But alas,they'd scrape it up,throw it on broken reels,and ship it to some other poor unsuspecting soul.thanks again,
Tyler
I'd love to see someone's face at TES if they got their print via "bag-o-film". But alas,they'd scrape it up,throw it on broken reels,and ship it to some other poor unsuspecting soul.
--Chris
I always keep a couple reels that come apart (usually from technicolor ) so I can snap them on the cores. I make one of the managers put those on while I build the print.
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"And the monkey flips the switch."
- Major Don West, "Lost In Space"
Andrew D'Vrey
IATSE Local 219
so it goes.
not as bad as 3 weeks ago when Reel 4 of our print of Stuart Little was in Spanish.
All these prints have your bands around them which as I've mentioned before, is not a system we use here in Australia. We actually label the leaders and tails of the print so that even if the last theatre used s**tty tape to secure the heads and tails and they go walkabout in the trunks, they are still attached to the actual print and thus it's easy to ID which reel is which.
With these bands, they have gone walkabout on the trip from USA but the leaders aren't marked so it's a hold onto your ass kinda thing and hope you've got all the reels in the right order at showtime. It's not even possible to use the old left to right in the trunks is 1-2-3 then 4-5 etc. as they are inserted using the old throw them in any old how and slam the door shut method.
Having not been raised using the bands, let me say...
I think they're a pretty stupid idea.
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"It's not the years honey, it's the mileage"
Indiana Jones
Oh yeah, I love it as well when they come in the can reels 2,7,5,4 then 3,1,6, and of course half tails out. And who is the dumbass that keeps cutting off the registration frames??? I never have time to see these films so how do I know that this is the right order they go in?
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"If it's not worth doing, I have allready been there and done it"
When you throw them away, Technicolor replaces them with ... you guessed it.... a brand new set of BLANK BANDS. I've received probably half a dozen prints this way in the past 6 months. No reel numbers, no feature name, NOTHING. Not only is it a pain trying to find "reel 1," but more importantly, I gotta believe that blank bands could lead to reels from different prints getting mixed up (in the warehouse, that is.)
And, maybe the reason some of you are receiving film on "cores" is because of all the "professional projectionists" who are throwing away the crappy broken reels!
I say, put a piece of tape on the reel to hold it together. If a band is torn, tape it back together. Don't cut that string..."unwind" it. If you have to tape a band or a film-end down, use a NEW, LONG piece of tape. When you receive a print with blank bands, fill in the reel numbers. Do whatever you have to do to make sure the film leaves your theatre in as good or better condition than you received it.
Somebody ELSE besides you needs to use that film....and it might be someone like me, who is trying just as hard as you to put on a good show for the folks.
There is no way to tape a Technicolor reel back together. Would you rather open a can and see a bunch of film on cores, or open a can and see a bunch of film on reels, pull a reel out, have it bust on you and have some 2000 feet of film all over the floor? At least if there are no busted reels in the cane, you know in advance to be a little more careful. Besides, Technicolor is not supposed to let any print out of their depot without being on what they call "reels". Guess that just proves they aren't inspecting them!
Yes, actually, this mysterious winding of bands from one reel to another is quite common. My theory is that tiny ghosts or spirits of some kind are sneaking into the cans just before they get closed up at the lab. Then, during shipping, these imps amuse themselves by wreaking whatever havoc they can devise (i.e.: the aforementioned bands problem, tying the various strings into intricate knots, knocking one side off of half the reels, etc.). When the cans are opened at your theatre, these little beasties are then free to infest all of your equipment and cause similar problems with your projectors (they're obviously big supporters of digital projection). You, of course, don't notice this happening because you're distracted by the horror show in the film cans. This is the only explanation I have been able to come up with, since those wonderful inspectors over at Technicolor would never send a print out in that condition. Would they?
-Mike
And technicolor burned me a brand new print. Only one nice thing they have done so far that I can come up with, that and the seven weeks in a row they sent airborne express to pick up Inspector Gadget when I had not finished with it yet. Then they would call me and ask If I was still running it. By the fourth call on that I replied "actually we cut it up into pieces and sold them as collector items". Why doesn't technicolor have a sense of humor?
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"If it's not worth doing, I have allready been there and done it"
When I said "tape the reel" I guess I wasn't clear. I was referring to when the outer rim/flange is broken in one spot...wrap a piece of masking tape around to keep the two jagged ends together to avoid film scratching, blood-letting, etc.
I think 90% of the busted reels would not happen if they would put enough reels into the cans. I'm always receiving 2 reels in a 3-reel can, or 3 in a 4-can.