Oval mark on cinema films

[AndrewHunt]

What is the oval shaped mark that appears in the top right corner of the screen at the cinema?  it seems to flash up on one frame, periodically during a movie.  I've noticed this since I was a kid and used to figure it was dirt but I see it too frequently for it to be coincidence.

It doesn't appear on Videos or DVD's.  Only at the cinema?

[Aquariel]

I thought it was an indicator that the current "reel" is coming to an end and that the projectionist should get ready to change over to the next one.

[ninja]

I think you're right Aquariel. I'm think this is even commented on in the film Fight Club, although I may be wrong.

[jno]

yes, end of reel near. On TV, ITV also used to include little marks to alert local channels that an ad break was approaching; don't know if they still do.

[AndrewHunt]

Would they use more than one reel for a film?  I watched Star Wars last night and saw the mark several times.  Strange!

[Sammy Snake]

Yes you are right, Brad Pitt's character in Fight Club explains what they are during the film.

[Hippy]

It is called a cue dot. The projectionist laces up the second projector with the film at the corresponding cue position but not running. He (or she) watches for the cue dot and starts the second projector as soon as he sees it. There is gap of six seconds before the old reel finishes. In this time the second projector gets up to speed and at just the right moment the projectionist moves a shuter that blocks the light from the first projector and allows the second projector light to get through.

Some projection copies are made in gigantic cans with several reels spliced together, so you still see the cue dots but there is no actual reel change.

[kaktus]

Andrew did you see Revenge of the Sith? I find it weird they would be on that one, as it is digital. Maybe I haven't got a clue what is going on, but I would think digital didn't involve reels. Can somebody enlighten us, and I'm sorry for highjacking your question.

[tonymclark]

Although many copies of Star Wars are digital, the whole thing does exist as a film print. There is a limit to how much film you can get on a reel without it being to clumbersome and heavy, especially as films are 2 hours+ these days.

I had an old 35mm film print of Beneath the Planet of the Apes, and that was in five cans, each of which would have been at least 18 inches wide.

[dafyd]

Interesting piece of trivia for you: The Incredibles uses the Incredibles logo as its cue dot. It flashes up in the top-right corner every so often...

Thought you might be interested...

[AndrewHunt]

Yes it was Revenge of the Sith.  I think even though it is filmed digitally, it still has to be put onto a film reel to project it in the cinema.  I did notice that the dots were appearing in twos with a few seconds between them.

[kaktus]

Oh aIl right. I thought they just had the film on a hard disk and then projected through that. Again, sorry for the highjacking Andrew. BTW dafyd I think that is brilliant! :0)

[tonymclark]

As another piece of trivia, the white mark is actually circular, it appears oval as we see it projected through an anamophic lens.