Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Changeovers care about head lengths...

This is topic Changeovers care about head lengths... in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by John Hawkinson (Member # 1135) on 10-20-2002, 09:25 PM:

[ I originally decided not to post this, but it kept bothering me. I hope it is not mis-interpretted as an attack, but rather as a factual correction; I decided it was too chit-chatty for FITA though. ]

In the Bloody Sunday thread in FITA, Brad notes the heads are 2' short, and goes on to say, "Changeover theaters should not be affected."

That's not true though...changeover theatres who don't notice will fail to project the first 2' of each reel; to avoid this, it is necessary to thread each reel 2' higher up the countdown than otherwise.

--jhawk

Posted by Steve Kraus (Member # 476) on 10-21-2002, 12:52 AM:

John I think maybe you misunderstood what Brad was saying. I think you're thinking Brad meant that the leaders are 2' shorter than normal hence your point about cueing up 2' farther back at least in terms of leader marking. But I don't think that's the case and I sure didn't notice anything like that when I ran it via C/O.

No, I think his point was that they neglected to do a sound "pullup" which is where they duplicate 22 (or more) of sound from the head of the next reel and put it onto the end of the prior reel.

Because of the offset between picture and track, the track for the beginning 22 frames of the film is out on the head leader...that's what is going through the soundhead as the first 22 frames of picture are projected. With no sound pullup the last 22 frames of picture will have no soundtrack next to it--nor should it since there is no need for sound after the last frame of picture.

Someone building reels on a platter is going to be cutting at or near the first frame of picture, ignoring the soundtrack. So without sound pullups you'd have almost a second without sound at each join because the sound from the prior reel ended and picture from the new reel is on screen but that film hasn't yet cleared the soundhead. Sound pullups avoid this, and AFAIK have been done long before the popularity of platters. (They need only be 22 frames but I often see modulation going way beyond so I think now with digital workstations they're just lifting a couple of seconds off the next reel and grafting it on.)

Anyway, Brad's advice was to cut the leaders and assemble the print so as to include the bit of black leader that contains the beginning audio for each reel.

At least that's what I got out of it.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 10-21-2002, 03:21 AM:

quote:
"No, I think his point was that they neglected to do a sound "pullup" which is where they duplicate 22 (or more) of sound from the head of the next reel and put it onto the end of the prior reel. "

Steve pegged it. It is a lab issue and since reel to reel theaters never actually play the last 22-ish frames worth of audio on a reel, changeover theaters will not be affected.

Posted by John Hawkinson (Member # 1135) on 10-21-2002, 08:12 AM:

Thanks for the clarification, Steve and Brad.

Geeze, I feel really dumb for not paying sufficient attention to Brad's post. Every time it got bumped up it kept tugging at my brain, but each time I happened to reread it this escaped me. So it goes...

--jhawk

Posted by Steve Kraus (Member # 476) on 10-21-2002, 08:35 PM:

Well now you must be punished.

Posted by John Hawkinson (Member # 1135) on 10-21-2002, 08:47 PM:

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 10-21-2002, 09:14 PM:

Two nooses for a changeover projectionist, eh?

Posted by John Hawkinson (Member # 1135) on 10-21-2002, 09:16 PM:

If you look very closely you can see the changeover mechanism on the upper beam. I do not recommend doing "sound pullups" with this medium.

--jhawk

Posted by Steve Kraus (Member # 476) on 10-21-2002, 10:08 PM:

Hanging someone properly takes a certain amount of skill. Too short a drop or not enough added weight and the neck doesn't break; they just strangle. Bad for them. Too much and they decapitate. Swift for them but not too nice for the onlookers. Please folks, if you're going to off yourself don't just throw a rope over the rafters and stand on a chair. That's an awful way to go. Take some pills or something.

Posted by Bruce McGee (Member # 131) on 10-23-2002, 04:35 PM:

Almost every 35 print I have ran has the audio for the next reel recorded at the end of the reel. Confused? I am.

I figure the 2-noose gallows is giving the projectionist the choice of which to use: #1 or #2...

Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 10-23-2002, 05:00 PM:

Well at least if one breaks, the show can still go on.

Posted by Steve Kraus (Member # 476) on 10-23-2002, 08:12 PM:

Let's not forget the sound pulldowns (pullbacks?) on mag prints. The end of each reel is repeated on the head of the new reel because if they're joined that's what will be going through the penthouse as the last frames from the old reel are being projected.