Stress while projecting a print.

[Clark Teddles]

I know this is a partially weird question, but here I go.
Hello, I have always had a problem while watching my super 8 prints, and that is the stress while projecting them.
when I project a print, I get stressed because I think that my projector might malfunction out of nowhere and completely destroy my film.
Has anyone ever done this before?
if so, what are some ways to prevent it?
Thank you

[Paul Adsett]

Best way to eliminate stress Clark is to keep your projectors in top running condition, with great emphasis on maintaining a spotlessly clean film path. At the first sign of any hiccups or malfunctioning of the machine jump on it and fix it, or find someone who can. It's all about having faith in your projector - and a little glass of wine also helps!

[Melvin England]

Clark - As long as you are using a decent super 8 projector in well maintained condition you should not have a problem. What make is your projector ?
The best thing to do at all times is to have a small cleaning brush handy, a very very soft paint brush type would suffice, and brush the main areas of the film gate after every reel. Dust is a films enemy! That is the entrance, wheels, projection gate and feed tunnel out to the take up spool. Also some cleaning fluid and cotton buds to clean the sound heads periodically. By keeping this discipline, your prints should remain in excellent scratch free condition for years. BUT, like most things, it is not 100% guaranteed forever, but is the best you can do. (Any other forum members add to this????)

The most important thing is..... DON'T GET STRESSED ! This hobby is meant to be enjoyed, other wise what is the point? As far as the stress situation is concerned, I do find, and sympathize with you on this point, that sitting next to the projector during projection can, in itself, cause a little anxiety because one is always on edge that everything is running fine which, I assume, is what you are doing?
My method to combat this is simple. Try it. That is, start the film, focus it, get the sound level right............. then sit down elsewhere in the room and watch the film as an audience member and NOT as the projectionist. I find that I forget about the projector and become much more engrossed in the film on the screen, and see more things then I noticed the last time I watched it! It really has a calming effect and one learns to put ones trust in their machinery.

Good Luck.

[Shane C. Collins]

I also warm the projector first before inserting any film, I do this with the lamp on. This allows two things to happen. While the lamp is on, you can set the lens for proper distance to the screen, etc. Also, the lamp will warm up the film path a bit, and other internal parts of the projector. Some projectors need time to get up to speed if they've sat a while. A cold projector could cause loading issues.
As Melvin said keep the film path, gate, etc as clean as possible. I usually clean with a brush, then follow-up with a little bit of furniture polish on a cotton swab. This will add a bit of lubrication to the film path, and make for a smoother surface for the film to glide over.

[Martin Davey]

I do agree that the projector needs to be well maintained but there is another element not yet mentioned and that is the film itself, or rather any splices it contains. There is only one type of splice, and thats a good one. Poor quality spices can cause havoc. Elf/ Eiki 16mm projectors, for example, can do a lot of damage to a film when a poor splice goes through, and makes a suitable, nasty noise to accompany that action. The answer is to have a good splice that sails throught the projector, as they do on my 2 Elfs with no problems. Demos are to be found on youtube on splicing. Some are done by clowns and show you what to avoid.
Even so I always sit arms reach to the projector, mainly for focusing.

[Lee McCaffrey]

Inspect your prints before running to check any splices are sound (if not, re-make them) and you have no instances of heavy creasing or perforation damage which may cause problems with a film jam or losing the loop during playback. Check your belts are in good order, if it snaps during the show the film will cease to progress and if you are not quick to shut off the lamp your print could burn! Lubricating your prints with filmguard will greatly reduce the chances of your film being scratched, and has the benefit of keeping the film path cleaner for longer and reducing wear on the parts of the path that contact the film (gate, pressure plate, sound heads/pressers etc). Check that any and all rollers are present and can turn freely and the little 'pressers' that engage to contact the sound stripe to the magnetic heads have not worn down excessively or developed burrs. Problems after the gate will not be seen until the next showing! It also helps to have a good memory when it comes to your prints, many of the films we now collect will have some degree of wear, inspecting beforehand will let you know any wear that was already present (and for which nothing can be done) so you at least don't worry that it has happened during screening. Obviously if new marks show up on subsequent screenings then than needs addressing.
The best way of winning the trust of your projectors is to run a loop of clear film and observe if any scratches develop as the film runs over and over again. If so, determine the cause, fix and repeat with a fresh loop until the film runs scratch free.

[Lee Mannering]

A top tip

Make up a short continuous loop of clear film.
Project it once a month to check if you machine is scratching film.

Been doing this since 1972 a good lesson to learn

[Melvin England]

There you have it, Clark !

A lot of very good advice from a group of people who KNOW what they are talking about!

[Maurice Leakey]

[QUOTE=Clark Teddles:.....I have always had a problem while watching my super 8 prints, and that is the stress while projecting them.....[/QUOTE]

I must admit I am quite surprised to hear this.

I just love projecting films. I spent fifty years as a cinema projectionist and could never wait to get to work.

I owned home movie equipment before that and for the last twenty five years have acquired over one hundred projectors and over three thousand films. All gauges, 8mm silent, Super 8 sound, 9.5mm silent, 9.5mm sound, 16mm sound.

I love them all without the slightest amount of stress.

[Dominique De Bast]

for the last twenty five years have acquired over one hundred projectors and over three thousand films.

Waw !