Movies for TV - Early Television Foundation

MOVIE-MAKING EQUIPMENT 87
Care of Film The life of a reel of film depends entirely on the
attitude of the people who use it. One projectionist can run a
new film half-a-dozen times and not have a mark on it, another
can take the same film and before he has even started his projector
have it all marked up. The first man treats it with reasonable
care, the other man just dumps it into the projector and doesn't
care how much he handles it or scratches it doing so.
The first point to watch is the projector. It must be clean;
this does not mean only the outside, but the mechanism as well.
If the mechanism is dirty, it may run unevenly
and bind in sec-
tions, then run free with dangerous jerks or allow the film to
build up in areas and spill into gears which can tear it. If the film
guides are oily or greasy, oil will be transferred to the film, a blurry
picture will be produced, and no amount of effort with the focur,
control will clear it.
If grease and oil do get on the film, clean it at once with one
of the many cleaners on the market. A special cleaning machine,
such as is made by Neumade Products, is a great help in keeping
film in good condition; but if this cannot be arranged, one of the
many small, hand-cleaning outfits may be used. If really dirty
film, apart from grease and oil, is used, there is a danger that it
may not only result in scratches and blemishes on the film itself,
but it may leave behind a condition which will injure the next
film to be projected. The answer to this is to clean the projector
thoroughly after every projection. This includes the press pads,
rollers, sound and picture gates, sprockets, film guides or channels,
and the magazine containers, for here dirt is sometimes left in
the form of grit which is picked up and worked into the emulsion
of the next film.
Some outfits prefer to have all the film produced by them
treated by one of the special hardening processes which are supposed
to toughen the emulsion and enable the film to slide more
easily through the projector. It also makes it easier to wipe off
finger marks.
Film should never be allowed to remain in the projector. If
it is part way through, the section in the equipment will be affected