Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Out of frame "attached" trailers on Deluxe films

This is topic Out of frame "attached" trailers on Deluxe films in forum Film Handlers' Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Justin Hamaker (Member # 2165) on 12-23-2009, 10:14 PM:

I'm just curious to know if anyone else was blessed by out of frame splices on the attached trailers for their Deluxe films this week. We had one on both Alvin and Up In The Air. Unfortunately the prints were build up by my assistants who weren't aware to watch for those.

Posted by Matthew Kirwan (Member # 3898) on 12-23-2009, 10:32 PM:

All three of the Alvin prints we received had attached trailers spliced out of frame. Our print of Up In The Air was fine, however.

Posted by Robert E. Allen (Member # 1351) on 12-23-2009, 10:58 PM:

My guess would be guys that whoever had the print before you took the trailers off for their run and then spliced them back on when they shipped them out but didn't give a rip about whether or not they were in frame.

Posted by Matthew Kirwan (Member # 3898) on 12-23-2009, 11:08 PM:

These were three brand-new, sequential-numbered uncut prints with the security ties still on the cans.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 12-23-2009, 11:17 PM:

It happens. They don't have very good splicing equipment at the depots. What really bothers me is that they even bother to splice them on in the first place. Why not just include them in the can along with a note e-mailed to the theater's corporate offices saying "You will play this trailer with our print or we will eat your children"?

The mind boggles.

Posted by Joe Elliott (Member # 4006) on 12-23-2009, 11:23 PM:

Both of our prints of Alvin had the print preview spliced in misframed. I agree though, if their going to attach it, make sure to do it right, otherwise, just put it in the can.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 12-23-2009, 11:40 PM:

More often than not they chop the incoming audio off of the opening logo when the depots try and splice because these are shipping people, not film handling people.

Posted by Jarret Chessell (Member # 5077) on 12-24-2009, 12:46 AM:

I measure EVERYTHING that comes attached. no exception. I do it with distributer logos too (even if they're printed on). I also end up removing the 20 feet of black nothing film they like to attach too. I'm also in the habit of trimming back the heads and tails when they leave excessive amounts of clear and junk film on. Miss frames are a massive peeve of mine. They shouldn't happen.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 12-24-2009, 12:56 AM:

I do that too, Jarret. Usually I will end up removing some stuff because if I didn't, the digital sound would drop out. Even if I didn't have to remove anything, I always put a splice there any way in case I need to remove the trailer in the future. I have to put the lights down cue around that area any way. However I try to leave at least a touch over half a second of black (if not a bit more) after the last frame of a trailer and before the first frame of the greenband.

Posted by Michael Voiland (Member # 5386) on 12-24-2009, 02:38 AM:

Alvin had a out of frame splice on the attached that was taped on only one side... one side it was a lucky catch.

Posted by Dave Macaulay (Member # 813) on 12-24-2009, 08:00 AM:

I got bitten on a special preview print of Dr. Parnassus. The print was not new but had new trailers attached, in sealed cans from Deluxe. Rushed, I didn't check the splices (no excuse). A splice let go on the test show and filled the XL shutter box with film, winding around the shutter shaft. No gears stripped luckily but a proper ba$tard to clean out.

Posted by John Hawkinson (Member # 1135) on 12-24-2009, 08:09 AM:

In case you didn't notice, Joe, a lot of children get eaten by the studios, but it doesn't help much. They do it this way because they've found that it works. Hard to argue.

--jhawk

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 12-24-2009, 08:22 AM:

Happens all the time (well, 3/4 of the time, anyway). Even if they could make an in-frame splice, the splices themselves are invariably so badly made that they would need to be re-made anyway.

It's not just DFS. TES has the same problem with trailers that are attached by hand.

Posted by John T. Hendrickson, Jr (Member # 849) on 12-24-2009, 08:31 AM:

I had two Alvin prints with the splice in frame, but only taped on one side. No matter, since the policy had to be dropped in anyway.

Posted by Jim Cassedy (Member # 4115) on 12-24-2009, 10:22 AM:

I had a new print of something come in a few weeks ago, and the
attached trailer was spliced out of frame. I cant recall what feature is was though.

Last night a fellow projction-guy happened to mention to me that the trailer attached to his (new) print of "Alvin" et al,
was out of frame.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 12-24-2009, 10:54 AM:

quote: Scott Norwood
It's not just DFS. TES has the same problem with trailers that are attached by hand.

And you will notice upon inspection that the splicers these companies use are the Ciro-type guillotine splicers. Even brand new those splicers are incapable of making a splice I would consider acceptable. They tell me they buy them because they are cheaper. Well, you get what you pay for.

Posted by Matt Johnston (Member # 5457) on 12-24-2009, 04:35 PM:

They spliced your prints!???

The attached trailers for the 3 prints of Alvin that I got were all held with masking tape.

I agree though, I NEVER assume any previous splices are correct and I always check the framing of every attached trailer (printed or not).

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 12-24-2009, 05:16 PM:

So the Florida depot uses masking tape, eh?

Posted by Jonathan Althaus (Member # 5042) on 12-24-2009, 05:42 PM:

Our 4 had splices, but they did tape the head of reel 1 to the head of the combo trailer. And all were in frame.

Posted by Matt Johnston (Member # 5457) on 12-24-2009, 06:25 PM:

quote: Brad Miller
So the Florida depot uses masking tape, eh?

Hit and miss. Sometimes spliced, sometimes tape, sometimes nothing.

Posted by Tyler Potts (Member # 4952) on 12-25-2009, 11:48 PM:

Not so much blessed as blessed out. I didn't screen either prints of Alvin 2 but only one of them was out of frame. GM saw it and texted me on my day off about it. A manager I booth trained about a year ago (who just started building this fall) found and corrected it. He was so happy to have corrected a mistake of mine he saved the frame and tacked it to the wall. My last missplice was Death Sentence (Aug 2007) which I was proud to flaunt in front of this new builder (my slight OCD seems to help with builds).

Glad to know others had this problem, just wish I was a little more careful and caught it.