Airport Security Paranoia and Film Cement???!!!

[Blue Audio Visual]

Weird little story this, but I thought I'd share it with you.

We sold a regular customer of ours some film related bits and pieces a few weeks ago, including a tiny bottle of film cement. She came back in a couple of days ago, and told us that when the security at the airport searched her hand luggage and found the film cement, they confiscated it because they said it constituted a security risk to the flight and the other passengers.

My question is this: how could you set about downing a plane with a bottle of cement? It is, after all, scarcely big enough to club a mouse to death with. If you really wanted to set fire to the plane, I'm sure that there are easier ways to do it than with 5ml of flammable liquid. What next, I wonder? Could they confiscate a cart of Super 8, just in case you try to garrott one of the flight attendants with a loop of the film?

It reminds me of another story that we heard from another customer of ours years ago. We had sold her a very nice Leicina Special kit, and she flew off to Israel to do some filming. Now I know that the Israeli airport staff are (justifiably) security conscious, but they took this to extremes. They came across the Leicina in our customer's luggage, and decided that it seemed to be too sturdily engineered to be a 'home movie camera'. In front of her eyes, they literally took a hammer and screwdriver to it to prise/bash it open for an 'internal examination'. The camera was, needless to say, a total and utter write-off.

When our customer tried to get them to pay for the damage they were of the opinion that no Super 8 camera could ever be worth any significant money as it was completely defunct technology (this was maybe 10 years ago), and offered her some £20 or so. She had our receipt for the kit (in the region of £700), but they flatly refused to believe that the document was genuine, and she ended up out of pocket, without a camera, and with a bundle of unexposed film that she couldn't use. Can't remember what the rest of the trip was like, but it could hardly have been the best of starts to a journey.

Anyone else got any similar stories to share?

[Scotness]

No stories but I kind of understand the first example - it would have smelt weird and they were now doubt erring on the side of caution - the second case makes me sick!

Scot

[Patrick]

She paid 700 Pounds for a camera, and Israeli airport security decides to bash it with a hammer and refund her 20 Pounds for it?

Totally unacceptable. I realise that this country's main airport is constantly on a high security alert because of past terrorist attacks but this is ridiculous.

By the way, when I took my 50foot reel of super 8 film to the local post office to send it off to Andreas for the 'Pulse of Life' project, the guy at the counter said that he had to check if movie film was allowed to be sent overseas.......!?!

[Blue Audio Visual]

By the way, when I took my 50foot reel of super 8 film to the local post office to send it off to Andreas for the 'Pulse of Life' project, the guy at the counter said that he had to check if movie film was allowed to be sent overseas.......!?!

I guess he might have been afraid that the Norwegian customs might have been outraged by the lax morals and pie-eating attitude of our Australian cousins. 'Pulse of Life' could be construed as a snuff movie project if you were to let your imagination run really wild. Or maybe he was worried that some tiny antipodean beastie could stow away in the cart, thus potentially decimating Scandinavia's forests?

Tangentially this reminds me of another story: my colleague Alex told me about the time he bought a splicer off someone when he was working at Lee's Cameras. Once the cutomer had gone, Alex started to clean it. Inside was a single frame which, on examination, proved to be of the man who sold it in flagrante delicto with what appeared to be his 20+ stone girlfriend. There can be such a thing as too much information.

Which reminds me of yet another story: a colleague of mine here at Blue took home some Super 8 cartoons to show his two sons, aged about 6 & 10 at the time. We had bought the reel off a regular customer of ours earlier that day - it was a load of stuff spiced together onto a 600" reel. He set the projector up, and left them in the front room watching Bugs Bunny or whatever. About 10 minutes the 6 year old boy came in to see him, saying that 'the man is eating the lady's bottom'. The 10 year old had got what it was and was watching some hardcore porn quite contentedly. And he, at least, was well aware that it wasn't her bottom that the man was eating! The screening came to an abrupt end at that point, needless to say. We confronted the guy who sold it to us a few days later, but all he did was shrug his shoulders saying that he wasn't sure how it got in there, but that as he liked porn and cartoons it must have been him who spliced it together...

