Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: What was the first movie you ever built??

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Posted by John Keegan (Member # 290) on 06-21-2001, 11:31 AM:

I know there is a topic called first movie ever run by yourself..this would be a "sequel" if you will, to that topic. What was the first movie you ever built by yourself and how did it run..Since I started this, I'll go first. My first movie that I built by myself without any help was the open captioned film of "Driven" Last week...It ran well from what I hear and I even managed to build it so it was completely in frame. I was very nervous but thanks to Film-Tech with its tips on building a film, I think I did rather well. So let me hear what you built and how it ran...

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 06-21-2001, 11:39 AM:

John: Congratulations! As you develop your skills, you will find that not only is it important that the film run without breaking or having an out of frame splice, but is also spotlessly clean and scratch-free. The Tripod open-captioned films make the rounds of many theatres, so poor handling really starts to show up. Learn to treat each print as if some very important people were going to watch it --- because EVERYONE in the audience IS very important.

------------------
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 Michael Brown (Member # 890) on 06-21-2001, 11:51 AM:

First built Momento, last year. Its was A Ok.

Posted by John Keegan (Member # 290) on 06-21-2001, 12:01 PM:

John, Thanks...It just makes me more determined to do the best I can to put on a great show. The O.C. we got was in terrible shape...I agree with you that careless handling shows! The previous theater chopped off 4-5 frames at the beginning and end of each reel. I had to splice them back on. Also it looked as though the print had been through a dust storm. It was covered in white dust and the cans were dirty and banged up...but what more could I expect from someone who didn't care. This week, I will probably build "Pearl Harbor..O.C." and am waiting to see what kind of condition that is in...

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 06-21-2001, 02:24 PM:

John,

It is a very bad idea to splice back on single frames that have been cut previously. You are just begging for a jam in the projector. They will look horrible when they go through the projector on screen, will cause the digital to drop out and the analog sound will be loaded with "gunfire" as the cut frames pass. In the future, just leave them off, but DO save every single possible frame and take that extra time to peel off the splicing tape on the last possible frame that you can save. Don't be one of those guys who just cut one frame over, or you will be contributing to the loss of continuity at the reel changes.

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 06-21-2001, 02:42 PM:

I second Brad's advice. Don't make back-to-back splices just to include a few additional frames. But try not to cut any frames from the film as you remove or replace the leaders. Cut the leaders off on the frameline with the splicer. Splice the film to make-up the show. At the end of the run, carefully peel the tape off the splices, and splice the leaders back on without a new cut or losing any frames. Handle the film carefully when splicing, so as not to add dirt or scratches.

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 06-21-2001, 03:03 PM:

I've never dealt with the open-caption prints, but I'm willing to bet that the reason why they are often in bad condition is that they are probably shown in many different theatres, usually on platters, for only one show each. If even one operator doesn't care enough to take care of the print, everyone else down the line will have to deal with the resulting mess.

I definitely agree with Brad's view that platters are the preferred means of film transport for long runs, but I also feel pretty strongly that using them for once-only shows is a really bad idea, due to the extra handling required.

Posted by Mike Jones (Member # 522) on 06-22-2001, 03:05 AM:

Runaway Bride, July 30, 1999. All was well even though I only observed the build-up of a print once and they left me alone to do it. I was quite frightened.

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 06-22-2001, 03:25 AM:

If you don't have to clean out your pants at the end of your first night on the job you probably aren't doing it right!

I don't get butterflies when I start movies anymore but I still have that feeling of, "Game ON!!!"

The first day you lose your last bit of that "sense of urgency" should probably be your last day in the booth.

Posted by John Keegan (Member # 290) on 06-22-2001, 07:52 AM:

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. My concerns, at first, was that there would be like you mentioned a loss of continuity if the missing frames were left out, but now after reading your replies I find that it makes sense. I'll do better in the future, I Promise!

Posted by Jerry Chase (Member # 660) on 06-22-2001, 09:25 AM:

Back in the old days

the films were often designed to allow for slop in the changeovers. The last half-second of one reel and the first half-second of the next were never seen, and editors knew this and compensated. Platters gave audiences a couple seconds of "bonus" film. Clipping an extra frame each buildup is more a sign of bad form than depriving them of the full movie. <flack jacket> Think of the grousing as similar to the career military man looking down his nose at a guy with long hair. </flack jacket>

A few years ago, the idea of not clipping an excess frame really mattered. Prints usually went from theatre to theatre and had many different runs. Now that there is saturation bombing of films like Pearl Harbor, many of these prints will be destroyed after the first run. Treat all film with respect, but treat the classics and kiddie shows with extra respect. Developing good habits is important.

