That White Dot That Appears in Old Movies (cue marks)*

Thankfully, I believe it's usually only done on one reel of film. So they pop up a couple of times, and then they go away.

And thankfully I've never seen them (yet) on a software release of a film on DVD, BD, etc.

btw, here is a thread about the CAP code that has a little bit of firsthand info that's interesting: http://www.film-tech.com/cgi-bin/ubb/f1/t000878/p2.html

 

No, I'm positive I've seen CAP code bursts two or three times during a long film. Maybe they do it every 3rd reel or something. That's a good question as to what's done with D-Cinema screenings. (They keep us in the dark on a lot of this stuff.)

There's stuff in there, but the manufacturers are very quiet about it. Realistically, they can't do anything except stop the big plants that are cranking out thousands of these things. The real danger nowadays are the offshore websites that allow people to download copies of movies -- especially those not yet on home video.

John Pytlak at Kodak was a terrific guy -- I met him several times and always enjoyed our conversations. He died in 2007 after a long bout with cancer. He was one of the top, top guys at Kodak, too; one of his innovations was these little rubber wheels that removed (or reduced) dirt from film on film transports, which go back to the late 1980s.

 

Hmm, that's possible. I remember reading way back when that they only did it on certain reels (though of course I assume most of that info is probably 90% know-it-all speculation...), and I usually see them a couple times during one reel and then I never see them again. Of course, I could just be not seeing them in other places!

 

They hide the CAP marks pretty carefully. They're blatantly obvious when they put them in bright scenes, especially with a sky. To me, they're even uglier and stupider than changeover marks.

 

It cracks me up that they put this much (clumsy) effort into combating piracy when a 92-year old can do it en-masse:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/27/nyregion/at-92-movie-bootlegger-is-soldiers-hero.html

 

If the movie studios are smart, they'll jump in and send copies of the movies to the soldiers themselves so this guy doesn't have to break the law to help out the troops.

 

Man, what a story! Thanks for that, Chris. I can't believe the networks haven't picked up on this -- it'd be a perfect "feel-good, end of the show" piece for all the 6:30 newscasts.

"And in the lighter side of the news, here's the story of a man who might just be the oldest living movie pirate in the world! In Massapequa, New York, 92-year-old Hyman Strachman is a man on a mission..."