How many reels in a movie

The live music just seems to add a layer of engagement to the film-viewing experience. Did you know film is a combination of plastic and gelatinous emulsion made from silver?

Well, silver halide crystals to be specific. During recording, the camera lens shines light on the film and the reaction of the light causes the silver crystals to darken. Maybe this is what they meant by the silver age of film?

The average reel of film played approximately 11 minutes of movie. Now, imagine how many reels of film each movie required. An hour and a half movie back in the day required approximately film reels … or a mile and a half of film just to play a minute movie. They doubled the amount to save on shipping costs and help reduce the number of transitions and the human error that came with them in the middle of movies by half.

Imagine how much a movie weighs today. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the first commercial digital projection in a cinema and, two decades later, the Digital Cinema Package DCP has now replaced 35mm film as the dominant distribution and exhibition format. Whilst watching movies projected on film is becoming increasingly rare, some cinemas still maintain film projection equipment, including Watershed, which has film projection capability in all three of its screens.

When projecting a film print, the projectionist needs to consider a variety of options such as aspect ratio, sound format, and speed.

The film is 35mm wide with four perforations on both sides, which are used to transport it within the camera and projector mechanisms. Motion picture film is made of two main components: the base and emulsion, the layer that contains the photographic materials. The early years of motion pictures were like the Wild West. In the s and early s, lots of companies and inventors were competing against each other, which resulted in many films in different widths.

However, in order for the industry to flourish, a standardised film gauge was a necessity. It meant that film producers, distributors and exhibitors could invest in equipment in the knowledge that it would be compatible with others. For the first six decades, 35mm film stock was mostly made out of a plasticised nitrocellulose. This stock can be referred to as cellulose nitrate or celluloid. Unfortunately, as celluloid was a highly flammable material, it was phased out in the early s due to safety concerns.

New 35mm prints are now made on a polyester-based stock which is nearly impossible to tear! The speed films are projected at are usually measured in frames per second fps. Sometimes, the speed is measured by the length of film going through the projector or camera. For example, at 24fps, 35mm film runs at 90ft per minute. Between the s and s, film speed was not standardised.

So, when projecting a silent film from this period, settling on a speed can be difficult. Luckily, excellent research work by film historians and archivists has proven to be an invaluable resource for silent film presentation. Experiments with synchronised sound began almost as early as the first film projections. Released using the Vitaphone system, it had its soundtrack recorded on a phonograph record, which was played back synchronised to the projector.

Sound-on-disc sound formats did not endure, as sound-on-film became the norm. This process, however, is long gone. In most cases, movie theaters are no longer using the traditional film format for showing movies. Since the early s, digital projectors have been the industry standard around the world.

As movie projection technology advances, older methods such as film slowly become more and more obsolete. So, how does digital movie projection work? Today, new movies are often shipped to movie theaters secured in a hard plastic case. The movies are contained in DCPs Digital Cinema Packages consisting of a hard drive with the movie files on it as well as appropriate adapters and cables. DCP files require activation from a license, which the movie theater must provide in order to access the content on the DCP.

Once the DCP is activated, the projectionist can play the movie to audiences. This is one of the most common methods of movie distribution to theaters today.

Another method of movie distribution is by satellite. In these scenarios, a movie is downloaded on a secure server and the film is activated for playback via satellite.