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Topic: Death to the Green Band!

Dave Williams
Wet nipple scene

Posts: 1836
From: Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 02-21-2002 02:54 PM

That's the best point you have ever made Joe. I love seeing how dirty a theater keeps thier prints just by watching the previews.

The point was made you cant get a good focus on a green band? I disagree. If you can see, and you can tell what in focus is, then the green band is as good as any source to focus. Even if the image was printed out of focus, a good eye can spot this and get a great focused image within one or two seconds.

Dave

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Brad Miller
Administrator

Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99

posted 02-21-2002 03:15 PM

13 years ago when I was working for Cinemark at their "then-flagship" theater Vista Ridge 12, I was specifically told I HAD to cut off the green bands or I would be fired. When I said "ok, but tell me why", the actual reason from the district manager was "they show how dirty the films are". Pathetic, but no joke. I assume that is why they still chop them off today, but I haven't worked for that chain in many years.

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Michael Brown
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1522
From: Bradford, England
Registered: May 2001

posted 02-21-2002 04:18 PM

How long are they?
Normal UK trailer logo's are maybe 3 or 4 seconds long.

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Jesse Skeen
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1517
From: Sacramento, CA
Registered: Aug 2000

posted 02-21-2002 05:32 PM

Cinemark and AMC are STILL cutting them?? Didn't the studios come down on places that were doing that? That's why Regal doesn't cut them anymore, guess AMC still stands for All Movies Compromised.
It blows me away that a big company would make something that looks so UNprofessional "Company Policy"(TM). If Cinemark would fire somebody for not cutting off green bands, I only hope they also fire anyone who trashes a print or makes the automation cues audible or visible onscreen. (There's only one Cinemark near me, which I don't go to since at least one of their auditoriums has a "rip-off stereo" system with only a center channel and surround, no left and right!)

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Dave Macaulay
Film God

Posts: 2321
From: Toronto, Canada
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 02-22-2002 07:41 AM

Here in Canada I never - very rarely at least - see the green horror. I'm always amazed at US cinemas where they actually put the awful thing on screen.
It is ugly, too bright, unpleasantly interrupts the presentation (don't we talk about showmanship here occasionally?) and serves no reaonable purpose. I know they are trailers, films usually last a bit longer and rarely give the whole plot away in 30 seconds. If I see a sex scene in a trailer at a kids movie, I don't need the MPAA to tell me someone screwed up - and if I'm putting trailers on a print I should know enough about what I'm doing to not make that combination. Besides, how many operators actually decide trailer packs? The managers or programmers don't have greenies to guide them.
I'm not concerned about folks who think the trailer is the feature. If they don't figure it out before the trailer's titles start, they are unlikely to remember any problem - or their names - by the feature end.

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Christopher Wehrman
Film Handler

Posts: 15
From: St. Louis, Missouri
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 02-22-2002 02:08 PM

I absolutely agree with Dave. I think "The Green Screen" is ugly, and interrupts the rhythm of your pre-show. They just seem to get in the way when you have other tags, policy and sound format trailers included. Of the trailers I have worked with, I have found only ONE that the sound overlapped and even then, when I ran it, it still sounded good because it was only background noise (I guess I just got lucky on that one). I don't like the idea of clipping the sound track, but I think that it is worth it compared to having to watch the long, ugly green tag flip up and off. In my opinion, it totally goes AGINST showmanship. If I do keep a green band on, it will only be on one preview and it would be the first preview in the pre-show.

------------------
Christopher Wehrman
Head Projectionist
Belle Starr Theater

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Ron Lacheur
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 650
From: British Columbia, Canada
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 02-22-2002 02:14 PM

Dave,

isn't the reason why they don't have Green Bands in Canada is because of our rating system? It's not the same as the MPAA.

