The information would be great just by itself with a link being even better.

Thanks
Paul.
 

Josh
 

Thread with a 21 frame offset if you are very close to the speakers (e.g., a drive-in or small screening room). Otherwise, subtract a frame, assuming 50 feet from the screen speakers (sound takes about 1/24 second to travel 50 feet).

Bob Throop made a good catch, which I corrected:
"John,
You mean subtract a frame Don't you?"

------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: +1 585 477 5325 Cell: +1 585 781 4036 Fax: +1 585 722 7243
e-mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

------------------
Bob Throop
 

Some academy leaders have strange diamonds between the count-down numbers. These have a purpose!

When a numbered frame in in the PROJECTION aperture (not the threading window), the diamond should be at the light slit in the standard mono reader.

I received a call from the manager the first night we were opening "The Godfather one". The laboratory was on the phone and I had to go down to the office to receive specific directions.

The lab had spliced a "watermelon girl color test" in the middle of the opening credits. The screen is black and the titles appear in the center of the screen as white letters. We had to get the color test out of there before the first showing.

The second direction was the one stated above regarding the lip synch threading. Marlon Brando whispers during much of the dialogue and so the lip synch was critical. Yes, we adjusted the loop for the size of the theatre. (2,125 seats)

Just thought you might like to check out your threading. I put a label in each sound head with the required number of frames in the after intermittent loop.

KEN
 

With film threaded, open the lower pad roller assembly and turn the projector over by hand. Make the lower loop small enough such that it tugs on the pad roller. One perforation at a time increase the size of the lower loop until it no longer tugs on the pad roller as the projector is being advanced manually (by hand). Once you reach that setting...GO NO LARGER!!! Personally I prefer the loop be as large as I can get it with it still tugging on the pad roller.
 

The main problem is with the Coke ads. I need to train them where to cut the head so as not to destroy any audio. (It can be done). The staff I have seem to interested in projection so I can do some double education. This will also incorporate cue placements which also have an impact on presentation. Placed too close to the end of the black leader, audio / visual information lost. Placed too far away, uncomfortable silence until information is projected.

These small things can make a difference.

Paul.
 

I purchased a stainless steel frame ruler from Victor Duncan which has this critical spacing plainly marked. The ruler lives on the edge of the rewind table. This is also helpful in determining frame lines for the black lead ins of trailers.

KEN
 

If you have 16 frames per foot, and the sound diamond is four frames away from the 16th frame, the last time I added 16 + 4, it came out to 20.

Steve

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"Old projectionists never die, they just changeover!"
 

Actually, I should have put a "0" in front of the 1 on the top count. That would show 21 frames inclusive. I should have flipped the picture horizontally so it makes more sense.

But anyway, you guys are providing some darn good information. Now if I can just get it to sink in... 21 frames (inclusive) ahead of the picture. (mumble mumble mumble)

John and Steve...is the 21 frame count shown on the bottom of my picture is what you are referencing? Then it makes sense. When I went through the MPO school in San Diego, they tested on "20 frames"...but apparently they were not counting the frame that is being projected. After 35 years of wrestling with this issue, I think I understand now...Thanks!

Thanks for the tip, Brad. I'll pass that one along to the others who run the Christies, too.

Paul Konen, This might help your operators, too.
http://www.wrslabs.com/filmsound.html

The last paragraph of that page says:

Sound Overlaps

In 35mm prints, sound overlaps are required at the roll changeover in theatrical projection. (Ref: ANSI PH 22.55). Whenever composite prints are made in multiple reels, where these reels might be splices together for projection, a sound overlap is required of the print at the end of the reel being spliced onto the head of the next reel. This overlap contains the sound information of the advance of the next reel (26 frames in 16mm and 20 frames in 35mm).

ARG!!!! Back to the 20 frames thing again. No wonder some people get confused!

------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: +1 585 477 5325 Cell: +1 585 781 4036 Fax: +1 585 722 7243
e-mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion
 

I too thought I understood this, and then got confused again, until I read the actual SMPTE wording which is crystal clear: the optical track "shall be displaced longitudinally from the center of the corresponding picture by a distance of 21 frames +/- 1/2 frame in the direction of film travel"... (emphasis added)

So each 1/24 sec. soundbite is printed alongside the 21st frame before the corresponding picture frame, give or take.

But then comes the fly in the ointment -- you look at the soundtrack and you see the start marks, those XXXs on many prints, and you see that they don't line up with the XXX's in the picture frame; logic tells me that these are supposed to be exactly together for correct sync. Yet I see lots of prints where these lineup marks don't match each other, sometimes by one or two sprockets, some as much as a full frame....even two. We are pulling hairs here over +/- half a frame to get perfect sync, when the pic neg/sound neg line-marks up can be off by more than that. And of course over the years all of us have gotten prints that had reels that were definitely out of sync -- OK if they were out in the direction that a shorter loop would correct, but you're up the creek if it is out in the other direction.

This has happened often enough to make me wonder why projector manufactures never designed a "sync" adjustment much like the framing adjustment, where just turning a knob would either shorten the distance between the aperture and sound scanner or lengthen it. Seems like that would be an easy addition to any projector or sound head design. You could then thread fix sync printing anomalies on the fly.

This would allow you to just "dial in" the distance in feet from the screen where you want lip-sync to be perfect. If you have a big house like I do, the projectonist could even adjust that point to match where the bulk of the audience is sitting for each show!

Frank