Although ink is normally used to label the leaders on a work print, yellow grease crayon should always be used to mark fades, dissolves, supers, extended scenes and unintentional splices. Crayon is easy to remove if the editor changes his mind and needs to erase his markings. Yellow has been accepted as the ACL standard for effects markings because it is easy to read on both color and black and white work print. Red grease crayon is suggested for marking the work print for sound cues since using a different color for picture and sound cues minimizes confusion.
IMPORTANT: Never use grease crayon to label or mark original film or magnetic sound tracks. Although most grease crayon marks will normally be cleaned off the original inthe laboratory cleaning machines, crayon can leave a residue and will print through disasterously if, for any reason, it is not removed by the cleaning machines. Any markings, sync cues or frame indications on originals should be made by scribing the film on the emulsion side outside the picture area between the sprocket holes. (See Fig #3 for an example.) Never use grease crayon to mark a magnetic sound track. Some people erroneously believe that it is all right to use crayon on the base side of a magnetic track but this is not true. The crayon will rub off onto the oxide when the film is rolled up and, from the oxide side, will rub off onto the sound heads, clog them up and cause drop outs during playback. All markings on magnetic tracks should be as small as possible and should be made as near the perforated area as possible, using ink or felt pen only.
FADE-IN. (See Fig #4). A fade-in should be indicated on the work print in yellow grease crayon by two lines which form a long "V". The marking should be extended for the exact number of frames desired in the effect and this length should be marked on the work print inside the "V". For example, if you want a 48 frame fade-in, the apex of the "V" should begin on the splice with the end points of the "V" extended to the 48th frame. The length should be indicated by writing "48 Fr. FI" on the scene and inside the "V". Sice the timer will be using the work print as his guide for setting up fades and dissolves, all markings and instructions must be specific.
FADE-OUT. (See Fig #5). A fade-out should be the reverse of the fade-in. The apex of the "V" should end at the splice line and the points of the "V" should extend to the exact length desired. Once again, the length of the effect should be marked on the work print inside the "V". Example: "48 Fr. FO".
DISSOLVES. (See Fig #6 & #7). Dissolves, like fades, should be clearly marked to indicate the exact length. Since the splice represents the center of a dissolve between two scenes, an equal number of frames should be marked off on either side of the splice. For example, if your plans call for 48 frame dissolves, the dissolve mark on either side of the splice should be 24 frames long. If the marking in Figure #7 is used for a dissolve, be sure and write the length of the effect on the work print near the splice. For example, a 48 frmae dissolve would be marked by the standard and then identified as "48 Fr. DIS.".

Remember that the marking on either side of the dissolve stands for the lap footage needed in the original for the dissolve. If you have not allowed for the extra footage during editing, marking the splice for a dissolve will be useless because a "lap dissolve" cannot be made by the lab unless there is extra lap footage in the original. If you have any questions about how to cut the work print for dissolves, ask your laboratory representative before you cut.
If your work print is to be matched by the laboratory, remember that the matching job will only be as correct as your instructions. Once your original is cut, it cannot be magically put back together, so make sure that your work print is properly marked, according to the exact length of effects.
SUPERIMPOSITIONS, also called DOUBLE EXPOSURES. (See Fig #8). Superimposed titles or double exposures of any kind should be indicated by cutting into the background scene of the work print a few inches of the work print of the superimposed scene. This method not only shows the exact frame on which the super begins but also shows exactly what shot is to be supered. At the end of the super, cut in several more inches of the superimposed shot to show the exact last frame of the super. Then, draw a yellow line through the work print, beginning with the first frame of the super shot and ending with the last frame.

If at all possible, the cut-in frames should carry an edge number to facilitate matching. If this is not possible, be sure that you supply the matcher with the edge numbers of the scene to be supered and indicate what part of the shot is to be used.
Although the superimposure method outlined above is preferred, it is also accepted practice to indicate super titles by marking the work print with a grease crayon. (Do not use the crayon marking for live action, animation supers or any complicated action.) To indicate a super title using grease crayon, draw a yellow line pointing to the exact beginning and ending frame for each super. (See Fig #9.) If the supers are to fade in and fade out, the work print should be clearly labeled in yellow crayon: For example, "Title #1--FI 24 Fr." It is usually not a good idea to write in the name of the title on the work print since the area is too small to write all the information legibly. It is better to assign a number to each title and send along a cue sheet. For example:

EXTENDED SCENES. Sometimes, during editing, you may have to cut out damaged work print footage and replace it with a slug--also called plug--of white leader. At other times, you may decide to extend a scene in the work print but cannot find the trim so you use white leader to represent the missing work print. Extended scenes like these must be clearly marked so that the matcher will know which scene the slug goes with. (See Fig #10.) The arrow in the picture shows plainly that the scene preceeding the slug is to be extended down to the splice following the arrow.

CAUTION: Never slug a film with old scraps of picture since such slugs will confuse the matcher who may mistake the slug for a scene. White leader is best for slugs since it is easy to spot and the markings on it are clearly visible.
UNINTENTIONAL SPLICES Any unintentional splices in the work print to be ignored by the matcher should be clearly marked with two horizontal lines as indicated in Figure #11. A splice so marked tells the matcher to ignore the splice and continue the scene to the next marked splice.

It is a good idea to remember that the matching rule says: in cases of unintentional splices, the original will be cut to match the longest piece of film. If for any reason, you prefer to have the original matched to piece other than the longest piece of a spliced scene, then you must make sure that the matcher knows what you want. Some editors handle this problem by removing the edge numbers on the piece of lesser importance. This problem can be avoided by slugging the scene for the missing frame(s) rather than resplicing and losing a frame(s).