stay warm in the booth. So the mirrors might have been especially hot. It's a wonder I'm still alive after breathing all those "rare earth" carbon additives  At least I didn't heat my food in the lamphouse. ------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Eastman Kodak Company
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7419
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 716-477-5325 Cell: 716-781-4036 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion
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Paul G. Thompson
The Weenie Man
Posts: 4718
From: Mount Vernon WA USA
Registered: Nov 2000
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posted 03-10-2001 03:06 PM
I would presume hot spots on the mirror caused by a sputtering arc (which throws all kinds of nasty stuff on the mirror, such as carbon smoke, chunks of copper, etc.) will cause the mirror to break if hit with a cold blast of air. I only lost one mirror while the lamp was in operation, and I am not sure why that happened. At the end of the reel, this was my basic procedure to make sure the lamp cools down to a safe temperature proir to opening the lamphouse door: 1. Make the change-over.
2. Break the arc.
3. Shut down the motor when film tails out.
4. Remove spent reel from projector.
5. Place reel into electric rewind.
6. Transfer the coffee pot to the other lamp
(Very Important)
7. Re-lace the other projector, verify lacing by rolling machine forward by hand, re-check framing.
8. Open lamphouse door, re-carbon or adjust.
9. Wipe reflector if needed.
10. Close lamphouse door and strike the arc and get it properly trimmed.
11. Break the arc.
12. Remove rewound film from rewinder. place it in film cabnet.
13. Pour myself a cup of coffee. (Also very important)
14. When it comes close to change-over time, re-verify projector threading and framing.
15. Lift lamphouse door, re-verify.
16. Close lamphouse door, strike the arc (about 1 minute before change-over) so the arc has a chance to stabilize).
17. Make the change-over, repeat sequence. I never had a mirror crack on me while using this procedure. Of course, naturally, you stay aware of your surroundings (such as arc trim, picture focus, booth machinery noises, and all that good stuff). Some (but certainly not all) big mistakes projectionists make: 1. Failure to verify their work.
2. Getting involved in the movie.
3. Failure to set a pattern and adhere to it.
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