A delicate moment of Quality checking is when a defect is found, or better to say, when we think to have detected a defect or an error.
Obviously this must be communicated, so that the defect can be corrected, avoiding that a restoration project is harmed by a defects that might be easily corrected.
To whom and how this must be communicated, and who is in charge of taking the final decision on whether what you saw is to be considered a defect (or if it comes from limitations of the process or from characteristics of the original materials), this depends on the organization of your Archive/laboratory. It might be the Grader, or the Technical Manager… it does not matter really, it is important that all defects are communicated in a formalized and standardized way. Some laboratories have standard report forms, other rely on verbal communications. Also this depends on the organization, the structure and the dimension of your working place. You must never underestimate your role and your responsibility.
The information that we report must be accurate and complete. Our report should include the following:
We should then report on the quality of the print viewed. The terms used should be the standard laboratory terms avoiding the use of jargon or slang.
The following list indicates the main defects we will report upon:
When we report a defect that does not affect the whole reel then we should try to give an approximate footage for the defect. All details must be clear, as we have to remember that the grading or technical departments have not seen the defect.
The main decision that we have to make is whether we will accept the print we have just viewed and if we do accept it, will it be acceptable to our customer?
We have to first assure ourselves that there are no faults of our making. Supposing we have a print with a white scratch running through several scenes: we must report the defect to the appropriate authority, perhaps the grader if it is a print for them or to the negative examination department if it is a routine release print.
We know that a white scratch must have come from a negative. We can look at the print over a bench to be sure that it is not a white scratch because of removal of the emulsion. If the negative preparation department reports the scratch as a duplicated in scratch, then we know we cannot improve on the result. We can now make the decision to refer the problem to our customer contact department so they can advise the customer about the problem or contact the customer ourselves if that is our normal procedure.
It must be our decision to accept or reject a print but this decision we must report to the appropriate people who might have more information than us regarding the difficulties of the particular job, particularly if we have a query regarding grading where there might be special instructions from the customer or special problems with the film.
We must consult with technical management if we are not sure about whether to take a decision to reject or not.
Before we start to view a print we will have to contact the customer contact department and planning department to familiarise ourselves with the customer's requirements. It is no use reporting the print as having no sound track when the customer has specifically requested a mute print, or reporting a print as being low contrast when the customer orders a low contrast print for video mastering. We will also need to consult the paperwork accompanying the work, perhaps the negative preparation department will have made a note that reel four is missing for example.
Communication is a very important skill for Quality Checkers. We have to pass our reports and information on to several departments. The information we pass on has to be accurate, helpful and tactful. It is very easy to view a reel and decide that it is incorrectly graded and tell the grader just that. It could well be a printing machine fault; perhaps the printing machine has missed a cue and all the lights are out of step. So think before you speak!
Naturally if we have to talk to customers we have to exercise tact and restraint; there is always more than one-way to phrase our remarks. The old axiom that the customer is always right still applies.
One of the problems we have in communicating, particularly with customers from outside the laboratory, is the use of jargon. All laboratories have their own language for describing films and processes and this can lead to mistakes and confusion. For example we can call a fine grain duplicating positive a fine grain, a dupe pos., a soft print, a lavender and so on. If there is the slightest possibility that misunderstanding might occur then it is worth asking questions to ensure you are both talking about the same thing.