A film splicer (also called a film joiner, usually in Europe) is a device which can be used to physically join lengths of

photographic film Photographic film is a strip or sheet of transparent film base coated on one side with a gelatin photographic emulsion, emulsion containing microscopically small light-sensitive silver halide crystals. The sizes and other characteristics of th ...

. It is mostly used in

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

motion pictures. The units are made in various types depending on the usage:

Single-8 Single-8 is a motion picture film format introduced by Fujifilm of Japan in 1965 as an alternative to the Kodak Super 8 format. The company Konan (that developed the Konan-16 subminiature camera) claims in its history page to have developed the ...

Super 8 film Super 8 mm film is a motion-picture film format released in 1965 by Eastman Kodak as an improvement over the older "Double" or "Regular" 8 mm home movie format. The film is nominally 8 mm wide, the same as older formatted 8& ...

, 16mm, 9,5 mm,

35mm 35 mm may refer to: * 135 film, a type of still photography format commonly referred to as 35 mm film * 35 mm movie film, a type of motion picture film stock * 35MM 35 mm may refer to: * 135 film, a type of still photography format ...

and

70mm 70 mm film (or 65 mm film) is a wide high-resolution film gauge for motion picture photography, with a negative area nearly 3.5 times as large as the standard 35 mm motion picture film format. As used in cameras, the film is wid ...

. Used in

film editing Film editing is both a creative and a technical part of the post-production process of filmmaking. The term is derived from the traditional process of working with film stock, film which increasingly involves the use Digital cinema, of digital ...

to make a

cut (transition) In the post-production process of film editing and video editing, a cut is an abrupt, but usually trivial film transition from one sequence to another. It is synonymous with the term ''edit'', though "edit" can imply any number of transitions o ...

Cement splicers

Cement splicers join films together by using a chemical called

film cement Film cement is a special glue designed to join motion picture film. It is made of film base dissolved in a solvent. Two cut sections of film are spliced together in a film splicer using film cement. Splices can be made either with a "hot" splicer, ...

which is made of film base dissolved in a solvent. The

photographic emulsion Photographic emulsion is a light-sensitive colloid used in film-based photography. Most commonly, in silver-gelatin photography, it consists of silver halide crystals dispersed in gelatin. The emulsion is usually coated onto a substrate of g ...

is removed from the area to be joined and the base of the other end is brought into contact with it. Film editors use a version with a very small overlaps at the top and bottom of the picture frame to edit film negatives, although units with a longer overlap are preferred for projection

release print A release print is a copy of a film that is provided to a movie theater for exhibition. Definitions Release prints are not to be confused with other types of prints used in the photochemical post-production process: * Rush prints, or dailies, ...

s. These can only be used with

acetate An acetate is a salt (chemistry), salt formed by the combination of acetic acid with a base (e.g. Alkali metal, alkaline, Alkaline earth metal, earthy, Transition metal, metallic, nonmetallic or radical Radical (chemistry), base). "Acetate" als ...

triacetate Cellulose triacetate, (triacetate, CTA or TAC) is a chemical compound produced from cellulose and a source of acetate esters, typically acetic anhydride. Triacetate is commonly used for the creation of fibres and film base. It is chemically simi ...

and

nitrate Nitrate is a polyatomic ion A polyatomic ion, also known as a molecular ion, is a covalent bonded set of two or more atoms, or of a metal complex, that can be considered to behave as a single unit and that has a net charge that is not zer ...

films. Polyester film, such as that used for currently produced prints, will not bond with standard film cement.

Tape splicers

Here a piece of thin transparent adhesive tape is used to join the two ends. The tape may be pre-perforated for the

film perforations Film perforations, also known as perfs and sprocket holes, are the holes placed in the film stock during manufacturing and used for transporting (by sprockets and claws) and steadying (by pin registration) the film. Films may have different types ...

, or the splicer may make perforations as the splice is made (this type of splicer is sometimes referred to as guillotine splicer).The Roxy Theater, Film Splicer
/ref> Tape splicers can be used on most types of film. This is the most popular way to join polyester prints in theaters.

Ultrasonic splicers

These splicers use an ultrasonic signal to melt the film together. They are generally used with polyester film, and are used in splicing

microfilm Microforms are scaled-down reproductions of documents, typically either photographic film, films or paper, made for the purposes of transmission, storage, reading, and printing. Microform images are commonly reduced to about 4% or of the origin ...

as the splice will not break down over time as a tape splice might.

Thermal paper splicers

Used in film processing labs to join film into large rolls before processing. These use a plastic coated tab to make the splice. The tab is heated and the plastic melts slightly, bonding to the film. The tabs are often printed with a number or bar code to identify the film after processing.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Film Splicer Splicer Film and video technology Film production

Cement splicers

Tape splicers

Ultrasonic splicers

Thermal paper splicers

See also

References