I hope this makes sense - Sometimes, when I watch a film, I see, just for a fraction of a second, what looks like a small black circle in the top right-hand side of the picture. This may happen several times during a film. Has anybody else noticed this, and if so, can you explain why?

sequoianoir

This is the change of reel indicator used for synchronisation and change over in multi-reel movies . You will see that they occur in pairs - separated by a few seconds. Cannot remember now if it is 8 or 10 seconds Jan 05 03, 4:35 PM

sequoianoir

Digital projection makes a digitally-created film come alive on screen. There are practical advantages also: the digital format doesn't decay the way celluloid does, you won't have those irritating dust motes and human hairs on the screen after the film has been out for a week or two, and with digital there are none of those stupid black ellipses up in the corner to cue reel changing. http://www.locusmag.com/2002/Reviews/Shirley05_ClonesDigital.html Jan 05 03, 5:08 PM

sequoianoir

Reel Cue Change Marks If you catch the reel cue change marks in the upper right hand corner of the screen, are they circular or ellipses that are twice as wide as they are high? If ellipses, then it is a scope print (either shot anamorphic or in super35), and the screen should be 2.39:1 or you're losing part of the image. If circular, it is a flat print, and the screen should be 1.85:1. This is a more reliable method for determining the type of print than using the out-of-focus points of light in the image. http://home.hiwaay.net/~criswell/theatre/static_subpages/things_to_look_for/things_to_look_for.html Jan 05 03, 5:11 PM

sequoianoir

These dots are cue marks that let the projectionist know that it's time to change reels. Film reels generally range in length from 20 to 22 minutes, so there are several 'changeovers' in a feature-length film. Each reel of film actually has two sets of cue marks. Before one reel ends, the projectionist loads the next reel in a second projector, with about nine feet of leader, or blank film, between the lens and the start of the reel. The first sequence of dots, which starts about nine seconds before the end of the reel, cues the projectionist to start the second projector running. At the second set of dots, which marks the end of the reel, the projectionist throws a switch that changes the sound and picture source from the first projector to the second. At this point, which is usually a dark scene change, the two projectors are cued up at the same point in the film. It's a process that's worked for 100 years, but the advent of digital projection technology means it's not likely to make it another 100. Jan 05 03, 5:17 PM

Siskin

You can't be a Columbo fan Norwich! - This is how he finally managed to solve a murder, when a film projectionist explained to him the intricacies of reel changing! Jan 05 03, 8:46 PM