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This topic comprises 3 pages: 1 2 3
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Author
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Topic: Theatre Staff projectionist Sucks!
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Antonio Marcheselli
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1260
From: Florence, Italy
Registered: Mar 2000
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posted 08-12-2002 04:47 PM
John,Don't read my post so "resigned"!  I fully agree with you. My post was "provocative" since (particularly when I wasn't a projectionist) I tried to have a contact with the theater's staff but usually with poor results (once the projectionist attacked me because I asked him why he didn't run the credit completely...  ). I also told to my friends to complain about the problems, otherwise the manager/projectionist will think that all is going fine. The problem is that I'm tired to complain! Another example: once I saw a movie that was slight out of frame. Was in scope and, just in some scenes, you could saw the a little piece of the upper frame above the screen. Nothing terrible but defintively out of frame. I decided not to came out since the problem was not so big. When the movie finished I went to the staff and told them the problem(just to have them know since they can fix the problem next day).
They answered (almost annoyed) "why you didn't tell us before? We can fix it right here, we don't need to go to the booth!". I thought that I paid for the movie and they're paid to check it! If a customer come out of my theater at the end of the movie complaying that the movie was run out of focus, I apologize with him for my mistake and I promise myself that next time I'll check the projection more frequently. The Home theater "solution" is just because I WANT to see movie in good shape, but THERE AREN'T GOOD THEATER in my town. Sometimes I go with my friends to a very good theater in Milan, universally recognized as one of the best in the world. I have to cover 600 kilometers (372 miles if I'm rignt with the conversion)and pay about 50$ in freeway fee, theater's ticket and food. We do it sometimes, with very "important" movie (Matrix, Star Wars...). But we all come back to our town STUNNED every time!  This is why I'm a bit "resigned" and I'm starting talking of a Home Theater! Bye
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Antonio Marcheselli
Florence, Italy
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Paul Linfesty
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1383
From: Bakersfield, CA, USA
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 08-12-2002 04:53 PM
I will sat the BEST experience with corporate was when I wrote Edwards Cinemas on two occasions. The last time I actually received a copy of the e-mail communication to the local manager from head of operations. This came only two days after my complaint. This concerned the lack of SRD presentations. The VP said in the letter that he had alerted to them the problem a week earlier based on my first complaint and asked why the problem I complained about wasn't fixed. He added that the chain spent considerable amounts of money changing out their basement readers for penthouse ones, and there was no excuse. I was actually surprised to be privy to internal communications. I received a follow-up from the local manager who explained they had a technical problem in one of the auditorims. But I listed 4 or 5 theatres that werent playing back digital, either. He said I had a good ear to distinguish between Dolby A, DOLBY SR and Digital, one that he was just beginning to develop. The problem was fixed up immediately. An earlier complaint (two years ago)at the same theatre was about filthy prints. The woman who answered me actually admitted fault, saying all theatres had film cleaning solutions and should have been used in this case. Again, I have rarely seen a dirty print since. So with some chains, they really do care about customer complaints. Local managers, however, sometimes don't. I visited an AMC in downtown long Beach to see FIGHT CLUB. Immediately when the EXTREMELY LONG pre-show started, the frame of the scope "package" was off at the bottom. I immediately went out to complain to an usher. When the movie started 17 minutes later, the film was still showing part of the next frame at the bottom of the screen. This time I went to the manager on duty. His response was to say rudely, "Oh, you want a refund, then?" So I took one. Guess that was easier than going up to frame the film. So reporting to local management is no guarantee of anything. At Pacific, I've lately gotten into the habit of asking for a refund when something is wrong, and they just cheerfully give you one, saying "oh, im sorry about that" but doing NOTHING to fix the problem.
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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."
Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001
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posted 08-12-2002 05:15 PM
I cannot fathom the logic used by many of the bean counters in the film exhibition industry, who still hold to the belief if they just put up lawn chairs in front of a ratty screen people will still show up in droves to pay full price at the box office. They figure quality doesn't matter. What's even more infuriating is you'll find many theater customers themselves saying the same thing. You'll hear things like, "no one cares about that stuff; I'm just going to see it at the closest theater so I don't have to drive so far." Or they'll utter some garbage about the crowd experience being the only thing that matters. I think I have heard all the phony-baloney arguments in favor of poor quality.Home theater is the great equalizer in this regard. The same idiots who preach quality doesn't matter, only the shortest driving distance often become the same lunkheads later asking me, after they bought a home theater system, if a certain DVD is in 5.1, "because I ain't going to buy it if it isn't in 5.1." It pisses me off to no end when many people out there "discover" Dolby Digital 5.1 on DVD rather than driving just a few miles farther to a theater that practices "film done right" and heard 5.1 done right in the first place. But many never figure out that angle. They think their home system sounds better than any movie theater. They believe the hype that a digital TV will deliver "theater quality images" (a Wired Magazine article used that blurb in an article about DVD driving HDTV sales). But part of this problem is the fault of those cost cutting theater operators who allow the general public to consider poor projection and sound quality as a standard feature in all movie theaters. They let this harmful image grow and persist. The digital projection people are even using this negative stereotype to sell their inferior, overpriced gear. The theater circuit executives had better wake up and realize home theater and HDTV is a very real threat. They better make more moves to improve movie exhibition quality in general. Claude Ayakawa is not the only one ready to give up on commercial theaters and to just wait for the DVD. Many people are already doing it.
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Michael Coate
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1904
From: Los Angeles, California
Registered: Feb 2001
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posted 08-19-2002 01:19 AM
Paul Linfesty wrote:
quote:
While DTS does have a discrete version of their DTS-ES format for the home, VERY few (less than 5 titles, I believe) DVD movies utilize this.
Paul (and anyone else interested),
There are certainly more than five DVDs available in Region 1 with "DTS-ES Discrete 6.1" audio. In fact, there are over 20 currently available or announced, including: BAD TASTE
THE BEASTMASTER
BONES
CAN'T STOP THE MUSIC
CHICKEN RUN
THE EVIL DEAD
GLADIATOR
THE HAUNTING
HIGHLANDER
MANIAC
OPERA
RUSH HOUR 2
SE7EN
THE STUNT MAN
SUSPIRIA
VIGILANTE
THE WATCHER IN THE WOODS and announced:
BLADE II (9/3)
NEON GENESIS EVANGELION: THE END OF EVANGELION (9/24)
LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING (extended version) (11/12)
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