Aaton XTR Prod mag problem

[Martin Escalante]

Hi, Were almost 3 weeks into shooting a feature in Mexico, were shooting with an XTR prod and 2 magazines which were all checked at Abel Cinetech just days before shooting began. We have had a few problems involving the take up side of the mag. what happens is that the film becomes stuck and the camera begins to make a very loud bad noise like "tac-tac-tac-tac-tac...." but really fast. Then when I open it up in the changing bag to feel what's going on I find that the film that should have gone to the take up spool after being exposed and passing the second wheel gets eaten by the bottom side of the first wheel and becomes stuck between the first wheel and the latch that secures the film in the first wheel.

 

It happened twice both with 400 foot loads always towards the end of the roll (once at 20 and once at 50 feet before the end.) on both my A mag and my B mag. another effect of this is that the film becomes spagetti in the take up side. only aout 2 or 3 feet become spagetti before the film stops completely.

 

could the have something to do with the magazine moving around alot with film it it before using it?

 

thanks for any help.... -martin