Have y'all ever noticed a circle that appears briefly in the upper right of frames in many films? They're white, but kind of shaped like the mark when you've had a wet cup on a table. It's one of those things you see all the time, but are only subconsciously aware of it until you stop to think of it.
It could be some kind of damage or defect that occurs, or an editing mark; but I wonder if it might be a marking for projectionists—maybe an indicator of a reel change or something?
Screenshot I caught from Love Among the Millionaires, the Clara Bow talkie of 1930:
The Mystery of the Circle
The Mystery of the Circle
- Attachments
-
- screen-shot-2020-07-30-at-7_optimized.56.21-pm.png (358.67 KiB) Viewed 2165 times
Re: The Mystery of the Circle
I have never seen this at all. Strange!
You trying to tell me you didn't hear that shriek? That was something trying to get out of its premature grave, and I don't want to be here when it does. - Phantom of the Paradise (1974)
Re: The Mystery of the Circle
Have you not? They do go by really fast, just a split-second flicker.
Edit: It seems I was right about their being projectionist cues: https://stason.org/TULARC/movies/curren ... r-rig.html
Edit: It seems I was right about their being projectionist cues: https://stason.org/TULARC/movies/curren ... r-rig.html
Last edited by donnie on Fri Jul 31, 2020 3:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: The Mystery of the Circle
Interesting! Maybe I have and just passed it off as damage.
You trying to tell me you didn't hear that shriek? That was something trying to get out of its premature grave, and I don't want to be here when it does. - Phantom of the Paradise (1974)
-
BettyLouSpence
- Posts: 2433
- Joined: Mon Feb 27, 2017 11:29 pm
- Location: Gashouse Gables
- Contact:
Re: The Mystery of the Circle
Hey, good eye! I never noticed that before, and I've learned something new. I'm curious how reel changing worked in the theater. I guess the projectionist would preload the next reel?
Oh, and I have to be honest: I thought of a deep-fried donut when I saw that screenshot
Oh, and I have to be honest: I thought of a deep-fried donut when I saw that screenshot
"If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need."
~ Cicero, Letters to Friends, Book IX Letter IV
~ Cicero, Letters to Friends, Book IX Letter IV
Re: The Mystery of the Circle
The link I gave explains the process—which sounds like a very exacting task!BettyLouSpence wrote: ↑Fri Jul 31, 2020 5:08 pmHey, good eye! I never noticed that before, and I've learned something new. I'm curious how reel changing worked in the theater. I guess the projectionist would preload the next reel?
BettyLouSpence wrote: ↑Fri Jul 31, 2020 5:08 pmOh, and I have to be honest: I thought of a deep-fried donut when I saw that screenshot
One coated with powdered sugar, no doubt. The lingo for them was "cigarette burns", apparently. That got me wondering if maybe, originally, they did use a lit cigarette to make the mark. Then I remembered—nitrate film. Nah, don't think so! 
-
BettyLouSpence
- Posts: 2433
- Joined: Mon Feb 27, 2017 11:29 pm
- Location: Gashouse Gables
- Contact:
Re: The Mystery of the Circle
Thanks!
Well, maybe there was one particularly nooby fellow who tried that. Once. But he wasn't allowed near film ever againBettyLouSpence wrote: ↑Fri Jul 31, 2020 5:08 pm...The lingo for them was "cigarette burns", apparently. That got me wondering if maybe, originally, they did use a lit cigarette to make the mark. Then I remembered—nitrate film. Nah, don't think so!
"If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need."
~ Cicero, Letters to Friends, Book IX Letter IV
~ Cicero, Letters to Friends, Book IX Letter IV