What causes film to break?

samrwamr

samrwamr

Active member
Just saw Pirates of the Caribbean 2. The reel broke and destroyed the film with no more than 7 minutes left. I missed all of the end. (PM me with the ending if you want.)

This is the second time this has happened to me.

What exactly happens when the picture skips and then the film looks bubbly and starts melting? I'm just a curious person when it comes to stuff like this. Especially when it involves film.
 
What exactly happens when the picture skips and then the film looks bubbly and starts melting? I'm just a curious person when it comes to stuff like this. Especially when it involves film.
Click to expand...

It does that because the film spool stops, gets jammed, etc... and the projecter bulb melts a hole through film and makes it bubbly.
 
if the sprocket holes get misaligned with the teeth of the projector, because the projector is old, or the film is old, or the film is faulty, or any combination of the three, then the teeth of the spool pulling the film will jam into the film, physically puncturing holes in the film and getting it off track.

There are many other ways for film to get stuck to. Dirt and muck build up over time, and if a projector isn't cleaned, left over emulsion etc can clog the gate.

And, generally speaking, the minute the film stops, or slows down, then the physical film is spending more time near that super hot light bulb, which is what causes it to instantly start melting, and eventually break.

In the case of even older film prints, say that have already been broken before and spliced back together, the splices may break again running through the projector.

And there's a lot more that can happen too!
 
There's something called "brain wrap" which can cause this. Basically the reel sits on a platter and in the middle of the platter is the brain, which controls the tension and speed of the reel, which is fed through the projector and stuff. The film can get caught in there and it can result in a film break.
 
I hope is not too much OT, but just for the fun of it:
About 30 years ago (while in high school), every Sunday I used to be in the projection room playing "projectionist".
The guy working there was sick and tired of his job and more than happy to let me do it (since I seem to enjoy it so much). He showed me everything he knew and what to do in pretty much any situation. There were two projectors with carbon ark and I had to (manually) twist a knob to get them closer (as they were consumed in the flame and the light on the screen got dimmer) and also how to change them when they were near the end of their "natural life". One of them lasted about three time longer than the other (moving) one.

As the first projector was running, I had to thread the other roll on the second one and make sure is working (manually at first and then a short burst). Near the end of the first roll, I was waiting for the "first spark" (usually top right corner) to start the second projector and by the second spark to flip a mechanical shutter that opened the second projector and closed the first one.
This was the time to allow the first roll to "run out" and thread the third one in its place. Same routine, Now, I had to manually rewind the first roll and store it in it's can to have it ready for the next show. I also remember film breaking and long whistles in the cinema while I was cutting, cleaning the emulsion on the ends with a razor and splice them together with acetone.

This must be the reason I enjoyed years latter "Cinema Paradiso" so much.....It was fun stuff.
 
dan said:
I hope is not too much OT, but just for the fun of it:
About 30 years ago (while in high school), every Sunday I used to be in the projection room playing "projectionist".
The guy working there was sick and tired of his job and more than happy to let me do it (since I seem to enjoy it so much). He showed me everything he knew and what to do in pretty much any situation. There were two projectors with carbon ark and I had to (manually) twist a knob to get them closer (as they were consumed in the flame and the light on the screen got dimmer) and also how to change them when they were near the end of their "natural life". One of them lasted about three time longer than the other (moving) one.

As the first projector was running, I had to thread the other roll on the second one and make sure is working (manually at first and then a short burst). Near the end of the first roll, I was waiting for the "first spark" (usually top right corner) to start the second projector and by the second spark to flip a mechanical shutter that opened the second projector and closed the first one.
This was the time to allow the first roll to "run out" and thread the third one in its place. Same routine, Now, I had to manually rewind the first roll and store it in it's can to have it ready for the next show. I also remember film breaking and long whistles in the cinema while I was cutting, cleaning the emulsion on the ends with a razor and splice them together with acetone.

This must be the reason I enjoyed years latter "Cinema Paradiso" so much.....It was fun stuff.
Click to expand...

lol wow a carbon arc? Thank god for xenon bulbs. :p
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top