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[[File:Simplex Platter.JPG|right|thumb|400px|A Simplex 35 PR-1014 configured for use with a platter system in a multiplex. The reel arms are bypassed by guide rollers. There are two guide rollers on the upper arm, one for directing film to the projector from the Strong platter system pictured behind it, and a second to guide film in from another projector when the two are interlocked. A Kelmar cue detector/failsafe is mounted beneath the soundhead.]] | [[File:Simplex Platter.JPG|right|thumb|400px|A Simplex 35 PR-1014 configured for use with a platter system in a [[multiplex]]. The reel arms are bypassed by guide rollers. There are two guide rollers on the upper arm, one for directing film to the projector from the Strong platter system pictured behind it, and a second to guide film in from another projector when the two are interlocked. A Kelmar cue detector/failsafe is mounted beneath the soundhead.]] | ||
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. | 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. | ||
With the rise of the [[multiplex]] and the movement towards increased [[automation]], 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. | With the rise of the [[multiplex]] and the movement towards increased [[automation]], 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. Some theaters that retained reel-to-reel capabilities frequently employed large-reel [[changeover]] systems, in which a feature was built up onto 6,000’ reels and a cue detection system was used to automate the changeover. Some large-reel changeover systems employed projectors that could rewind the reel through the projector mechanism after playback (so-called “rock-and-roll” projectors), providing a level of [[automation]] on par with a platter system. | ||
==Archival Implications== | ==Archival Implications== | ||
When properly maintained and operated by a | From 2010 onward the standard for exhibition began to move from 35mm prints and film projection to Digital Cinema Packages (DCPs) and digital projection. Although some theaters maintained the ability to screen film or have even added film projectors after digital became the industry standard, (see:[[List of Analog Film Exhibitors]]) the need for platter systems and [[automation]] was greatly decreased because the frequency of screenings on film was greatly decreased. Platter systems were designed to facilitate a theater's ability to screen prints multiple times a day, seven days a week, on muliple screens. When properly maintained and operated by a trained and attentive projectionist, platter systems can be a suitable method of projecting first-run films. | ||
Plattering or otherwise building up prints for large-reel playback is not considered acceptable for archival film prints. Film archives and the repertory divisions of many studios and distributors now strictly forbid plattering or building up 35mm prints onto [[reels]] larger than 2,000 feet. | |||
Plattering introduces certain inherent risks to the condition of a film print, but many of the problems associated with plattering relate to poor practices, negligence, and more broadly the prioritization of business interests over good film handling practices and the deprofessionalization of projection as a trade. | Plattering introduces certain inherent risks to the condition of a film print, but many of the problems associated with plattering relate to poor practices, negligence, and more broadly the prioritization of business interests over good film handling practices and the deprofessionalization of projection as a trade. | ||