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 06-22-2001, 10:28 AM:

Jerry said: "Treat all film with respect, but treat the classics and kiddie shows with extra respect. Developing good habits is important."

Proper film handling is often a matter of HABIT -- so get in the habit of handling film properly to the best of your ability, whether it's a that will never be shown again, or a one-of-a-kind print of a classic. Along with the classics and kiddie shows that need to survive many theatres, the open-captioned (e.g., Tripod) films have short runs and see alot of theatres. The extra cost of subtitling these films, and the unique audience they serve, makes film damage all the more distressing:
Tripod Open Captioning
WGBH Access Project
Captioned Films CFV

Posted by Darryl Spicer (Member # 711) on 06-22-2001, 11:50 AM:

When I started in this busines, the old theater I used to work at was a six screener. It had four houses that used aw2 four deck platter systems and two auditoriums that used 60 min automated changeover systems. All were balyntine pro 35 projectors. Any way, on the changeover systems I managed to get the threading sequence timed out just right to were the picture changed over ast the first frame hit the aperture in the gate. We used our own leader to thread with do to the film snapping sometimes on start up. Was able to get the timeing sequence to have the last frame be almost at the gate aperture when changed over. Was harder to get this one because of the timer on automation wouldn't be the same for some reason. About a month later they decided to ten screen the theater and out went the changeovers. I miss em to this day.

Anyway back to the topic at hand. The first film I remember putting together on my own was a print for the Tom Selleck film Runaway (1984).

First one I remember breaking down was A print of That's Dancing (1984). A that;s entertainment like film about dancing movies.

Posted by Michael Hunt (Member # 772) on 06-22-2001, 12:45 PM:

First 35mm print I made up was 'On the Black Hill' 20th September 1988, also the first 35mm print I'd ever screened
can't remember what the first 16mm print was back in my student days, but that would have been during September 1986, at Brunel University, Uxbridge, West London UK

Failed my degree, moved back home, and six months later I was in at the Specification, Installation, Test & Commission of the Cinema at the Guildhall Arts Centre in Gloucester, where I still reside...

The Projector Mech's still the same, though I've upgraded the lamphouse twice, and gone from Tower to Platter, and added an extra screen...

One day I'll dig out some photo's and email 'em in.

Mike

Posted by Rick McCluney (Member # 642) on 06-22-2001, 02:48 PM:

If I remember correctly, the first movie I built was "Five Corners" in 1988 at the Embassy 14 in San Antonio, TX. I used to keep a record of every movie I built up and broke down in a notebook but I don't know where the notebook is now. I did that for a year or so.

Rick

Posted by Josh Jones (Member # 447) on 06-23-2001, 02:06 AM:

my first official print build up.
"With a friend like Harry", terrible condition print I built TODAY.
I open the can and find an empty reel #1. uppon closer inspection I find that reel#1 is on the reel labled #2, and so up the chain. after reel four, I find that none of the leaders match

the last bozo that had the print was lazy and didnt want to tear down two small reels, so he/or she just cut the film when the reel was full. aside from that, reels 4 and 7 were very splicy, what seemed like 30 splices. two sections of missing footage, and lots of sections of those polyester crease marks. This all had to be delt with at 3:00 when the first show was at 7:00(both shows only brought in 12 people and 1 booth tour)I am going to suggest a replacement print. Its things like this that make a person almost glad for digital cinema, and yes this is coming from a film diehard. all thanks to pesky companies like techicolor, who you know is doing this deliberately to encorage DLP.

Oh, and did I mention the two sections of missing footage that were, you know, somewhat crucial to the plot

After all this I came home and talked with paul thompson over a bowl of spaghetti

Josh

Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 06-23-2001, 02:22 AM:

My first was in the manual carbon arc days. All reels were hand re-wound, inspected and repaired. With the US Navy in those days, it was common practice to do an inspection before and after the showing. The name of the movie was Flight of the Phoenix in 1967.

When I was a field service tech, I mounted my first print on a platter, and held an instruction seminar when I did that. It was a Xetron 535 platter, but I can't recall the name of the movie.

Knowing Josh, I'll bet he did the best job possible under the existing conditions.