8mm Forum: Mix of Stock on one Film

»	8mm Forum » 16mm Forum » Mix of Stock on one Film

UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!

Author

Topic: Mix of Stock on one Film

Tom Photiou
Film God

Posts: 4837
From: Plymouth U.K
Registered: Dec 2003

posted December 04, 2017 02:50 PM

I have recently been a bit baffled by some 16mm films i see for sale.
Often a pre title sequence may be Eastman stock but the rest of the film is Agfa, other films are first part, (or two) on Eastman the last on excellent Agfa.
Is there a reason this happens? I could understand if it's a mix of two film making up one but usually its one title with mixed stock. Surly these films were never supplied a reel at a time. (Remember some Derann 2 x 400 releases were like this when bought seperatly). [Confused]

| IP: Logged

Nigel Higgins
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 543
From: Saffron walden.united kingdom
Registered: Jun 2014

posted December 04, 2017 05:11 PM

This normaly happens when a section was damaged beyond repair and film libaries would obtain a new bit from another feature or reel and unfortunately sometimes the stock is different,i have only known this on 16mm films .

| IP: Logged

Kevin Clark
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 978
From: Bapchild, Kent, UK
Registered: May 2004

posted December 04, 2017 05:22 PM

Think of these films as the remnants of what were once thousands and thousands of reels of film with many multiples of each feature in circulation, when 16mm film hire was in its heyday Tom, and you will get a better idea of how these mix and matches happened.

Imagine working at a 16mm hire company in the 60's or 70's - you would have multiple prints of many films out for hire - as they were returned if there was damage or missing sections then one reel could be discarded and another put in to make the feature complete again. At that time fade would not have been an issue so Eastman, Agfa, Fuji reels etc. could and were mixed and sent out for hire.

Now roll forward 30 or 40 years - most of those prints are either in private collections or scrapped - missing footage from other prints may be inter-spliced (usually the first few minutes of a reel due to damage from mis-threading) and also reprinted titles or sections inserted filmed from digital sources - I myself completed one of my features this way recently as it previously had the start and end titles missing.

The sheer amount of 16mm that has been printed is vast, yet much 16mm has been lost due to fading, enforced disposal (by bandsaw etc) due to end of licences / hire companies closing, to the point where any opportunity to make a feature whole, even with mix and match stocks, is one to go for until a perfect print comes along.

Kevin.

| IP: Logged

Tom Photiou
Film God

Posts: 4837
From: Plymouth U.K
Registered: Dec 2003

posted December 05, 2017 01:21 AM

Ahh. Kevin/ Nigel, that now makes perfect sense. Thanks. Funny, i do keep forgetting that these were generally rental prints,

| IP: Logged

David Hardy
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 955
From: Johnshaven Village , Montrose, Scotland
Registered: Jan 2015

posted December 05, 2017 01:06 PM

Tom...Such a thing did not only happen in the 16mm film libraries.

Many times in the past in the Cinemas I have made up an older 35mm print that consisted of the best condition reels of previous surviving copies.

The last one I remember like this was TAXI DRIVER the last 35mm print in the UK for exhibition in cinemas.

Also THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN and even BRAVEHEART .

[Smile]

--------------------
" My equipment's more important than your rats. "

| IP: Logged

Tom Photiou
Film God

Posts: 4837
From: Plymouth U.K
Registered: Dec 2003

posted December 05, 2017 02:51 PM

It does make sense thats for sure. There must have been thousands of copies of some films.

| IP: Logged

Adrian Winchester
Film God

Posts: 2941
From: Croydon, London, UK
Registered: Aug 2004

posted December 05, 2017 07:02 PM

I had cause to hire some 16mm prints from the former Filmbank library and I recall the invoices including a specific amount for insurance, so that the hirer would not be liable for at least a limited amount of damage. In earlier times when 16mm rental was in full swing and a distributor would not be willing to 'retire' a print, this would lead to a new section being printed in a lab and spliced in. I don't think any great effort was made to ensure that the stock was the same initially used to have.

--------------------
Adrian Winchester

| IP: Logged

All times are Central

Printer-friendly view of this topic

UBB.classic^TM 6.3.1.2