Appendix 1

Appendix 8: Conforming Negative
black are made. By cutting clear leader into one roll, light can be passed through the clear leader
gradually printing the image down to black. Optical sound will also be printed onto the print on a
separate pass through the printer.
The Splice
A glue splice made with a “hot splicer” is used when splicing negative. The hot splicer has a heating
element that warms the splicer. It is never “hot,” just slightly warm to the touch. The heat helps the
glue dry more quickly. Hot splicers heat slowly. Plug it in an hour or more before use, or place it
under a lamp for a few minutes.
The glue splice is made by overlapping a small section of fi lm. The emulsion must be removed from
this area on the overlapping frame so that the glue splice is made base to base, never base to emulsion.
The size of the overlap is small, and on 35 mm this overlap falls outside of a 1.66 or larger
mask. So, unless the 35 mm is projected full frame, the splice will never show. On 16 mm, however,
the splice reaches almost a third into the frame. The splice is quite visible unless the negative is A-B
rolled and “invisible” splices are used.
The black leader used in A-B rolling covers the splice. Black leader is placed in the splicer on the
right. One frame must extend past the splice line and will be lost when the splice is made. The leader
is locked into the splicer emulsion up. The entire right section of the splicer is now rotated up and
out of the way.
The negative is placed in the left section of the splicer and locked into position. Here, too, one frame
extends past the splice line and will be lost. On 35 mm, only one-half frame is required.
With the negative locked into position, the scraper is used to remove the emulsion in the area of the
overlap, as illustrated in Figure A8.2. The scraper must be aligned perfectly so as to remove all the
emulsion without cutting into the base and weakening the splice. Carefully scrape away all of
the emulsion in the overlap area. Care must be taken to not tear the sprocket holes.
Figure A8.2 Scraping a cement splice
Using the small brush in the glue bottle, quickly brush on a good amount of cement and quickly
close the splicer. This will trim away the remaining two-thirds frame of negative as well as one frame
of black. Lock it in place and screw the lid back on the cement bottle. Never leave the cap off the
glue after making the splice. Use only a small bottle and replace the cement daily.
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