Prints Out of Sync
When you check the answer print make sure that you are checking it under the best possible conditions. Remember that you are checking sound as well as picture. When you run the film, look and listen for possible faults.
Sound out of sync
The sound may be out of sync with the picture. If it is, right from the start of the roll, the fault may be yours or that of the processing laboratories. Perhaps you made a mistake when you put the sound negative in printing synchronism with the camera original. Did you clearly mark the start of the film as being “in 16mm printing sync”. If you did not, the laboratory may have assumed that sound and picture were in level synchronism and they may have advanced the sound a further 26 frames. If you did synchronise sound and picture in the correct manner the laboratory may have laced their printing machine incorrectly. If they have made a mistake they should reprint at their cost. If the mistake is yours you will have to make adjustments and pay for the reprint.
Tracing the source of faults
If the sound is only out of sync in a few places and not out throughout the entire roll, the error may be due to faulty negative cutting. Check ihe edited camera original against your cutting copy to ensure that they match exactly cut-for-cut and frame-for-frame. If you can not find a mistake in the neg cutting run your cutting copy with the final mix master magnetic soundtrack and then check the sound negative against the magnetic track. You may find that the soundtrack is in synchronism but is not of very good quality. Perhaps the sound is not loud enough. There may be an excessive background hiss. If this is the case, ask the laboratory to check the density of the optical track on the print. You should also check the optical sound negative. If the negative is faulty you will have to make a new sound negative by re-recording the master magnetic final mix. If the print is faulty a new one must be made.
Out-of-sync comopt copies
The sync bleep, originally on three of the magnetic leaders, is advanced by 26 frames on comopt print (B) showing that in this instance sound and picture negatives have been correctly synchronised for printing. Comopt print (C) is out of sync. The sound has only been advanced 22 frames. Sync bleeps provide an instant sync check on comopt copies.