Why do commercial films have holes punched in them?

[Daniel D. Teoli Jr.]

I know they punched holes for ID at the lab. But I've come across some finished films that have holes in the beginning. I wonder if they were reject copies? You would think by the time they got distribution copies they would have everything ship shape.

[Charles MacDonald]

sometimes their is a hole that corresponds to a sync point to allow the picture and sound negatives to both be printed in  -well - sync.

Number punches sometimes used to identify individuals rolls.  Also sometimes archives will punch a hole in the leader to do chemical tests on an old print.

[Daniel D. Teoli Jr.]

On 7/17/2021 at 8:52 PM, Charles MacDonald said:

sometimes their is a hole that corresponds to a sync point to allow the picture and sound negatives to both be printed in  -well - sync.

Number punches sometimes used to identify individuals rolls.  Also sometimes archives will punch a hole in the leader to do chemical tests on an old print.

Film collectors said they are cue or sync marks, but for the projectionist. 

Here are their replies.

Cue Marks In Technicolor Film D.D.Teoli Jr. A.C. : D.D.Teoli Jr. A.C. : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

 

[Kyryll Sobolev]

 

[Tyler Purcell]

On 7/23/2021 at 12:32 PM, Daniel D. Teoli Jr. said:

Film collectors said they are cue or sync marks, but for the projectionist. 

Here are their replies.

Holes in the upper right at the end of the reel are cue marks. Holes in the center are sync marks. You should never see sync marks on workable picture.