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David Stambaugh
Film God

Posts: 4021
From: Eugene, Oregon
Registered: Jan 2002

posted 02-22-2002 02:19 PM

I'm kind of surprised so many of you "despise" these things. I tend to hate clutter as much as anyone, but the green bands don't bother me in the least. In fact, as I said earlier, 5 or so seconds of a static, text image on the screen provides an indicator of how steady the projection is, sharpness of focus, and uniformity of illumination. Or am I full of

? (wouldn't be the first time) (some green bands do look much better than others though)

------------------
- dave
Look at this! His chin strap has been cut!

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Josh Kirkhart
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 165
From: Austin/Houston, TX, USA
Registered: Nov 2001

posted 02-22-2002 02:36 PM

I like those damn things. I like it so after a comedy trailer you can put a drama trailer and get the extra breathing room in between, and vise versa. You learn the rating and most importantly you find out ifya get to see nudity or hear really bad lang., ya gotta love it.

The only thing I dislike about them is they are all different formats, shades. There should be only 5 different bands-the four ratings and a not yet rated. Trailer on Dragonflr have totally different bands, nasty lookin'.

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Brad Miller
Administrator

Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99

posted 02-22-2002 03:11 PM

Good point. Perhaps someone associated with the MPAA or who has ties there (John?) could instigate an official negative. Personally, I liked the original idea that turned up about a year ago to have a background "texture" applied to the green to assist in focusing. Also, as has been noted, some of the green bands are really quite nasty looking and I've even seen a few here and there that had dark corners printed on the film, giving the illusion that the screen was not evenly lit. In addition, 5 feet of REAL black could be added to the start of the green band to insure stupid labs like our friends at Deluxe don't use those ugly clear edgemarks on the lead in.

If the MPAA had a standard (including a fade up) it would make things much nicer and perhaps less people would chop them off trying to imitate tv.

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Jesse Skeen
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1517
From: Sacramento, CA
Registered: Aug 2000

posted 02-22-2002 03:54 PM

BTW I saw a movie at a Century theatre this week and one of their slides was RED band! Well, at least it was red but it said "The following slides are approved for all moviegoers" or something like that, it was one of the ones produced by Coke. I guess AMC would have to take that slide out

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Joe Redifer
You need a beating today

Posts: 12859
From: Denver, Colorado
Registered: May 99

posted 02-22-2002 04:03 PM

MPAA ratings on slides? That'll be the day!

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Steve Kraus
Film God

Posts: 4094
From: Chicago, IL, USA
Registered: May 2000

posted 02-22-2002 04:16 PM

I think I saw that slide. It's just a gag. Might have been part of the "spot the Coke bottle" sequence. True red band trailers are pretty rare. I know I gave one away not long ago. But I think it's time to add a new color and trailer rating since so many supposedly general (green) trailers ask not to be put on movies of certain ratings. How about yellow?

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Brad Miller
Administrator

Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99

posted 02-22-2002 04:37 PM

Apparently Coke thinks that will get moviegoers busting a gut in their seats from laughing at that "this has been rated" joke, which of course is not overused and has actually never been done before. Why I'm hurting right now just thinking about it it's so damned funny.

BTW, remember most of those videogame commercials have REALLY stupid lines like "rated F for fun". Ugh!

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Geoffrey Weiss
Film Handler

Posts: 68
From: Lexington, KY, USA
Registered: May 2001

posted 02-22-2002 06:25 PM

I saw the "red band" Coke slide at the local Cinemark second-run theatre, but I'm betting that half the audience wouldn't even know what a red band is, because the only theatres I've ever seen red band trailers in are art theatres. Or am I just sheltered here in the Bible belt?

Weighing in on the original discussion, I like the green bands because they provide a kind of breathing space between the trailers. Especially now that trailers have multiple cuts per second and LOUD music and sound effects (so, perhaps, someone will confuse loud with good) I feel like I need a second or two of respite before the next trailer comes.

Besides, a really well-made trailer (and there are very few of them) like the "Dark City" trailer is like a mini-drama that I like a little time to absorb before the next "story" comes along. But, then, I tend to overthink these things.

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