Platter Systems: Difference between revisions

A platter system is a non-rewind film transport system in which multiple reels are [[splicing|spliced]] together on a horizontal deck. Each platter deck can hold enough film to allow all but the longest features to play without a changeover or intermission. The film is fed through a centerfeed, run through the projector, and wound onto a center ring on the takeup platter. To play the film again, the ring is removed and the film is rethreaded through the centerfeed, allowing it to be run repeatedly without being rewound.

==History and Use==

Platter systems rose to popularity in the late 1970s as part of the movement towards increased [[automation]]. Along with the transition from [[carbon arc]] to [[xenon short-arc lamp|xenon lamps]] and the development of [[automation system|automation control systems]], platter systems facilitated the rise of the [[multiplex]] (a movie theater with several screens). Platter systems and other single-reel film transport systems such as towers and double make-up tables (MUTs) largely replaced reel-to-reel projection as the most common means of [[35mm]] projection because it enabled the simultaneous screening of multiple films on multiple screens with fewer operators. Benefits of the platter system included reduced labor costs—multiple films could be run simultaneously by a single projectionist or theater manager—and reduced print wear over the course of a long run. After the reels have been plattered the projectionist only handles the clear leader spliced to the head and the tail of the last reel, and the print does not have to be rewound between each screening.

These methods of marking reel changes are completely unnecessary for two reasons. First, platter houses used colorful [[splicing tape|zebra tape]] to delineate reel changes, so a projectionist rewinding at a responsible speed would be able to find the splice without an issue. Second, reel changes are visible on the platter. The splices themselves can usually be found (they are thicker than the surrounding film), and it is possible to differentiate between reels because the surface of each reel has a slightly different gloss (just as trailers joined on a reel can be distinguished by viewing the side of the reel). Although film that was printed separately and joined with an ultrasonic splice may also exhibit a different gloss, an experienced projectionist should be able to easily find the reel changes on a platter just by looking at it.

Despite these systems for marking reel changes, some projectionists working with platters or other large-reel transport systems were careless or intentionally negligent when breaking down prints. In the worst cases, the projectionist would ignore the original reel breaks and simply wind the film onto each reel until it was full and then make a new cut in the middle of the reel. This often went uncorrected at future venues. Even reel-to-reel theaters would often recue the poorly cut reels instead of restoring the original reel breaks.