Personally my main focus is at the workbench. Dirty & scratched film bothers me!
I can not stand people winding at warp speed and having film spread out along the film bench.

My rule is "The film should not touch the workbench at any time if avoidable!". I like my staff to handle film like gold!! But that's me!

I have seen the result of Nick's rule, and they do result in excellent on screen presentation.

I would also add that training your staff to have an empathy for presentation and to be focused (no pun intended) on what is going on to the screen and what is coming out of the speakers.

What Nick misses out on in his post, but includes in his booth is general cleanliness, respecting the film handling equipment, good routine equpiment maintenance, well aligned rollers on platters and consistent threading by all staff. Then we are half way there...

You've obviously never used FilmGuard. Once you do, I think you will agree that it IS "the key" to a fantastic presentation. Sure most people don't believe it until they use it, but I've not received a single complaint on it EVER and I've gotten hundreds of letters and emails that all say the same thing ("I was skeptic, etc, etc but this is the best thing I've ever used, etc, etc.") Prevention is great and careful film handling is great, but light dirt around the splices (and changeovers) is unavoidable, even if it is only minor. Also if static can be controlled to a level that's "good enough" so you won't have prints flying across the booth, that's great too. With FilmGuard there is no static so that means never a film transport problem, the film runs smoother providing better registration, the digital tracks (SRD and SDDS) never "wear out", and you get a true wet gate type of presentation unobtainable any other way. Finally, it will cover up minor misthreads, operator errors in film handling and scratches (not deep emulsion though).

To say "don't say FilmGuard" is pathetic. If you say that because your boss won't allow you to use it, then your boss is either cheap, or does not care about your presentation. If you haven't tried it then you fall into a poor situation with your boss or don't much care yourself to give it a shot. I don't know what the specific situation is, but it is available in Australia. I promise you that you will not quite realize all of the defects in your presentation as it stands right now until you start using it, for you just think you have a great presentation right now. That opinion of yours WILL change if you follow the recommended procedures with the product. You will never find anything else as helpful in the booth. I know I am biased, but if you're going to come on here and ask a general question to get answers from various professionals in the field, you should give a little courtesy by not restricting everyone's answers to what would've probably been the most popular answer.

Some examples...

"What's the best film stock? ...and DON'T say Kodak!!!"

"What's the best sound processor? ...and DON'T say Dolby!!!"

"What's the best sound system? ..and DON'T say THX!!!"

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I treat the film like gold. It never touches the work area surfaces. I hand-inspect everything and if I feel any roughness along the edges of a print, I will stop and back-up to see whats up. Every splice is checked, and in the case of a new print for the collection, new tape after peeling and cleaning the old tape residue off of the cut ends.

I have always taken care not to cause any damage to the soundtrack area during the inspection and rewinding by allowing the film to just barely touch the edge of the reel opposite the soundtrack side (no bent reels here) so that the film is wound evenly and smoothly on the reels.

During the make-up, I dont leave gaps in the soundtrack at a splice. I have some blooping ink that is very old. I apply it sparingly after making half of the splice, allow it to dry, then make the other half. No problems with "pops" here!

Sloppy winding was my pet-peeve in TV, and I often re-rewound a film before it went back to the distributor because I knew that the edges of the film would be crushed as soon as UPS got hold of it.

I realize that this is unrealistic for theaters, but since you get the new prints alot more than I do, all you can do is be gentle and avoid any sudden starts and stops while loading your platters.

I try to be sure that there are no tears or snags along the edges of the print. In my years in TV and film inspecting, torn edges between the sprocket holes and the edge of the film were the 2nd biggest cause of on-air film breaks. Our production dept. was the first cause.

Many times I can trim away the rough edges of the snag without using splicing tape. I've got alot of old IB stuff that were crushed on bad shipping reels. They run fine after the inspections.

35mm is more forgiving. I purchased a print after seeing it at a dealer's theater set-up. It looked great and steady on the screen. I got it home and found sporatic sprocket damage here and there in 2 out of 7 reels.

After an hour repairing the reels, it still looks great on the screen, but now I KNOW that the integrity of the print is satisfactory, and that my Holmes won't make dinner out of it.

Well Mr Miller. I don't know how you ever got the impression that I was bagging your beloved filmguard. All I was after was opinions from other members as to what they focus their attention on to give great presentation. I thought your reply was WAY over the top and now you have got me a little pissed.

For you to be so defensive and jump on your back heels so quickly is pathetic. To put your product in the same sentance as Dolby and Kodak makes me feel sorry for both you and your ego.

Can't anyone have an opinion?? I am sure film guard is great but this is exactly the point of this topic. I beleive my presentation standards do not warrent spending money on fluid. To refine your film handling techniques and procedures will ensure this. I can tell you that my spool joins are not covered with scratches and dirt. Sure after 1 month of running they start to develop but not enough to warrent spending buckets of money on filmguard. This forum should be about colaborating techniques to improve presentation. It is not just about clean film. Will film guard fix a poor splicing technique. NO, I don't think so. Splicing techniques among other things could have been mentioned in this topic but no, you had to ruin it. Could it be you don't want people to improve presentation without relying on film-guard?

You say filmguard ensures that digital tracks never wear out??? Might want to give Dolby a call as they are currently inform consumers of a average life span for digital tracks. Maybe you could get a plug in all their manuals from now on!

Anyway, before you close the thread as you do when someone opposes your opinion. Convince me. How did you produce film-guard? What qualifications do you have to come up with such a great product? What is in film-guard? Have you ever worked in a lab?

The answers to this will give us an idea if the product is relative to the price.
What amazes me is that all the geniuses at Kodak who revolutionised film stock today can't seem to come up with something better than film-guard?? Odd!

