Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Got a trailer with every frame black!

This is topic Got a trailer with every frame black! in forum Film Handlers' Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Jesse Skeen (Member # 586) on 04-28-2001, 06:53 AM:

Thursday night I got out the flat trailer for "Cheaters" from New Line and saw that the entire trailer was black- the soundtracks were there but no picture. Rewinding to the beginning, it had a normal-looking leader, even a negative splice mark where the first frame would be, but nothing but black in the picture area after that! There weren't any markings in the picture area on the tail end except on the sound track. We had several copies of this so I got out another one and that had a picture where you'd expect there to be one, so I put that copy on the movie. I'm definitely gonna have to look at this 'defective' one though; I've never seen this happen before!

Posted by Greg Mueller (Member # 17) on 04-28-2001, 08:41 AM:

Well at least there's no confusion as to whether it's scope or flat

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Greg Mueller
Amateur Astronomer, Machinist, Filmnut

Posted by Aaron Sisemore (Member # 145) on 04-28-2001, 04:14 PM:

I have a trailer for 'Antz' that is perfectly normal in every way, EXCEPT it has a soundtrack for another presumably red band trailer (it has some strong language in it), I can't remember what the soundtrack was from I will have to listen to it again...

I guess every lab has a bad day?

Aaron

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 04-28-2001, 09:54 PM:

I think this was just a case of mislabling. I think that trailer was supposed to be for the new upcomming movie, "Black Panther Hiding in the Jungle at Night".

Posted by Jesse Skeen (Member # 586) on 04-29-2001, 12:06 AM:

The leader is labeled "Flat"; it looks like a normal trailer in every way except after the negative splice mark at (presumably) the first frame, there's no picture to speak of! Haven't gotten a chance to run it yet- does that "Antz" trailer have the wrong sound on all the digital tracks and the analog track?
The trailer for "Home Fries" (from Warner, the movie with a pregnant Drew Barrymore working at a fast food place) was out quite a while before the movie actually came out- a second batch was sent out a while after the first, and the trailer was exactly the same except the song playing during the second half was changed- at least on the analog track it was, playing the trailer with the DTS trailer discs got the old song back. I had fun one showing switching between analog and DTS and having the music change while the rest of the sound stayed the same; must have confused the people in the theater!

I'll have to dig that one out again now that I can test the Dolby Digital and SDDS tracks on it.

Posted by Aaron Sisemore (Member # 145) on 04-29-2001, 12:50 AM:

I don't remember if just the digital, just the analog or any combination of the four tracks were incorrect. it was quite a while ago

I will have to find the trailer and run it again in SR then SRD then SDDS ( no antz trailer DTS disc handy for the DTS test)...

Aaron

Posted by Martin Frandsen (Member # 74) on 04-29-2001, 08:46 AM:

GRRRR

if only the soundtrack was not printed the roll of black film will be good to use between trailers, adds etc.

That black film with frame lines is very expensive from FPC. I use to grab what ever i can find from 'old' trailers.

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 04-30-2001, 10:26 AM:

Jesse --- having a film with the picture area "black", yet with normal soundtracks is very unusual. If the print had been accidently fogged during printing or processing, both picture and soundtrack would be affected. If the picture negative had broken, you would not have had images on the leaders. And if the printer light had failed, the image area would be clear, not black. So, I'm at a loss to explain how you got trailers with black picture area and normal soundtracks.

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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 Bill Purdy (Member # 202) on 04-30-2001, 11:35 AM:

John, try this for a possible answer. Jesse said that he had good head leader but no tail leader. As this was probably loop printed, and if the negative was not a dupe but separate leaders and body, then perhaps the splice between the head leader and the body of the trailer parted. This would give the results outlined. It's fun to speculate.

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Bill Purdy
Component Engineering

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 04-30-2001, 11:57 AM:

Bill --- thanks, I had not noticed that Jesse said the head was fine, but both the body AND tail were black. The picture negative breaking at the splice just after the head leader would explain it. Surprised the lab didn't catch this one.