[aj]

I am under the impression these leicina and porn stories are urban legend (i.e. made up nonsense for entertainment). Much as this thread seems more like an attempt to get some attention (to what?)

Nobody in security checks will wreck customers goods. At worst one might be forced to have it stored for the journey if they really cannot determine what it is.

BTW what makes you think you are entitled to confront people with having owned porn. Do you confront them about other topics too?

The postoffice guy is , I suppose, concerned if movies are chemical substance (not strange) and if these are banned of transport through the standard mail.

[Blue Audio Visual]

I am under the impression these leicina and porn stories are urban legend (i.e. made up nonsense for entertainment). Much as this thread seems more like an attempt to get some attention (to what?)

You may choose to think so, but none of these stories are 'made up'. I started the thread with a perfectly serious intention, to point out to other users that they could not carry cement on an airplane without potentially having it consfiscated.

The other stories are true: - I saw the Leicina in London after it had been destroyed.

As for confronting the guy about the porn - he sold it to us as some cartoons, and the story about my colleague showing it to his kids is true. What would you do in a similar situation? Do you have any children?

I can't see anything wrong with interspersing some more serious discussion with a bit of light-hearted (but film related, and TRUE) retelling of some of the weirder incidents in life.

[supa8]

The cartoon story reminds me of a similar one. My little Porny. Hilarious


http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/displayN ... erPk=83726

[flatwood]

.....eating the lady's bottom'.......

Come on. Do we have to read about this crap on filmshooting.com. Who's the pornographer??? Maybe you??

[audadvnc]

All your examples seem excessive and paranoid at first glance. But consider; at least one form of film cement is largely acetone, which in addition to being a toxic, flammable substance is also used in the manufacture of explosives and crank methamphetamine. I've learned that I once lived next door to a meth lab, and I've seen the remains of another building that had formerly housed a meth lab; about all that was left was the foundation.

Security is in the business of protecting people like you and me from being hurt by ignorant or careless passengers who thoughtlessly bring dangerous substances on board aircraft.

[Taelon]

I hope the lady with the Leicina sued them, and I hope she won.

Few stories have upset me as much as this one.

[Blin]

When I was living in Toronto and working as a camera assistant, one of my colleagues did a shoot down in Florida. He had to bring the exposed film back through security as carry-on and didn't want it X-rayed. He brought a change bag so that the security people could see what was inside the film cans without flashing the film.

The security officer asked him what kind of film was in the cans. He replied "35 millimeter movie film". The security officer barked "Don't give me that METRIC CRAP. What's that in inches??!!"

True story.

[aj]

Securitypeople are supposed to have used a change bag to inspect a can of film. How could they tell if it is OK using just feeling and comparing to what? NOt to mention the risc of sharp objects.

Check my earlier comment-> Urban legend

[gianni1]

I believe blue's smashing camera story. When I visited the Holy Land, the airport security held me up for half an hour investigating my bank debit and credit cards, called up my office for reference checks, etc.... Had no movie camera, they let me go...

Also an ol friend I was chatting with left her luggage three yards away behind her. I noticed the staff upset and freaking out. Three uniformed giants in flak jackets, helmets, and uzi's suddenly appeared, but calmed down and disappered just as fast when she id'd her bags.

Gianni 8)

[aj]

Why would they 'smash' the/a camera because of distrust after getting there. I.e. the flight is done?

Deciding on people getting in is another matter. It happens everywhere... Canada, USA Coming into EU with an outside EU passport etc.

And leaving your luggage unattended is not done on an airport. Based on experience from earlier terrorist attack on airports and subsway stations.

[Evan Kubota]

"Nobody in security checks will wreck customers goods. At worst one might be forced to have it stored for the journey if they really cannot determine what it is."

Go to Israel and report back to us ;) It also happens in the US with cameras and computers all the time.

audadvnc: ooh, acetone. Too bad you can buy the stuff pretty much anywhere.

Security is in the business of enforcing what certain people think are reasonable methods of protecting some people. Whether or not those methods are reasonable or effective is another matter entirely.