Brad, responses like this will continue to happen until you realise that people will have opinions (In this topic I wasn't even voicing one until you jumped on me)and until you accept that and chill out this will not cease to happen.

If you like you can create an alternate idenity to back you up on this topic like our good old friend 'Carl Weles'.
I don't know how you get on this website anyway Brad. There is a declaration at the entrance about people's opinions and stuff. There are to options. 1) I understand and agree. 2) I have no sense of humour and cannot handle this.
Since you are clearly option "2" I don't know why you keep accessing the forum?

As we say here in Australia. "Pull up you skirt Brad".!!

Now that I have that out of my system I feel better. I apologise in advance for my harshness Brad but I found your response to my innocent topic very insulting.

Cheers All!

I am Nick's boss. Cheap?, does not care about presentation? all because I have not bought Filmguard to this point???

Quality film presentation is made up of many things: dedicated and experienced projection staff, quality equipment maintained in good order, a flow of lights, curtains, sound fades etc, cleanliness in all areas of the projection room AND various film cleaners.

I have had available various chemical film solvents on our circuit for many years prior to Filmguard coming along including Kodak, Renovex and Filmrenew. To say I don't care about presentation because I have not bought Filmguard to this point is a little unfair.

When our current stock of film treatment is exhausted I will certainly consider the purchase of Filmguard. I do consider prevention better than the cure, therefore will always strive to have our projection rooms clean and organised. I am also fortunate to be in the position to reject inferior prints that arrive from distributors.

Nick can stand on his own two feet, but I read his comment re Filmguard as an innocent jibe to provoke more in depth discussion about the complexities involved in delivering quality film presentation.

I too work with Nick, and know his dedication to presentation standards. All aspects of presentation, not just one small part. That is not to say that FilmGuard or any other film cleaning or protecting product doen not have its place. But lets all face it, any film cleaning product is useless until the rest of the elements are well refined. For example, if I use a cleaning product on a film and then misthread the film through the projector, placing a big green emulsion scratch down the centre of the film, which has the bigger impact on film presentation? Or if I use a film cleaning product and then neglect to corretly set the dolby levels on my CP65 (the best processor I have worked with) or incorrectly set the fader lever to fader 2, which has the bigger impact on presentation? If I clean the film with a cleaning product and then run the show with the incorrect lens, which has the bigger impact on the presentation? I think you get my gist, and you might be on the way to understanding Nicks point.

Training, cleaning, alignment, consistent threading, good film handling, correctly lit auditorium, correctly cooled auditorium and foyer, comfortable seating, good screen size, good sound, a well cut aperture plate and yes, good film cleaning techniques are all part of a good presentation. As Nick asked, what techniques do you use to help your on screen presentation?

Using FilmGuard does not preclude careful handling of film including careful and accurate threading (the technique of threading 'up' should also be adopted for optimum results).

Having used and seen FilmGuard in action, I can say this with absolute authority:

1) If one doesn't use FilmGuard, one cannot achieve *optimum* presentation;
2) Previous cleaners cannot compare because only FilmGuard doesn't evaporate from the film, thus providing true 'wet gate' projection qualities;
3) I am a real person expressing his own experiences and obervations independently.

Anyway, allow me to contibute to the original topic by saying that threading 'up' is a terrific technique in improving presentation quality...I'm glad I switched over! Now if only I could get everyone else in my booth to try it too...highly recommended!

I highly recommend it for polyester, but it works great on old tri-acitate prints also.

As for my presentation philosophy, one of the things I always stress when introducing trainees to the booth is a calm set of mind. There's nothing to be gained by running around in panic as soon as something out of the ordinary happens.

Another thing I stress is consistency when working in the booth. Establish your own routines and follow them, always. I've seen too many projectionists thread a projector differently every time and always wonder why.

Showmanship and common courtesy is also at the top of my list. Always respect your audience, because they are the ones that actually pay you, not the company.

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I, myself am about to try Film Guard for the first time, tommorrow, when it arrives at my theater, and am excited after reading all that has been said.

However, there are still some basic things a booth needs before Film Guard can work in a cohesive team, with the equipment and operators.

If everything said about Film Guard is true, then it can be ONE key in your presentation, but it cannot be THE key. There isn't ONE key to it all, its a combination of things, and depends on your theater, and your company, and the different people who handle your film and your projectors.

One thing that's disruptive to any booth, theater, family, or community (which Film-Tech certainly is), is pointless bickering.

I'm not holier than thou, I admit, I argue with people I work with, and my family, and my friends, but the less people that see it, the better. Who wants to actually show their worst sides in public?

The thing about this internet thing is, you can't tell how something is said, or how something is meant. I'm sure Nick had good intentions, and I'm sure Brad, who's VERY proud of his product, and from what I read, should be, took some homage to it.

However, just because those two miscommunicated on something, shouldn't mean the next 50 posts are nothing but snide remarks to everyone else.

Now, back to keys about presentation:

Your operator is the most important part. A good operator should, will know whether or not your projector is a problem, or your rollers, or so and so forth. Your operator can prevent problems with the film, or fix them, as well as ENHANCE them (yes, that includes using Film Guard). Without properly trained operators (not commenting on union or non-union), you can't run a booth. A monkey could thread your projectors, its another matter whether they miss a roller, or don't close the film shoe, all the Film Guard, and all the best equipment in the world won't save that presentation.

So, its definitley the operators who make the difference. And you can't have the good operators with out "yoda-like" training (quote me on that one please).

Thanks-

<crossing fingers to avoid FLAMING>

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If ya smell, what the Zach is cooking.