This is topic Snatch-- a build-up nightmare in forum Film Handlers' Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.
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Posted by Rachel Kovacs (Member # 602) on 01-19-2001, 11:48 PM:
All right, I hope this doesn't make me sound like a complete idiot (but if it does, please remember that I'm asking because I care!...)I built up our print of Snatch on Thursday. As I was looking at the tails of the prints, I realised that reels 1-4 all seemed to end in what looked like a one-second shot of a ceiling with flourescent lights, or something. I thought this was a little weird, so I asked another projectionist (who's been doing this for a lot longer than me) if this was right. The soundtrack went into these frames, so we just decided that it must be because it's "one of them artsy-fartsy flicks." 
Then, I get in this morning to find a note from my manager, who screened it, saying that I'd left part of the tail at the end of each reel, and they had to take it apart and basically rebuild it. Turns out that each reel fades out at the end, and that was how they were signifying where to cut.
I feel really horrible about this, even after my co-worker said to me that he'd never seen reels fade out in the five years he's been a projectionist. Did I make a really dumb mistake? Or did this throw anyone else, too? How often do reels fade out? Is there a way to differentiate between an "artsy" shot and a fading-out reel? (I don't want this to happen again!)
Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions!
Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 01-20-2001, 12:10 AM:
Hey, at least you had a white frame! There was nothing on ours to note the beginning and end...had to count frames.It's unusual nowadays, I guess for it to fade at the c/o, but it used to be more common.
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"It's not the years, honey...it's the mileage". Indiana Jones
Posted by Darryl Spicer (Member # 711) on 01-20-2001, 12:21 AM:
what you encountered was four frames that were intented to mark the end of the fade out and were to splice. when ever you encounter a reel that has a fade out and you are not sure where the reel ends hold the film up into the light and look for the round changeover cue marks on the opposit side of soundtrack. First find the first set and then as you slowly wind the film look for the second set. when you find the second set measure a foot and a half of film and this is where you will want to splice. If no mark is given to make a cut you will have to count frames frome the nearest visable frame line. Having a frame counter makes this a lot easier.
Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 01-20-2001, 03:59 AM:
Yes, Rachael. He's right. Use your frame counter and measure 24 frames , or 1 foot + 8 frames, using your frame counter.(I know she has one )
You'll see those marks from time to time. The first time I saw them I was confused, too. I had to use the frame counter, too.
Posted by Michael Cunningham (Member # 210) on 01-20-2001, 03:37 PM:
One thing to remember about the soundtrack's positioning : it will be several frames (21 I think) ahead of the picture it goes with, not right next to it. This is because the sound is read in the soundhead a foot below the aperture where the current picture is being shown. If you look at the tail of ANY reel, you will notice that the soundtrack continues right on past the last picture so this is not a reliable method to determine where the visible part of the reel ends.-Mike
P.S. You thought this film was "Artsy"? I can't imagine that unless Quentin Terintinoesque has been declared a new art form...heh.
Posted by Jesse Skeen (Member # 586) on 01-23-2001, 07:15 PM:
I had to look at the end of the last reel a couple times to figure out if that stuff at the end was part of the movie or not. I was able to see where the changeover mark was, so I finally guessed the blue thing was part of the tail end and cut it off. I didn't know for sure until I found the same frames at the end of the other reels, so I guessed right. The only time I left too much on the end of a reel was the end of either reel 1 or 2 of "Blair Witch Project", which had a few black frames but still with that 'windowboxed' look around them, so I left that in, then when I watched the film a few words were spoken twice during the reel change so I went back and cut it out.
Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 01-23-2001, 08:06 PM:
The funniest mis-splice I ever made was on the teaser trailer for "Hannibal" that came out last spring... The one that said, "Don't talk to him!... Don't let him inside your head!..."At the end it fades out to black and there's a long run-out. I was in a hurry and didn't look very closely. I just spliced it at the very end.
Well, when we screened the print there was this 'blip' on the screen. It was a white triangle shaped mark and there was some writing on it. It turned out to be the
ACTUAL end of the film and the 'blip' was the mark that said, "CUT HERE"!
We left it in for a couple of days, just for fun! 