Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Film Guard

This is topic Film Guard in forum Film Handlers' Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Jeremy M Smith (Member # 4913) on 08-08-2008, 10:14 PM:

Just wandering what people have to say about film guard approx cost of what it costs to set up if you ave no film cleaning equipment at present.

Posted by Cameron Glendinning (Member # 3516) on 08-08-2008, 10:44 PM:

Film guard is great, keeps your movies looking new. Kelmar dry media cleaners work well with them.
We paid aprox A$1300.00 on the starter pack including cleaner, paper media and bottle of filmguard, aditional mounting brackets are avaliable.
No one has ever said or implied it was not money well spent!

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 08-08-2008, 11:31 PM:

Look at it this way: No well-equipped booth should be without basic film cleaning equipment.

Period.

What happens if, due to unforeseen circumstance, the film gets knocked on the floor? What if the tile ceiling collapses and gets your print dirty? There are 1,000,000 scenarios where you would need a film cleaner. Somebody could open up the door to the outside and a foul wind could blow a dust devil into your booth. Stranger things have happened! [Wink]

You should have a film cleaner already. You really can't include that cost into the startup cost of buying FilmGuard. The money spent to buy that equipment is money that should have already been spent.

On the other hand, using FilmGuard is probably as good of an justification to buy a film cleaner as you could ever make! [Big Grin]

Posted by Charles Greenlee (Member # 3856) on 09-12-2008, 02:20 AM:

I used the film guard so much, everyone swore I was drinking it. It does give you a nice buzz, and gets you going [bs]

. LoL Naw, but I was pretty religious about running our cleaner w/ FG once a week. And the projectors ran quieter, and there was less wear and tear on the film. Sadly, as I have been informed, since I left, none of the projectors are ever deep cleaned anymore, nor is the film cleaned and filmguarded. And that fact slaps you in the face the minute you walk into the movie. You can hear the projectors in the auditoriums, and after only a few days the film looks like it's been run nonstop, 24/7, for a few years. Oh well, not my worry. I'll just watch it some place else.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 09-12-2008, 02:27 AM:

Charles... just one pass on each print per week? I run mine for the entire weekend on each print every show and then remove the cleaners because then the managers run the booth during the week and, well, they're managers. They probably would be annoyed by them and wouldn't use them anyway.

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 09-12-2008, 02:58 AM:

quote: Joe Redifer
They probably would be annoyed by them and wouldn't use them anyway.

...or find a way to lace through or around them and then scratch the tar out of the print anywhos.

True, good call - just keep things simple.

Posted by Charles Greenlee (Member # 3856) on 09-12-2008, 03:30 AM:

We only had 1 film cleaner, and I was the only one running it. If I worked 5 shifts a week, with 2 shows a shift, that'd allow me to clean 10 shows. We had 6 screens, so that fall short of allowing 2x a week, or 12 shows. And on at least one of those days, they had me doing other BS, or hustling to build/break-down prints, and didn't have time to keep up with the cleaner. And I am a tad absent minded, so on that busy BS day, I'd forget in favor of whatever BS tasks I was busy with. I was a assistant manager as well after all. Inventory ack! Hmm, may have lost some kids with the term "absent minded", they're calling it A.D.D. nowadays. Heh.

Posted by Dominic Espinosa (Member # 2122) on 09-12-2008, 01:10 PM:

If you're buying new expect to spend $500 or so on a cleaner with a bracket. If at all possible do platter mount, but projector mount is fine.
Again, new, expect to spend maybe $60 per mounting bracket. Get one for every screen.

Lastly, I would recommend 1 cleaner per 3 screens depending on your turn-over. The best thing to do is figure out what your most ideal rotation is, such that it's fool-proof for an operator to say "okay, it's Thursday night, cleaner 1 to theater 1" and boom, it's done.

Lastly, if you don't clean your prints routinely for whatever reason at least keep a bottle of FilmGuard on hand. It is the Swiss army knife of booth supplies.

For example: FilmGuard saved a print that was soaked with water from leader to tail preventing lost shows and paying for film damage, which, if you're not a major you'll probably pay the full amount for.

Christie platter drive roller turn to sticky goo all over your deck? FG will remove it quickly and easily -- better than acetone even.

I realize I'm getting preachy so I'll shut up now.

Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 09-12-2008, 06:40 PM:

quote: Charles Greenlee
If I worked 5 shifts a week, with 2 shows a shift, that'd allow me to clean 10 shows.

Not that this matters to you as you're not there anymore, but although what you did is better than not filmguarding at all, it's not going to clean your prints...just lubricate them. The cleaning goes to work from pass 2 onwards. 2 0r 3 passes minimum should be what you aim for...even if you put it on fewer prints eventually they'll all look great.

This past week we hit our 300th pass on a print of Mamma Mia! at our cinema. This is its 10th week of screening. I took a look at it during the 300th show for about 10 minutes. Clean. Mark free. Dirt free. Colors great. As the print has no change-over cues, the only way you pick a reel change is when you see the splicing tape go through and if that's not enough, it runs on 3 to 3.5 SRD error rates after all this time. (It started on 4's).

[thumbsup]

Posted by Jack Ondracek (Member # 1466) on 09-12-2008, 06:48 PM:

I'm with Randy on this. You're looking at a one-time investment, plus occasional consummables.

At the start of my season I buy several boxes of media pads, and half a dozen bottles of Film Guard. I'll have plenty left over at the end of the season.

As far as I'm concerned, this stuff is on the same list with splicing and cue tape... it's gotta be there.

Posted by Charles Greenlee (Member # 3856) on 09-13-2008, 12:37 AM:

Well, if I'm getting the films at the start, cleaning isn't really an issue, and lubricating would be my aim. It'll allow a soft wear in, and help prevent extensive wear, and possibly prevent damage. Even for something not cleaning, you'd be amazed at what my film cleaner cloth looks like after even 1 run, much less a second or even a 3rd. I usually only use the cloths for 1 run each side. It may be a waste, but I'd rather error on the side of caution where my film's health is concerned. Incidentally, I'd have killed for another cleaner. That'd have put me at the 1:3 ratio, and made things so much smoother. With just the one, I'd have to coordinate it with the show schedules. Can't very well move the cleaner from 1 to 2 if the movie in 1 doesn't end before the movie in 2 has to start. Oh well, I try my best with what I'm allowed. Hopefully I can get on with another chain running film, preferrably in the Atlanta area. That is where I'm trying to relocate to. But that's business for another thread.

Posted by Mike Baer (Member # 1519) on 10-04-2008, 04:42 AM:

Hello all.
I have a question about using Film Guard.
Is there a problem of using it on velvet bands,like on a ernemann 15? I can imagine that,if the velvet bands are wet it may cause problems.