Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: What would cause these scratches?

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Posted by Mark Lensenmayer (Member # 134) on 12-28-2006, 07:41 PM:

I am not affiliated with the theater involved...just curious about the cause.

Scope film. Light horizontal scratches about 1/3 from left edge of film onscreen. Scratches are all of the same length, and are horizontal or slightly tilted. They go from the top to the bottom of the screen. Scratches stay in the same horizontal location for the entire picture. Picture running at this theatre for 1 week.

Haven't seen this for some time. It was a regular thing back in the days of the old Mid-States CONTINENT theatre, with the projectors wide open in the lobby.

Posted by Bernie Anderson Jr (Member # 410) on 12-28-2006, 10:43 PM:

It could be from three things: one being from a roller that is misaligned and the film is now rubbing against the concave part of the roller. The film kind of slips over the roller. Or if you have there is a simplex XL, it could be from a big loop after the intermittent sprocket and the film is hitting the back of the projector. Usually happens when there is an out of frame splice and someone turns the framing knob and the film hits the projector case. But they usually cause a dead center horizontal scratch. Another thing that could cause it is if the film is moved from theatre to theatre and the operator pats the film down after the move, I've found that can cause those kind of scratches too.

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 12-29-2006, 02:51 AM:

Ummm...platter scratches-film dragging across the deck on rewind.

With lateral scratches beginning on the left side (which is soundtrack side on the screen), is someone winding soundtrack down to the rewind platter where the emulsion is being wound inside the filmroll....and facing the deck surface?

...seen that too..... - Monte

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 12-29-2006, 04:50 AM:

Remember, just off center left is the physical center of the film. Extreme curl can cause the physical center of the film to come into contact with anything from a pad roller or as Monte said, even the deck of a platter if the final roller is too low to the surface.

Would really need to know the equipment involved to better guess.

Posted by Richard P. May (Member # 3598) on 12-29-2006, 11:13 AM:

Brad,
Where is Cootville? Do I want to watch out for it, or am I already there?

RPM

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 12-29-2006, 02:41 PM:

"Cootville" is the home of Professor Hill. [Wink]

Posted by Darryl Spicer (Member # 711) on 12-29-2006, 09:05 PM:

quote: Mark Lensenmayer
Haven't seen this for some time. It was a regular thing back in the days of the old Mid-States CONTINENT theatre, with the projectors wide open in the lobby.

If memory serves the Continent was a mixture of platter houses and reel to reel houses. In the 80's a lot of the platter houses that Mid-States had used the AW2 platter systems which could be very hard on film if not set up properly. One of the biggest issues and you had to keep a check on them was the roller on the film return arm slipping down. You had to make sure this roller was set just right so that the film would run smoothly onto the platter with out the film creeping up on the roll and with out the picture surface coming into contact with the platter rim that went around the formica deck. I ran this type of platters at a Mid-States location down here for several years and was glad to get rid of them when we obtained the platter units AW3's from two locations that were closed down here.

Posted by Mark Lensenmayer (Member # 134) on 12-30-2006, 09:49 AM:

CONTINENT in Columbus OH was all platter. Started as a 4-plex, with all 4 projectors in the lobby with some weird automation box that never did anything. Two large houses on left, 2 smaller on right. One of the smaller had mag sound. One of the larger houses had 70mm equipment, and yes, they ran 70mm from a projector wide open in the lobby when smoking was still permitted. They added more houses later, but all were platter.

They always played the big pictures, but they were very dirty after the first few runs.

Posted by Darryl Spicer (Member # 711) on 12-30-2006, 06:03 PM:

and just think that theatre was Mid-States #1 theatre in attendance for the chain at it's peak. Apparently The continent did have a reel to reel house since I got one of their Projector units when they made the Northpark 6 into a 10 screen in 1985. At that same time they were spliting screens at the continent to take it from 7 to 9 screens. The other three machines we used came from two of our auditoriums that they converted to platter and one from the Southpark 6 the sister theatre to the Northpark that they converted one auditorium to platter and kept one other reel to reel. I know that the four machines we had in the lobby were a constant task to keep clean. But I did it and the prints stayed in pretty good shape. But enough on the past that is history.

Posted by Joseph Matteo (Member # 4096) on 01-01-2007, 04:01 PM:

the new version of the christie platter has scratched horizontally about 30 prints in the last year yes you can say it is operator error but when a company uses popcorn poppers and asst mgrs who are only in the booth to escape concession work they don't pay attention to detail.but this is really a bad design by christie on the take up arm roller.they are aware of it and i haven't seen them in about 6 months after showing them the problem.