Yale Lab Processing Woes!

[lostinspace]

Well, Yale's done it again. I've just got back my lastest batch of super 8 color neg from Yale Film & Video (North Hollywood, CA) and they've got those familiar blue scratches/streaks again. This is the 3rd time it's happened to my film after getting it processed from them in the last couple of months. Has anybody Else out there had this problem from Yale's processing? I've been told that they're a result of pressure marks from the machine they're using. Yeah, I know, why do I keep going back then? Glutton for punishment I guess!

Lostinspace

[sooper8fan]

Thanks for posting. I have some color negative to shoot/process/transfer, but now that I hear this, it's making me think twice about sending it to Yale.....thanks for the heads up.

** and you're sure it's not a problem with the camera, correct?

[mattias]

maybe you keep coming back because you're a religious fanatic who boycotts any lab that allows pictures of people working on sundays? :-)

/matt

[lostinspace]

** and you're sure it's not a problem with the camera, correct?

Definitely not the camera. No way. A camera scratch stays steady on the frame and does not weave or waver. These blue scratches dance around on the frame a little. I.E., a sure sign that it is not a camera scratch and instead comes from the processing.

Lostinspace

[Evan Kubota]

When you say 'scratch,' how defined is it? The blue flashes are apparently caused by static, and do jump around. Not sure how they can be prevented.

[Arislan]

When you say 'scratch,' how defined is it? The blue flashes are apparently caused by static, and do jump around. Not sure how they can be prevented.

Also the lab guy had a monkey on his should throwing crap on his face....wait, no, he said colour neg...no E64T monkey crap effect.

[lostinspace]

When you say 'scratch,' how defined is it? The blue flashes are apparently caused by static, and do jump around. Not sure how they can be prevented.

It's more of a streak that runs the entire course of the frame from top to bottom. It's very pronounced so they're definitely not "static flashes".

Yale has admitted and owned up to the problem, but they're obviously not doing enuff qc runs to prevent this from happening.

lostinspace

[Scotness]

Didn't someone here right a FCP plug in to try and get rid of those blue scratches?

- try thge search function

Scot

[DrkAngl]

Sounds like a squeegee scratch. But, I have heard others complain of a scratch (or series of scratches that dance together) on Yales processed neg film that sounds similar to what you describe.

[Mitch Perkins]

Sounds like a squeegee scratch.

I had thought of this too, a bit of crusty chem finds a destructive home, but these would usually be straight too, do you think?

But, I have heard others complain of a scratch (or series of scratches that dance together) on Yales processed neg film that sounds similar to what you describe.

The dancing scratch originates close to a/the loop? This puts the suspicion on the projector used to xfer the processed neg. Or maybe the clutch on the feed mag isn't adjusted, resulting in too much slack/inconsistent feed.

Might the answer be to have Yale process, but not xfer the film? Xfer houses are easier to find than processing, I think...

Static results from the lab technician not cracking open the cart, but simply attaching the free end of film to mag reel, breaking the cart backwind lock, and whirring the film out of the cart. That's one way to get static on the film, anyway...

Mitch

[lostinspace]

The dancing scratch originates close to a/the loop? This puts the suspicion on the projector used to xfer the processed neg.
Mitch

The footage was not transferred at Yale. I took it to Spectra instead(better rates) to have them transfer it and they told me that something definitely happened in the processing.

A friend of mine who shoots weddings told me that he had the samething happen to him with some 16mm color neg that he shot for Christina Aguilera's wedding after taking it to Yale.

lostinspace