# Red Dots ON Motion Films

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-dots-on-motion-films/236877>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 28, 2004, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-dots-on-motion-films/236877 "2004-03-28T05:47:11Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\
**Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-dots-on-motion-films/236877/1 "2004-03-28T05:47:11Z")

</div>

I tried explaining this once, but got weird stares back.

I have seen in numerous movies (LOTR:ROTK, Passion of The Christ to name two) a set of red dots in the center of the screen appear for a fraction of a second, then dissapear. What do theese dots mean?

Note: I am fully aware of, and do not mean to indicate the “Loops” of black in the upper right corner to indicate to the Projector to switch reels.

Theese Dot sets are alwats red, in an array of 3x3 or 4x4 and I think some of them may have been Letters (One letter at a time, and only one letter per Dot event)

Can some one give me the SD here, and Save my Sanity? Or whats left of it?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\
**Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-dots-on-motion-films/236877/2 "2004-03-28T05:52:22Z")

</div>

We’ve done this a few times. They’re called CAP codes, and they’re supposed to help prevent piracy by identifying each each film uniquely.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Saranga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Saranga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saranga)\
**Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-dots-on-motion-films/236877/3 "2004-03-28T08:39:12Z")

</div>

[A somewhat angry but still informative previous thread here.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=241832)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Ludicrous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/82dd89/32.png) [@Ludicrous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludicrous)\
**Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-dots-on-motion-films/236877/4 "2004-03-28T08:49:56Z")

</div>

Finally, I get an answer!! I’ve seen it since Blade II, and been wondering evert since. Like you Meeko, people would always give me strange looks when I ask and i never got around to asking it on the SD.

I though they went a little overboard with the CAP dots in Passion. In several scenes they would appear every 5 seconds in different places. It was quite obtrusive in my opinion.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Eutychus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Eutychus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eutychus)\
**Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-dots-on-motion-films/236877/5 "2004-03-28T14:56:30Z")

</div>

> [@Ludicrous](#):
>
> I though they went a little overboard with the CAP dots in Passion. In several scenes they would appear every 5 seconds in different places. It was quite obtrusive in my opinion.

Those weren’t CAP dots. They were blood splatters.