Correct. That’s how most 35mm projectors work as well. The film feeds out from the middle of one platter, through the projector then onto a return platter where it spools from the center out. But if the tail of the film (which is on the outer edge) comes loose and falls off the edge it could cause the entire print to spin off the edge of the platter, one layer at a time. It’s like a slinky, the weight of the film falling will make it fall faster and faster. It would end up in a big circular pile that would be an absolute nightmare to get back on the platter.
There’s nothing worse than coming into the booth and finding hundreds of feet of film tangled on the ground.
Thank you for taking a few moments to learn about it yourself! The link you provided to the Imax video wasn’t one I’d seen before, and I love watching that kind of shit.
Correct. That’s how most 35mm projectors work as well. The film feeds out from the middle of one platter, through the projector then onto a return platter where it spools from the center out. But if the tail of the film (which is on the outer edge) comes loose and falls off the edge it could cause the entire print to spin off the edge of the platter, one layer at a time. It’s like a slinky, the weight of the film falling will make it fall faster and faster. It would end up in a big circular pile that would be an absolute nightmare to get back on the platter.
There’s nothing worse than coming into the booth and finding hundreds of feet of film tangled on the ground.
Ah, that’s interesting and definitely sounds like an awful mess to deal with. Thanks for sharing, I’m not as familiar with film projection.
Thank you for taking a few moments to learn about it yourself! The link you provided to the Imax video wasn’t one I’d seen before, and I love watching that kind of shit.