This incident again points out the importance of inspecting all prints at the theatre, even new ones, and requesting replacement reels immediately. In addition to inspection on the rewind, I always encourage theatres to have someone watch the entire film early in the run and report any problems that may have been missed by the lab or during the initial rewind inspection.

Just ordering a replacement reel without giving details of the exact nature of the problem doesn't help the lab solve the problem. Giving details like "There is a shadow image of a hair on the right side that repeats every 11.97 inches." or "There are dark blotches along the left side of the picture for the first 300 feet of this reel that I think are soundtrack application spills." or "The last 20 seconds of reel 5 has excessive white dirt.", will help the lab find and fix the problem.

The labs really try to do a quality job, given the cost and time contraints of a "Mission Impossible":

"Your job, should you choose to accept it, will be to get thousands of nearly perfect prints into theatres in less than two weeks, at a cost less than your competitors. The final cut negative will be delivered tomorrow (although we may make some last minute changes to the end credits). This tape will self-destruct in 30 seconds."

I realize there often aren't enough hours in the day, not enough time during the shift, etc. etc.

As most know, there can be presentation-related problems that just don't show up during testing, maintainence, film inspection, etc.

When servicing theaters, I used to be amazed at owner/managers of independants who would call will complaints of "poor sound" etc.- upon questioning they admitted that they had not taken the trouble to investigate the nature of complaint themselves (as in step into the auditorium and look/listen) but that a lot of the patrons were complaining.

More often than not, after repairing the problem, a check of other auditoriums (if applicable) a quick in-auditorium look/listen check would reveal other problems, often a great revelation to the owner or manager.

Sample conversation:

Randy: What happened to the surround speakers in #3?

Owner: Shit! They've been stolen again! They were there a month ago!

I'm certain many of us could go on and on in a similar fashion, whether for chain theaters or independants.

I wrote about the SMPTE Theater Quality Evaluation Program in the July 1983 SMPTE Journal, along with a two-page evaluation form. I will mail Brad a copy, so he can post it on Film-Tech. Theatres could modify this evaluation form to customize it to their own needs.

The most important thing is to fix any problems reported. If a new print has a defect, request replacement reels immediately. If there is a problem with picture or sound, get it fixed.

As Randy notes, having someone in the auditorium to actually look/listen to the presentation will greatly improve presentation quality and audience satisfaction.

DOWNLOAD THE SMPTE THEATER QUALITY EVALUATION PROGRAM HERE.

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John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Eastman Kodak Company
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7419
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 716-477-5325 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com

Thanks for the words of encouragement for the value of the SMPTE Theater Quality Evaluation Program.

I hope this discussion on Film-Tech may get a similar idea started again, but at the individual theatre level. Not every theatre has SMPTE members attending (which is why the original program never caught on), but most theatres know of technically-saavy film buffs who would jump at the chance for a free admission in return for a technical critique of the presentation quality.

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