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Seeing Spots.
So, yes, I saw Kill Bill on Sunday night. I had gone over to buy a ticket earlier, so when Alias ended, I briskly sauntered over to the movie theatre. I was surprised that there were so many people there. I thought that people had stopped going to 10 p.m. Sunday shows when summer ended. Of course, I'd forgotten that the next day was the it's-kind-of-a-holiday Columbus Day, so I guess that a lot of people were there for that. Also, I'd heard that the movie had been selling out earlier, so maybe there was some spillover. The movie was enjoyable, for the most part, and the part that wasn't enjoyable isn't Mr. Tarantino's fault.
During the second half of the movie (that is, the first half of the first half of the movie; so I suppose the second fourth of the movie). I started seeing brown dots on the screen. The first time I thought it was my imagination. It happened during an unusual transition fade, and I said to myself "What was that?" There'd been plenty of odd, deliberate choices throughout the movie, so I puzzled over it. Later, however, when the screen was mostly bright, they came back. Sick brown dots, arranged like a Braille letter, dead center on the screen for probably less than a second.
I'd heard about these dots, but never expected that I'd see them, certainly not on this film. They are part of what is being referred to as "The Crap Code." In a letter to Roger Ebert, a respected Chicago projectionist tells about this new movie affliction:
I can't find any information on the web that doesn't link back to this original article, but I'd love to know more. It was impossible to concentrate on the frenetic action of some of the fight scenes in this movie while dots where flashing at me. It was like a demented vision/reflex test. If anyone has tips on how to avoid these things, I'd appreciate hearing them.
During the second half of the movie (that is, the first half of the first half of the movie; so I suppose the second fourth of the movie). I started seeing brown dots on the screen. The first time I thought it was my imagination. It happened during an unusual transition fade, and I said to myself "What was that?" There'd been plenty of odd, deliberate choices throughout the movie, so I puzzled over it. Later, however, when the screen was mostly bright, they came back. Sick brown dots, arranged like a Braille letter, dead center on the screen for probably less than a second.
I'd heard about these dots, but never expected that I'd see them, certainly not on this film. They are part of what is being referred to as "The Crap Code." In a letter to Roger Ebert, a respected Chicago projectionist tells about this new movie affliction:
Have you been seeing spots when you go to the movies? It may not be your eyes! More than 20 years ago Kodak devised a system called "Cap Code" designed to uniquely mark film prints so that pirated copies could be traced to the source. Cap Code uses very tiny dots that flash occasionally but are so small that the average viewer almost never notices them.— Movie Answer Man: October 5, 2003.
Well, something new and horrible has been introduced on some studios' prints. Sort of a giant picture-marring version of Cap Code dots: Very large reddish brown spots that flash in the middle of the picture, usually placed in a light area. They flash in various patterns throughout a given reel while other reels of the same film may have none at all.
. . . .
On one movie technical forum they are referring to this new system as "Crap Code" or "Cap Code on Steroids."
I can't find any information on the web that doesn't link back to this original article, but I'd love to know more. It was impossible to concentrate on the frenetic action of some of the fight scenes in this movie while dots where flashing at me. It was like a demented vision/reflex test. If anyone has tips on how to avoid these things, I'd appreciate hearing them.
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Also, how'd you come by this journal?
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