Starting tape
The starting tape is a technically precisely defined piece of film that is located at the beginning of each film roll (act). The task is firstly to protect the actual image part of the film, similar to the book cover, secondly to record information about the film and the respective act , i.e. film title, copy number, act number, image format , sound system ( optical sound , magnetic sound ) and language (s) version, thirdly, help with synchronous Performance and technical information on copying .
There are marks on the start tape for correct clamping of the film in the projector and numbers in descending order from 7 to 2 seconds before the first image. Instead of the number 8 there is the start of the picture. The lead of the start tape of several seconds is necessary so that the oscillating weight of the sound device can be accelerated without cracking the film and no distortion can be heard when the sound starts playing. The idea behind this can also be found in the placement of the so-called cross - fading signs at the end of each film act: eight seconds before the last image, an "attention sign" appears in the upper right corner of the image, which prompts the projectionist to start the second projector, and one second before The “dissolve” symbol appears on the last image, whereupon the projectionist, while switching the sound, also opens the slide of the second projector while closing that of the first. This process can only go unnoticed by the cinema-goer if the starting tape has been inserted correctly.
The details of the start and end tape for cinema copies in the 35 mm and 16 mm format are, in addition to national recommendations and regulations, with the ISO 4241 and similar standards. a. set.