Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Film Failure Rates

This is topic Film Failure Rates - My first post in forum Film Handlers' Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Tom Glanville (Member # 2978) on 01-28-2005, 01:14 PM:

Hi All,

This is my first post - go easy on me!

How often does film fail?

What is the failure rate of film during feature presentation? Failure rate meaning the film breaks and a projectionist needs to attend to the film, splice it together and re-start the projector.

I am guessing the audience would be refunded their money in this situation or requested to remain in the theater if it only takes the projectionist 15-20 minutes to fix the situation.

Also - how do you get your picture to show up in your postings? I don't see that option in my profile.

Regards,

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 01-28-2005, 01:31 PM:

Tom - welcome to the forum.

If you're talking strictly about film BREAKS, where the film actually separates mid-show...due to polyester film today, actual breaks are rare. A more common thing might be a "brain wrap," where the film gets tangled in the platter payout mechanism, or if the film gets stuck in the projector and mangled -- which almost always would be caused by a bad splice (operator error).

A breakdown of 15 or 20 minutes or more would only occur with a major problem. With a simple film break, a decent operator should be able to be back onscreen in just a couple of minutes, or less, unless the film is seriously tangled in the machinery. (In some cases, you can just do a quick-and-dirty fix to get going again, and save the major repair for later.)

Some of the multiplex operators here can give you more specifics, but I would guess that a typical well-run facility with a good projectionists should be able to get through thousands of shows (or maybe even tens of thousands) without a major problem that interrupts a show for more than a minute or two.

Posted by Dominic Espinosa (Member # 2122) on 01-28-2005, 01:45 PM:

Since I began working at my current theater, which will be a year in February we've had only 2 show cancelations. The causes were a power supply failure on a sound head and a motor on a projector gave up the ghost.

Film is extremely reliable and can produce an excellent quality presentation as long as it's handled right.

Posted by Chris Hipp (Member # 1788) on 01-28-2005, 06:08 PM:

quote: Mike Blakesley
Some of the multiplex operators here can give you more specifics, but I would guess that a typical well-run facility with a good projectionists should be able to get through thousands of shows (or maybe even tens of thousands) without a major problem that interrupts a show for more than a minute or two.

That says it best. It really depends on who is running the booth. Obviously different equipment will have an effect, (I.E. Strong lamphouses will fail more often than Christies.) It mostly depends on who is running the booth and how well it is maintained.

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 01-28-2005, 09:40 PM:

Hi Tom, welcome aboard.

You also have to specify if you are talking a first run theatre that plays prints which are usually in mint condition or have been run only one or two times before, usually in previews. In these situations, when knowledgeable operators are at the projectors, it should be a very rare occasion that a film break occurrs.

On the other hand, if you are talking about an art house that runs older prints -- and by older we can be talking about 50 and 60 year old prints. This is a very different situation. Older acetate stock can dry out and get brittle; such film that has wear and tear over decades can break much more easily and so shows stopping may happen more frequently just because of the very nature of the beast. Even when the projectectionists repairs obvious damages, old film can still break. Also, many times there is a balancing act that goes on where the projectionist has to walk a fine line by either allowing film that is questionable to remain so it can play, or to play it safe and remove it (although removing it doesn't always guarantee there will be no problems). Of course removing it does guarantee that what could be vital visual or sound information on that piece of film will not be played.

We explain to our audiences that older films have a greater potential for breakage than first run films and if a film break should occur, our projectionist will make every effort to get the picture back on the screen as quickly as possible. People who are in their fifties know that most anything that old won't work quite as well as they used to. I don't think were got any complaints -- usually they are just happy they can see the older classics in a movie theatre setting. Our patrons are pretty understanding.

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 01-29-2005, 04:47 AM:

quote: Tom Glanville
Also - how do you get your picture to show up in your postings? I don't see that option in my profile.

...send Brad Miller, who has his address at the bottom of the contact page of this site, a pict of you (within a 500 pixel range and preferably JPG format), and this will be posted along with your name, and preferably a recent picture.

True, the difference between polyester against triacetate is like night and day - "poly" almost eliminated the breakdowns with the film itself (but, do check into 'wrap detectors' with your system - just incase any part of the the platter dies in any case. This will save your system considerably) being so durable.

-good luck and welcome. - Monte