Film editors often cement splice their final edit to ensure a strong bond and avoid tape lines.
With today's non-linear editing systems, many contemporary film editors have never held a strip of film. However, the art of editing originated not on the computer, but on the bench with a razor blade and a splicer. The editor used the razor blade to cut the film into scenes, and the splicer to put the scenes together into the finished film. Some splicers use tape, but for a more solid, permanent bond, editors prefer the cement splicer. Film cement is a clear, acetone-based liquid that creates a bond between two pieces of celluloid film. One of the most common cement splicers is the portable hot splicer, which is made up of two base plates, which hold the two pieces of film; a scraper, which removes the emulsion; and clamps, which hold the film in place.
Instructions
1. Plug the splicer in. It will automatically begin to heat the base plates, which will make the splice set faster.
2. Put on cotton gloves. The oils on your fingertips can leave prints on the film, so never handle it with bare hands. Even with gloves, always handle the film by the edges to reduce the chance of getting a thread or a piece of dust stuck in the emulsion.
3. Select two shots to splice together.
4. Find the last frame of your outgoing shot and cut the next frame in half.
5. Find the first frame of your incoming shot and cut the frame before it in half.
6. Place the first sprocket hole of the first full frame of the incoming shot on the back pilot pin of the right base plate. The base plate is the surface onto which the clamp will be pressed. The bumps on its surface are the pilot pins. Make certain when you place the film on the base plate that the emulsion side -- the dull side -- is up. When placed correctly, the half-frame should be hanging off the left end of the plate.
7. Position the film between the guides on the right side of the plate and pull the film taut.
8. Close the clamp and latch it to the base plate.
9. Raise the clamp to its highest position.
10. Place the last sprocket hole of the last full frame of the outgoing shot onto the back pilot pin of the left base plate. Again, make sure the emulsion side is up.
11. Bend the half-frame over the edge of the base plate.
12. Lift the scraper above the film and pull it toward you. Be careful not to touch the film.
13. Scrape the film from front to back, applying even pressure until the emulsion is removed. This will only take one or two scrapes. If the scraped surface is shiny, you have scraped too deeply. If you can still see emulsion on the surface, you haven't scratched deeply enough.
14. Remove the brush from the bottle of cement, wiping off any excess on the side of the bottle.
15. Brush one coat of cement on the scraped half-frame, and immediately return the brush to the bottle. Never leave the bottle open, because film cement dries quickly.
16. Firmly lower the right clamp. This has the twofold effect of bonding the two pieces of film together and splicing off the half-frames.
17.Leave the clamps closed for a few seconds to allow the cement to set.
18. Open the clamps and check for excess cement that has seeped out of the splice. Immediately remove this with a lint-free cloth, and use less cement on your next splice.
19. Remove the film. Always pick the film up from the left side because this creates less stress on the splice.
20. Test the film by gently bending the filmstrip around the splice. If it forms a curve, it is properly spliced. If it comes apart, you either did not use enough cement or you did not allow it to dry long enough. If it forms a peak, you scraped the film too deeply. On the next splice scrape with fewer strokes or with less pressure.
Tags: base plate, back pilot, base plates, base plates which, emulsion side, film from