8mm Forum: Smoke Free films? Hmmm ...

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Topic: Smoke Free films? Hmmm ...

Osi Osgood
Film God

Posts: 10204
From: Mountian Home, ID.
Registered: Jul 2005

posted May 06, 2013 11:25 AM

OK, this may well have been talked about before, but I do notice an occasional seller on ebay stating ...

"These films come from a smoke free environment"

... does it really matter if the films were collected originally by a smoker or not? Can smoke actually affect the films? I would suppose not, but I don't know everything.

However, if it's a title that I've wanted for years, if someone told me a smoker owned it, I sure as heck wouldn't say ...

"Owned by a smoker?! Hell no!"

... I mean, doesn't that sound rediculous?

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"All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "

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Vidar Olavesen
Film God

Posts: 2232
From: Sarpsborg, Norway
Registered: Nov 2012

posted May 06, 2013 11:35 AM

If you come and see my mothers roof, she's a heavy smoker ... Imagine that yellow tar things on the films ... I'd say it's big plus if it hasn't been in a smoker's home, but still would buy it.

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Steve Klare
Film Guy

Posts: 7016
From: Long Island, NY, USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted May 06, 2013 11:41 AM

I could imagine a film that was regularly projected in a smoke filled room being a little dingy from the smoke particles getting on the film, but I would think they'd clean up nicely.

If it was a title I really wanted, I'd give it a shot.

I've had films show up with the cardboard boxes smelling of cigarrettes, but they air out pretty quickly and I saw no evidence the film itself was effected.

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All I ask is a wide screen and a projector to light her by...

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Dan A. Caprio
Film Handler

Posts: 71
From: sarasota florida
Registered: Jun 2010

posted May 06, 2013 11:56 AM

Paul Ecenina a Veteren collector from Tampa Florida...I visited quited ofter back in the day he was a Cigar smoker 24/7...you could tell when you entered screening/vault room [Eek!]

Never really affected anything... [Eek!]

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Alan Rik
Film God

Posts: 2211
From: New York City, NY, USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted May 06, 2013 12:05 PM

I never understood why they put that there as well until I received a book and a laptop which came from a smokers' home. They smelled so badly that they stunk up the room they were in!
I put dryer sheets in between the pages of the book and stuck it in a zip lock bag to no avail. I ended up dumping the book in the trash.
The laptop went back to Apple and they said the smoke ashes were so bad they found ashes inside the laptop. I couldn't stand it either and sold that too. If the person was a heavy smoker I would imagine that films would reek of smoke when you took them out.

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Paul Adsett
Film God

Posts: 5003
From: USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted May 06, 2013 07:39 PM

My first GS1200, which I purchased off ebay, smelled of smoke when I received it. When I opened up the back of the projector the PC boards and innards all had gunk on them. I had to essentially strip the machine and hand clean everything. Just imagine what smoking a pack a day for 20 years can do for your lungs! [Eek!]

I can certainly believe that a smoke environment could make film brittle and damage the color dyes. And you definately do not want to have a digital projector running in a smoke filled environment, which will ruin the complex optical system pretty quickly.
Tobacco is just plain bad news all around.

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The best of all worlds- 8mm, super 8mm, 9.5mm, and HD Digital Projection,
Elmo GS1200 f1.0 2-blade
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Joe Balitzki
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 529
From: Charleston, SC, USA
Registered: Aug 2005

posted May 07, 2013 02:53 PM

There is no doubt in my mind that tobacco smoke can affect film. To what extent naturally depends on the level of exposure. I have allergies and I have always had a hyper sensitive nose. In fact, it has become worse as I grow older. If I see something advertised as coming from a smokeless environment its a plus to me. And I certainly wouldn't want to expend any energy and time cleaning a film that had heavy smoke odor.

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Movie Lovers Do It in the Dark

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Rob Caspers
Junior
Posts: 11
From: Noordwijk, The Netherlands
Registered: Apr 2013

posted May 10, 2013 02:59 PM

I used to smoke a lot myself before I quit 22 years ago. Nowadays I even hate the smell of it, like most ex-smokers do. And when it comes to second-hand equipment that belonged to a heavy smoker, yes indeed, the smell can really ruin your fun! BUT! 1)A film can normally not be expected to have been exposed to a smokey atmosphere for a longer time than 25 seconds, which is the time it needs to get run from one reel to another while it is being projected. 2)Where does one keep the reel before and after projecting? Right, in a closed box. 3) Even if the reel is kept out of the box, the smoke particles can not reach the image part of the film. On one side of the reel there is the sound track, on the other side is the perforation. 4)Every filmcleaner will take away dirt and grease - and tar and nicotine as well. Anyone out there who wants to dump smoker's films? Send them to me. I'm not afraid of them!

Greetings and have a nice day, Rob Caspers

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Iceman52

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Timothy Ramzyk
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 220
From: Milwaukee,WI,USA
Registered: Nov 2006

posted May 10, 2013 03:07 PM

I'd think it would be rather hard for a boxed or canned film to soak up too much tar. Reels are only exposed to the air a fr a brief time during projection, so I'd say. Meh? I was smoker for a decade, nothing I owned during those years still has any smell of smoke.

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Osi Osgood
Film God

Posts: 10204
From: Mountian Home, ID.
Registered: Jul 2005

posted May 11, 2013 12:56 PM

Very good points made. I can see the need for that disclaimor on films. Hey, maybe I ought to put that on my future auctions ... as I have never been a smoker myself.

(note: this series of posts is not a dumping on smokers, just to clear up any potential rancor that could develop due to this series of posts).

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"All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "

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David Ollerearnshaw
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1373
From: Penistone Sheffield UK
Registered: Oct 2012

posted May 11, 2013 04:03 PM

My dad smoked up to about a year ago, and since he stopped the house smells a lot better, in my case the films were not kept in the same place as he smoked (spare room).

What is proberly worse is "Found in the loft" extremes of temperature is not good for storing film.

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I love the smell of film in the morning.

http://www.thereelimage.co.uk/

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