Blue lines down film after developing?

[Scottness]

On about 4 of the rolls we got back for In My Image there is a vertical blue line which dances it way across the whole roll - a scratch I presume - has anyone else had this experience? - I wonder if it was something we did or something that happened in processing - I don't think it occurs on successive rolls - but if there was something in the gate I spose jsut replacing the rollcould clear it - we're hoping the great god of DV film making will be able to remove it for us

Scot M

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[Alex]

In my opinion, It either happened when you shot the film, or when it was being developed.

If it happened when you shot the film, study the start and stop points of your takes...the acceleration and deacceleration of the film should produce some type of change in the scratch pattern.

If the pattern of the blue scratch continues uninterrupted at each scenes starting and stopping points, the lab probably did it.

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Anyone want to comment on the following premise....

The intensity of the blue scratch would change based on the exposure if it had happened when you originally shot the footage.

If you have a bright scene followed by a dark scene, the blue should change in appearance if it happened when you shot the film...???



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Alex

[Matt Pacini]

Well, I don't know about the theory of the scratch changing, or whatever, but I DID have this happen to me!
If it's blue, it happened in-camera.
You had a spec of dirt, sand, or whatever in the camera.
It happened to me, and believe me, after that, I used a can of compressed air AND a lens brush, to clean the gate and the entire cartridge compartment after EVERY roll!!!!

I can't stress this enough, and I apologize to anyone I have forgotten to give this advice to, who have asked me!

There's nothing you can do about it now, other than in software (AfterFX or Photoshop). It's pretty tedious to fix, too, as you will find out.

Matt Pacini

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[#Pedro]

It happend to me, too and I sent the two rolls back to Kodak. They told me, that it could had happened either during shooting or during processing and gave me 2 new rolls.
Pedro

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[chas_ucla]

I remember something like this happening when I dropped off film at cheap-o places like Sav-On back in the late '70's. It only happened there...I always figured it was because of their own cheap processing equipment, poor chemicals, etc.

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[robert moseley]

I have had this problem from time to time with kodachrome 40. I believe it is the processing, not the result of dirt in the gate. If the film in the Super 8 cartridge is able to "wander" in the gate,rather than being kept in a fixed position as with Single 8,it seems to me unlikely that a speck of dirt could cause scratching.

Robert Moseley

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[Matt Pacini]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by robert moseley:
[B]"If the film in the Super 8 cartridge is able to "wander" in the gate,rather than being kept in a fixed position as with Single 8,it seems to me unlikely that a speck of dirt could cause scratching. "

(Matt Pacini resonds):
Yeah, but if it were wandering, it wouldn't be in perfect focus, like my footage was.
Just that horrible blue line!
By the way, I actually had seen a big piece of sand, or whatever it was, come flying out of the film compartment on that days' shooting, I just didn't know when or how it got in there, but when I got the film back, I knew that was what did it.

Scott did a lot of exterior shooting, and it looks like pretty dry, dirty disty territory, so I would imagine that this is not that uncommon.
In fact, I read a similar post on cinematography.com last night, and apparently this happens all the time in 35mm shooting, so we're lucky it is so infrequent in S8 stuff. I really think we are lucky that the machinery is so less complicated in Super 8 cameras. A clever bit of engineering, when they thought of this stuff!

They were even debating over whether or not the constant checking of the gate after every shot they do in 35mm shooting, could be letting dirt in!

Matt Pacini

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[Alex]

Sounds like the good old changing bag blues.

I bet on 16mm and 35mm shoots, dirt ends up on the film while it's changed in the changing bag, and gets deposited in the film gate.


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Alex

[Alex]

If the shots that have the line are "locked-off" shots, There sometimes is a real-time fix to the problem.

You cut and paste a parallel piece of the frame, lay it over the blue line and blur the edging.

If the line is over a person, this won't work.

If the shot pans or zooms, this won't work.




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Alex

[Scottness]

Yeah I guess it was dirt - the compressed air idea is good - another lesson for the next time!

Scot M

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