Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Defective reel hub, now what?

This is topic Defective reel hub, now what? in forum Film Handlers' Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Kenneth Wuepper (Member # 1174) on 11-09-2010, 07:13 PM:

One of the reels in a recent feature arrived on this plastic reel. The film was packed to the edge of the flanges. A piece of masking tape was placed across the film and flanges with the words, "defective reel" printed on it.

The center of the reel had been chewed out so no shaft would work in it. Our projectionist made it work but gave the film a new plastic reel for its return to the exchange.

What would you have done in this case?

"PICTURE HERE PLEASE"

KEN

[ 11-10-2010, 01:07 AM: Message edited by: Brad Miller ]

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 11-09-2010, 08:25 PM:

Same thing -- make it work. And then bitch and moan about it. You should also bitch and moan to Technicolor or Deluxe and tell them to send you a replacement empty.

Actually, as an art house, and we never have long runs so even if we do yell at someone over the phone, replacement empties never get to us in time for shipout so we wind up doing what we have to do, i.e., use a good one from our supply and then keep what Technicolor or Deluxe finally sends and a replacement. It's worked out pretty well. Sometimes it takes them awhile to get around to re-stock us, but our supply may have only lost a few reels over the years....cost of running a theatre.

Other than that, there really isn't much else you can do. We have a supply of used plastics that we got from Sabucat really cheap. A booth should have at least a half dozen on hand for such eventualities. Either that, or tell Tech or Deluxe you can't ship the print back until they send you a good empty reel. But that can get into some dicey legal issues.

Posted by Jim Cassedy (Member # 4115) on 11-09-2010, 08:31 PM:

It never ceases to amaze me how a studio will spend
millions of dollars producing a film and then send it
out the cheapest, cheezy plastic reels they can find.

I think we've all gotten our share of damaged plastic
reels with worn-out shaft holes (ouch!) or side flanges
with damaged edges or that no longer snap onto the hub.

I usually just try to "make do" the best I can with
what I've got to work with. I've sent back reels with
a note that they are damaged, just in case someone
at the exchange can actually read and put the film
on a better reel. In an extreme case, where there
was no way to get the film back on the 'bad' reel
without damaging it, or having the broken reel come
apart during shipping inside the can, I simply
spooledthe film onto a core, and returned it inside
an old lab-can I had lying around along with the
useless, broken reel.

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 11-09-2010, 08:43 PM:

Come to think of it, years ago before be got that supply of used plastic reels, I remember a few times I had nothing to replace the smashed reel and I did what Jim said for ship out --I wound the film tightly on a core. Then I got a bunch of medium pizza boxes from Luigi's down the block and shipped it out in that. It fit nearly perfectly in the can, I just had to cut two corners off and trim around the sides so it was as think as the 35mm film. Tape it up and it worked a lot better than trying to get it back on to freakin plastic shards.

I wrote in big magic marker inside the box -- "This replaces the piece of crap you shipped the film on." They may have actually gotten the message.

Posted by Mitchell Dvoskin (Member # 751) on 11-10-2010, 05:59 PM:

Ask for a replacement reel. Inform the distributor that the reel is so damaged that you can not wind the film back on to it, so it will sit at the theater until they send a replacement. After the run, wind it on to a core until a new reel is provided.

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 11-11-2010, 05:26 AM:

Interesting to note for that's one of the older, solid plastic reels...and not the break-apart reels of what we have now ..

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 11-11-2010, 06:24 PM:

I think Sabucat(dot com) still sells those beautiful old one-piece reels quite cheap. As I said, we've long since keep a half dozen in the booth for just such eventualities. Yes, call the distrib for a replacement, but only to replace the reel you shipped out. Being an art house and playing retrospective, we won't hold a print hostage waiting for a replacement reel; that only screws up the next art house that might be waiting for that print. Still gotta look out for your brother projectionists down the line.

Posted by Ottilie Young (Member # 4195) on 11-20-2010, 10:00 AM:

Hi:

Unfortunately Sabucat.com closed down August 2009. I got a bunch of reels from them in their close-out.

Ottilie

Posted by Bruce McGee (Member # 131) on 11-20-2010, 10:23 AM:

I asked our local DeLuxe depot to send me a box of reels and cores to use when something happens like this. They did. It took me almost a year to use them all up, and I recently got another box full.

I never use them for Technicolor stuff. I make an effort to sent their stuff back on the same crap reels that they send me.

Posted by Jeffry L. Johnson (Member # 453) on 11-21-2010, 12:21 PM:

No, don't send back those crap reels! Throw the broken reels away, ship back on core. You'll never eliminate those bad reels if you return them.

Posted by Jonathan Smith (Member # 5609) on 11-21-2010, 02:58 PM:

Worst reels are the baby blue WB ones. Once you take the damned things apart, it's like Humpty Dumpty putting them back together.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 11-21-2010, 03:44 PM:

Wrong! THESE reels are the worst...

Posted by Jonathan Smith (Member # 5609) on 11-21-2010, 04:00 PM:

I've never seen that brand before. Who makes them?

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 11-22-2010, 12:06 AM:

2nd Generation of reels used by Technicolor in the late 90's (and the band wrap was commonly used at the time. ETS never used wraps, just used tape to hold down the ends)..in which were better than Tech's first generation of reels would never clip together, at the end of their use, since the locking devices per flange were broken..

I would take vandalism spray (which had toulene and other adhesive materials) and would glue the flanges back together ...

I didn't have any trouble with these frosted reels until the begin to break which they did quite easily.

Then began the orange plastic flanges, and we have them at present...

-Monte

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 11-22-2010, 02:52 AM:

It seems the idea behind those semitransparant reels was to make flanges out of a type plastic that was more plyable and flexible that the much stiffer plasstic flanges. Those stiff flangers of the older reels had been prone to splinter easily when the cans were treated to rough shipping. Only problem is, as you can see from Brad's picture, that flexible plastic, while it didn't shatter as easily, it warpped like crazy and that warping characteristic, when it got severe, could result in a very uneven support to the film. Film layers would often "spread" as they were wound onto the reel since the flanges could be much wider in places than the 35mm width of the film. This could easily result in damage to the edges of the film as the reel is then stuffed into the tight can.