Got back my super 8 film---------scraaatch!!

**Mike Buckles** · September 25th, 2002, 02:10 AM

Just picked up my processed super 8 film from Walmart (aka Dwayne's)....was clean, no dirt, but I noticed 2 black lines perpendicular to each other, like 2 big scratches, dividing the picture into even thirds...this runs from the start of the film to about the middle, then tapers off and goes away towards the end. I've never had this on any of my other films, and I cleaned both the camera and projector with compressed air before using them...even my old films don't have this kind of damage, so it had to be either Kodak or Dwayne's that caused it. The lines are very thin, and almost don't waver at all...I am going to use Kodak next time for processing....I like the idea of using Dwayne's since I want to keep Kodachrome processing in the USA, but if their processing equipment scratched the film, i can't afford to ruin my precious films...if it was Kodak's fault, i don't think there is any way of detecting it ahead of time.

**Alex** · September 25th, 2002, 09:51 AM

Did you mean the lines were parallel to each other?

**cameraguy** · September 25th, 2002, 11:07 AM

Scratches can occur when you film since hairs or something can get stuck and scratched the film until it finally works free. But if you say there are two lines that end together then I would say that Dwaynes is the fault. The film is removed from the cartridge by pulling it out of the gate at an angle. As you can imagine as the film is being pulled out at high speed if it hits the edge its going to scratch.

**Mike Buckles** · September 26th, 2002, 02:20 AM

They are 2 thin black lines that run vertically down the length of the picture, perfectly straight...upon reviewing the movie again, i now see a fainter 3rd line ..the lines divide up the picture into thirds...kind of looks like I was filming in Cinerama!!! The lines aren't as thick as I originally thought, and you can't see them much in darker backgrounds, but they are still objectionable...is it possible the projector is causing this? Would a projector scratch be that precise, or more random...as I mentioned, my older films don't have this...i checked my newer dwayne's processed films, and there is one other film that has a similar scratch, but only one, and it goes away after awhile.

**cameraguy** · September 26th, 2002, 12:57 PM

Basically anything can scratch film whether it be a camera, projector, the processer... Also remember that your older films were cleaned and lubricated by the Kodak processor since they use to do that to all the films they processed. Neither Kodak nor Dwaynes do this now so its best to use a film cleaner like ECCO on a new film before you ever put it in a projector. I also like to lubricate the film path of the projector and blow away visible dust before each projection.

Your film with these scratches, are they on the emulsion side or the base side? If on the base side I think they can be removed if the footage is really important.

**Alex** · September 26th, 2002, 05:22 PM

Good points about the lubrication that Kodak used to provide. (Gosh, I guess the digital revolution means never having to lubricate)

I'm curious what type of take-up reel you are using, Mikey B.

I could see a tiny 50 foot plastic take-up reel as creating more "back-tension on the film versus a nice high quality 400 foot big hub reel.

Or is that just my imagination?

**Mike Buckles** · September 26th, 2002, 11:39 PM

I promise not to project another film before cleaning/lubricating it!! I am using a 400 plastic take up reel. How do you lube the film path in the projector? Do you have to clean/lube your film each time you project it, or should it be done every so often? If the projector scratched it, would it leave those black lines, or more random scratches, and would they be black, or a blue color? mike

**cameraguy** · September 27th, 2002, 12:04 AM

I use flannel cloth. Link below to be exact

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=1384308949

I use it for both film and projector/editor.

To clean the projector just put some film cleaner on the cloth and gently wipe all areas where the film makes contact through the path. Some projectors are a b-i-t-c-h to clean cause the film path is so compact and unaccessible. Most Elmo models are the easiest to clean.

You should only have to clean the film itself once every 8-10 years or so. I use film cleaner on the projectors path several times a year. With a soft brush I remove any dust from the film path before every single projection. May seem a-n-a-l to some but it does a great job in avoiding dust interferring with the picture on the screen and sratches on the film.