8mm Forum: Film Can Recommendations

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Posted by Christopher Quinn (Member # 831) on October 27, 2007, 06:02 PM:

I've been doing some googling and found this Dutch site called Janssen Film which offers cans at a reasonable enough price. Has anyone ever used them before? Does anyone have any other suggestions?

I've read previous posts warning against using metal cans because they can prevent the film from breathing, leading to VS. Would I be right in assuming that this would not be a problem for films on polyester stock? Is it also true that pretty much all Derann prints are on polyester?

[ August 04, 2012, 05:28 AM: Message edited by: Christopher Quinn ]

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on October 27, 2007, 08:18 PM:

Absolutely true, VS cannot effect polyester stock: no acetate=no acetic acid. Deranns have been on polyester as far back as I've noticed.

When I'm in a practical mood, I prefer my reels in nice square plastic cases like Gepes or Bonums, mostly because they don't roll off the shelves the way a can does when you set them on edge, but by the same token there is something more cinematic about a metal reel of film in a can.

My favorite packaging is the full length Blackhawk "The Music Box" I have, which is on a steel 800 foot reel inside a steel can, which in turn is inside a green canvas covered shipping case with steel reinforced corners and fabric straps with chromed steel buckles. You start to enjoy the film just taking it off the shelf. It looks like something right from a studio vault.

Some folks don't like keeping striped films on steel reels with the fear they will become magnetized and damage the recorded sound. What little experience I've had with this hasn't shown this to be true.

Posted by Christopher Quinn (Member # 831) on October 28, 2007, 09:03 AM:

Thanks for your comments Steve!

Regarding steel tins causing the sound to become magnetised, if this actually did happen, I assume you would be able to repair the distortion simply by re-recording the audio? If so, I suppose it’s probably not too much of a risk to take.

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on October 29, 2007, 12:59 PM:

True, assuming you had the know-how and the means...

I think it's fair to say that a steel can doesn't become magnetized spontaneously either, but by being exposed to a magnetic field. The field would have to be strong enough for the reel's residual field to be strong enough to disturb the sound track for there to be a problem. Since the film would likely be there anyway, the track would be wiped whether the reel was steel, plastic, wood, eggshells, plutonium or whatever!

Posted by David Kilderry (Member # 549) on November 01, 2007, 12:01 AM:

When mag sound came in during the 1950's on 35mm and 70mm, the spools were made of an alloy to help protect the tracks. Whilst there were some instances of tracks being wiped it was very rare.

Later during my career (early 1980's) we used plastic, fibreglass and sometimes steel spools with mag tracks. With the 70mm mag the films arrived in aluminium tins on aluminium spools and we mostly ran them on fibregalss just to be sure. Other cinemas did use metal spools however.

In the smaller guages it is mostly 16mm that has steel spools as mag 16mm was so rare in release prints; they are very rare on 8mm. My only non plastic 8mm/Super 8 spools are larger aluminium ones.

David

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