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I would have, depending on how far the splice got onto the platter, either fixed it right then(only if the projector had to be stopped to get the show back in frame, But that would not have happened since all frame knobs would be centered) or fixed it durring the intermission.

Come to think of it, I would not do either since I would have made sure when I built the show up that it was in frame!!!!

I was playing Phantom of the Opera here at M.H. College. We played it silent and hired a live orchestra to play the score. (I Musici de Montreal)

Well, the place was packed (850 seats) and the fire alarm goes off in the middle of the movie. We had to "dump" the place!

At $20 a ticket, of course we had to rewind it! AND I had to re-sync the orchestra to the film! (The conductor didn't speak English and I don't speak French -- You should have been listening in on the 'Clear-Com'!!!

I had to literally inch the film backward onto the platter, all the while trying to read the title cards off the film. I'd read them off to another guy who'd translate into French. The conductor would check his score, which had the title cards written down on it and say, "oui" or "non". He'd read out his title cards from the score and they'd be translated to me and I'd have to try to find it on the film.

It was a real [rot13]ZBAXRL SHPX[/rot13]!!!

Of course, you know that there are no 'original' prints of Phantom left and the ones that ARE left really SUCK! This one was about ad brittle as tissue paper. I broke it at least 3 times trying to rewind it. It literally crumbled in your hands! (No, it wasn't nitrate. I took a piece of it outside and flame-tested it)

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Last june I received a complaint from a customer that the picture quality was "unacceptable" in the theater where he was watching SW-Episode One. This was after the movie had been out for only 4 or 5 weeks and our prints all looked pretty good. Because of this I assumed that the picture was not focused correctly. After watching the movie for a few moments I couldn't determine any problems at all-- it was quite sharp and it looked as good as it did when we first got the print. I told this to the customer and he replied, "Look how blurry it is at the left of the screen." (He pointed at the background of a scene where the camera was focused on the foreground-- the blurryness was just the effect of the depth of field of the camera lens.) He then went on to say, "This picture isn't sharp at all. For movie that being played in 70mm, it almost looks like you guys are cheating me and showing it in 35mm!"

After that he just walked back to his seat. I didn't get to explain to him that it was, in fact, a 35mm print that we were showing and that Episode One was being shown everywhere that way.

It was one of the stranger complaints I've received...

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Ed Johnson
Lawrence University
Appleton, WI

1) Tickets were $20 a crack! -- To pay the orchestra, mostly. The place was sold out (850 tickets) I would have been STORMED if I didn't

2) This theatre doesn't have cut-offs from the fire alarm. It took a while for me to figure out what the hell was going on. Probably about a minute. I've never seen the fire alarm in this bldg. before. My mind was on the film. Believe me, this film was BAD!
There's no horn in the booth. I couldn't hear it over the noise.

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I remember the time Titanic broke. Our house seats almost 600, and wasn't sold out, but was pretty full. I was in the manager's office off from the lobby. (I could hear the film from here) I paused mid conversation when I heard that "hum" from the theater speakers. (you know the one that means-check projector-film broke) I left for the booth when a kid meets me at the concession stand to tell me the film broke. My manager and I went to the booth-saw a wrap-and decided to salvage the show. (last 25 min-where Rose is on the wood floating in the ocean) He brought up the house lights,and I went in and calmly told the crowd we would have the film back on the screen in 5 minutes. If anyone needed to speak to the manager,he would be available after the show. To my amazement all but two boys sat quietly in their seats and watched the rest of the show my manager and I had to babysit to the end. The two boys were waiting in the lobby and wanted refunds (Titanic wasn't their kind of movie to be honest with us) so we gave them readmits and they went home happy.

It has been 1924 days since the last post.

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