Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: condition of prints on arrival

This is topic condition of prints on arrival in forum Film Handlers' Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Tim Sherman (Member # 569) on 04-26-2001, 11:50 PM:

Ok, I am getting very very upset at the way prints have been comming in to my theater lately.

The most recent one was tonight, "The Wedding Planner" Two scratches down the entire print, scratches sideways on the picture area, most likely from a roller being too low on the mut so the film face was scraping against the platterwhen breaking down the print. masking tape was used to reconnect the leaders(most of you know what that means, sticky spots all over the print, wich can be fun with platters) quite a few random splices thoughout the print. All in all in terrible shape and not presentable, atleast not in my theater. A replacement print is on its way and will be here tomorrow morning.

I had another print that was in terrible shape last week, "Valentine". This one was even better, Heads and Tails leaders switched thoughout the reels, leaders were not even attached to the print, the leaders were all over inside the can, leader 3 was halfway wrapped around reel 4. and the first foot of every head and tail of each reel had a nice crease in the film. They just folded the film over itself and started to rewind. and how in the world do you get reels 1,2,3,5 heads up and then 4 tails up.

So lets just say with all this the TES people and i are almost on a fist name basis.

I know other theaters are reciving and sending out prints like this all the time. and i now know very well why the distributers are trying to make the switch to digital cinema.

Brad i see that you did a wonderful job on showing people how to make-up a print. But i think we need to go further here and also show people how to properly break-down a print. im sure most everyone here knows how to break-down a film right, but im sure there are a few here that don't.

Tim Sherman
Aut-O-Rama Twin Drive-In
North Ridgeville, Ohio

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http://www.autoramadrivein.com

come on out to the drive-in and spend a night out with the stars"
ME!!

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 04-27-2001, 12:27 AM:

The timing hasn't worked out for me and the infamous "Film-Tech hands" to do a breakdown page just yet, but it will be sometime in the near future.

I'll bet the words "Integrity Inspected" don't even make you laugh anymore, do they?

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 04-27-2001, 07:40 AM:

One sure way to cut down on the number of damaged prints is to IMMEDIATELY report any major damage you find to the distributor, and request a replacement print. Even though prints are almost never inspected at the film exchange (distributors rarely are willing to pay for the extra service), they WILL track down and charge any theatre that damages prints through negligence.

If you "make do" with a badly damaged print, and later decide to ask for a replacement after you've played it awhile, it's hard to prove that you didn't do the damage. Report the damage IMMEDIATELY when you find it during your print inspection.

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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

Posted by Alan Plester (Member # 852) on 04-27-2001, 09:30 AM:

It never ceases to amaze me, how you guys ring up a distributor the moment you get a damaged print, & they always replace it.
I can remember loads of times doing just that, & was always told, it was the only print available.
Copy of " Wrath of God" springs to mind.
Every sproket hole damaged, 5 reels,totaly unrunable, result....we ran it, thank god it was only twice.
As for the old Head & Tails thing, many many times have found them all in one can,nightmare.

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 04-27-2001, 10:52 AM:

Alan: On a relatively large release, there are likely a few extra copies made and "on the shelf" to replace damaged reels. For the second run, good replacement reels can usually be selected from the prints returned after the first run, which often outnumber the prints needed for subsequent runs.

But for a limited release, or a film not in current release, good replacement reels may not be available. Indeed, sometimes it is "the only print available", and the lab would have to print some new ones for replacement.

It is especially disheartening when an older or rare print is damaged by negligence or laziness, since a new replacement may not be made.