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John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: +1 585 477 5325 Cell: +1 585 781 4036 Fax: +1 585 722 7243
e-mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

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How many different cues do you put on a film? I would think that the start button would be the first cue to start the cycle, then a "feature" cue at the beginning of the film. Followed by a "credit" cue and finally a "showend" cue. Are you guys switching formats with every trailer?

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IIRC, this was the setup at my last theater (or something very similar to this):

1 = lights down to half & Dolby A (for trailers; Why A? Idunno.)
2 = lights down & SRD
3 = lights down & EX (I know I said the CP650 automatically detects EX. Don't ask my why they set it up this way!!)
4 = lights up full
5 = Show end
6 = flat
7 = scope (these last two would only be used if the trailers were a different aspect ratio than the feature. Very rare today.)
8 = Interlock start (this cannot be changed)

We never switched lens or sound formats with every trailer, but the options are there if we needed them.

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If you are concerned about the cue detector "missing a cue", wouldn't it be just as likely to miss one out of a possible eight in a row if your running in "random" order? That would be just as bad as missing a single cue, right? When you run it randomly is the detector more reliable?

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I totally see your point. Yet strangely enough, I have never seen that happen. I have seen them miss entire sets of cues, thus nothing would happen, but I have never seen them miss just one cue in a series, causing some undesired action. Very strange.

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If you set it up in sequintial order, the only cue that is really criticle is the "feature" cue and the operator is right there to check that the presentation is perfect anyway, right?

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In theory. But what happens when you have one operator running a 16 plex?

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If you are relying on DTS for a time code based system for cues, how could you add previews? That would change the time line, and you can't re-record the time code onto the print....And what if you have a film break and you lose some footage? That effects your time base also.

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Let's say, for example, 3 seconds of footage was lost in the feature, from 1:10:01 through 1:10:04. The time code reader would know that and would adjust accordingly. It's not like it just starts a counter from zero when you press Start. If that were the case, no time code would be needed to keep track of time. But that is the purpose of the time code. (Just like a DTS player knows exactly what part of the CD to play, even if footage from the film is missing.) I don't know if I explained that too well, but that's the best way I could think of to put in words what I'm thinking.

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