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Author Topic: Worst booth disaster? Carl Martin Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1424 From: Oakland, CA, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 05-01-2004 05:30 AM                        hmm, we almost always move prints alone. i've never dropped one. if it's really big i'll try to get help getting it over our non-removable brains. if it's too big for clamps we'll back off a few reels. brad's spring-replacement tip helped some with our loosest-winding platter, but it's still not great. one of these days we'll have a doughnut to help out. carl  |  IP: Logged Thomas Procyk Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1842 From: Royal Palm Beach, FL, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 05-01-2004 10:51 AM                     quote: Dominique Replogle when it became necessarry to point out that it is not wise to try to run a movie WITHOUT PTR'S. He was then asked to step aside and the PTR's were put on the projector. More problems followed as time went on. Let's just say he does not work here any more. You fired someone for not using PTR's? quote: Chris Medley I had moved prints a hundred times by myself before and one night one of the clamps gave way on Cold Mountian as I was putting it on the platter...After five hours of fixing(with the help of another manager) i swore off solo moving unless there was no other choice.... Do you remember the print number of Cold Mountain? We got one in the other day that was royally 'ed up (but integrity checked!). Splices in all reels. Luckily they dropped one off the previous day in good condition, so we used that one. Just curious. Sounds like print dropping is way too common. I've only witnessed one myself. =TMP=  |  IP: Logged Kyle McEachern Expert Film Handler Posts: 165 From: San Francisco, CA Registered: Feb 2004 posted 05-01-2004 04:28 PM                 quote: Thomas You fired someone for not using PTR's? On an IMAX projector (At least the GT), not using PTRs means that the film will be pulled (With a good amount of tension) over two metal rollers that the PTRs are meant to be placed on. Not the greatest idea in the world.  |  IP: Logged Dominique Replogle Film Handler Posts: 61 From: Highland Utah Registered: Apr 2004 posted 05-01-2004 05:28 PM                        Thomas and Kyle, The PTR problem was as I said one of many. In answer to the question, he was not fired because of forgeting to put them on the projector. This was one of many problems. What ultimately sent him packing was his attitude. Whenever I tried to correct him on something or show him something he would give attitude. His work was sloppy and his attention to detail left something to be desired. In the end there was just too many mistakes and too much damaged film. This along with his attitude and constant badmouthing of anyone who was not in the booth that night became more than anyone can bear. Nobody here was sad to see him go.  |  IP: Logged Thomas Procyk Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1842 From: Royal Palm Beach, FL, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 05-02-2004 12:22 AM                     Oh! I didn't know it was an imax booth. Ghosts of the Abyss played in 35 too. =TMP=  |  IP: Logged Joe Schmidt Expert Film Handler Posts: 172 From: Billings, Montana, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 05-02-2004 03:52 AM                     My favorite booth disaster story, which I didn't make up nor cause myself, was one heard many years ago. It was a booth with a platter system accessible only thru a trapdoor at the top of the ladder. Well, one fateful day the show ran from start to finish with no visible problems at all, and come intermission the guy climbed up the ladder to thread in for the next show. He pushed on the trap door and it didn't seem to want to open. So he pushed harder and as it was forced open a cascade of film came tumbling down on top of him. What had happened was that the film had split in half coming out of the soundhead, one of those freak accidents, and the fail-safe was one of those two-roller types where one side had dropped, but not the other... and so the entire print was split down the middle. Perhaps the event was a harbinger of things to come in multiplexes nationwide, where film would arrive on reels in cans and would be shipped back in plastic bags. We live in interesting times, and FilmTech is sometimes nostalgic and fun to visit occasionally, but I think I'm better off to stay in retirement from this business. Besides, busy with so many other things.  |  IP: Logged Dominic Espinosa Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1172 From: California, U.S.A. Registered: Jan 2004 posted 05-03-2004 03:45 PM                     The funniest one I've ever seen was a rookie projectionist (before I became head projectionst at the 13) was breaking down Signs. I told him "you know, you should have waited until you broke down to take the ring off it.." He insisted it'd be fine...So I said "okay, go for it". He left extremely late that evening since he cranked it at full speed and about halfway through the 5th reel he threw it completely off the platter... The other was when the post on the ring broke on one side and sent the trailers and most of the first reel of Harry Potter 2 sailing into the lamphouse of an adjacent projector. The projectionist that night was afraid to finish breaking it down...  |  IP: Logged Jason Thode Film Handler Posts: 20 From: Frisco, TX, USA Registered: Aug 2003 posted 05-05-2004 12:46 AM                     My worst booth disaster would have to be when I was just promoted to booth supervisor and house #18 had a seal failure in the 4.5k lamp. At this particular time I did not know what a seal failure was. This failure also Arc welded the bulb into the mount. So not knowing what I was doing I had to break the bulb in the house. Then take the house apart and replace the mount. Its out of complete luck i put it back together right and didnt electicute myself from an ungrounded conection when I struck the new bulb.  |  IP: Logged Gary Crawford Expert Film Handler Posts: 200 From: Neptune NJ USA Registered: Nov 2003 posted 05-05-2004 12:07 PM                     Back in the 70s I was running a drive-in booth and "Young Frankenstein" was due in late. VERY late. Right at showtime late! So I "assumed" the last guy put the right bands on the right reels, and of course he didn't, and I x-overed from reel 1 to reel 3. Back then the title wasn't printed on the leaders and tails like they are today so most of the time it was an educated guess anyway. I love the sound of horns blowing in the evening. In another drive-in a few of us showed up there as it was breaking the latest that night. We all "helped" which meant someone threaded up the right reel from the wrong movie. X-over from reel 3 of a western to reel 4 of a surfing movie.  |  IP: Logged Rich Granata Film Handler Posts: 61 From: Bethlehem PA USA Registered: Mar 2004 posted 05-07-2004 09:42 AM                     The first night that I transfered to my current building was the night of LOTR: The Return of the King. I go upstairs to check out the operation and 2 managers were standing around the projector fixing a brain wrap. Edit: The auditorium was sold out, seats about 230. refunds and passes The film was too long and the tail wasn't secured. It fell and caught hold of something and it wrapped. Since then, we clip all the tails to the platter with "clips" made from cut trailer cores. AW3R  |  IP: Logged Richard Greco Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1180 From: Plant City, FL Registered: Nov 2003 posted 05-07-2004 10:33 AM                     I just need to tell my horror story with LoTR on Xmas eve. I started the show at 4pm and everything was normal until after I started a 6:45 show of another film. I went downstairs to check on a few theatres that were letting out soon and I get 3 people come out of LoTR saying that it's burning. I run upstairs and what to my eyes should see. The print (reels 7-10) completely thrown on the floor. No brainwrap or tailwrap. It was wrapped around the motor, and flew under the platter. It was a truly shocking sight. I finally got through the tangled mess, cut the burnt parts out and made only 2 splices to get the rest on the take-up platter. Total time, 1hr 15 mins. My boss walked up and her first words were, "Holy " I just left it on the floor as I wrapped it up on the platter since it threw anyway. I just wanted to share my Christmas Horror Story.  |  IP: Logged Edward Jurich Master Film Handler Posts: 305 From: Las Vegas USA Registered: Jul 2003 posted 05-07-2004 08:30 PM                     5th week of showing Passion, Saturday at noon, Wanted to move print from middle platter to top platter to test replacement motor control board. Put locking bands on print after (brain fart here) removing center ring. Started sliding print off platter, realized error as film started pouring over platter edge but too late to stop. Entire print now a pile of film on floor. Next show at 4PM. Sat and looked things over, noticed that reels 1 and two were still intact and I could see the splice joining 2 to 3. I cut at the splice and put reels 1 and 2 on top platter. With reels 1 and 2 off I was now able to get the rest of the feature flat although a mess. Wrestled the rest of the print onto the bottom platter. Got it flat but even a bigger mess now. I transfered reels 1 and 2 to the center platter for a nice even wind. Then used the make-up table control to slowly control film transfer for the rest of the film from the bottom platter. Didn't loose a frame, no scratches or dirt. Was back together by 3pm. I think what saved this bad moment was after the film piled onto the floor I just looked at it for a minute and told myself "don't panic".  |  IP: Logged Chris Rhode Film Handler Posts: 39 From: Tampa, FL, USA Registered: Apr 2000 posted 05-10-2004 05:41 PM                     One of the classics that I have comes from when I was working at an AMC theater in my area. I had a guy I was working with one day on the opposite side of the theater (our theater was split into 2 sides.) I was walking over to the other side when I saw my manager who was standing by the door run in. I walked over there to find that one of our 5k lamps in our 2nd largest house had blown! I asked him what happened and he told me that he was walking by the projector when he heard this loud bang come from the projector. He actually said "I almost shit my pants." I laughed when he said that but I was amazed when I saw the damage that was done. The reflector was totally gone, quartz everywhere, and the anode and cathode had a greenish haze to it. Needless to say that after that day, I had even more respect for Xenon lamps. On a side note, that was the same theater in which the only saftey equipment we had were just a face shield. When I moved to my current theater that I work at now and saw that we have gloves, mask, and vest I thought to myself... "damn, i'm sure glad one of those didn't bust while I was handling it!!!" That's my story and I'm sticking to it!!  |  IP: Logged Mark J. Marshall Film God Posts: 3188 From: New Castle, DE, USA Registered: Aug 2002 posted 05-10-2004 06:10 PM                    LOTR: ROTK. Opening weekend. One print. Two houses. Managers who don't know how to sync, sent the projectionist (who barely knew how to sync) home after the show started. Three miles of fuji film stock w/no Film Guard in this case = major static problem. Around reel 6, the film jammed into the brain, and that was that. Show stopped... show cancelled. Five hundred and fifty VERY angry customers flocked to the lobby to argue with the one manager and minimal staff that was left at the end of the night. The police were called out to control the angry mob. Well over 650 passes were handed out, and we made the front page of the paper the next day. Top that.  |  IP: Logged Chris Rhode Film Handler Posts: 39 From: Tampa, FL, USA Registered: Apr 2000 posted 05-10-2004 06:25 PM                     Mark: I think that has to be the worst disaster I've heard of!!! Quite funny also (to think that managers are the retarded!!!)  |  IP: Logged

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