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Is there a reason why some movies come on so many reels? There are times when it looks like seven reels could fit on five and eight could fit on six. So what's the reason? And who inspects these reels, I've had some real messy reels come to me. Seems to me we have some slackards somewhere.

The reel changes are usually decided by the film editor, who usually tries to have the changeover at a scene change, so that any continuity lost due to splicing or mistimed changeovers is minimal.

Inspection of prints is usually done by the film exchange (e.g., ETS or TES). But since distributors rarely are willing to pay for this extra service, most prints do NOT get fully inspected between bookings.

"Integrity Inspection" is not a full inspection for damage --- it usually just makes sure all the reels are present in the cases, and there is no obvious lost footage.

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John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services
Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Eastman Kodak Company
Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Telephone: 716-477-5325 Cell: 716-781-4036 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Website: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

and also don't forget about those wonderful plastic reels from Technicolor.

If it's gone through Technicolor or others like Boston's Film Transportation they actually do inspections to some extent but the absolute worst is how one theatre will leave a print when it is going direct to another theatre. Too often there is a savage disregard for the fact that another projectionist and theatre will be receiving the print and have to show it. Just look at how many platter scratches there are. There is only two reasons for platter scratches 1. an honest and not normal mistake and 2. it's pure cretin can't give a crap jerkdom. I routinely track down the theatres that send me botched prints and give them Hell. Oh well.

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Mike Hurley
www.bigscreenbiz.com