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This topic comprises 2 pages: 1 2
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Author
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Topic: AMC new lighting policy
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James R. Hammonds, Jr
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 931
From: Houston, TX, USA
Registered: Nov 2000
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posted 08-27-2002 07:02 PM
The AMC light settings Scott mentioned are correct, but with lights at mid for the end credits also.
When the new policy came out there were a lot of complaints about the walk in levels being too dark and we were told that we could bring them up if we needed to so people could see.Not to question your judgement, Ethan, but are you sure the lights were at feature level?
If the ceiling lights were completely dark and the sconce lights had only a small glow, then they were at feature level, which is not the policy for the walk-in. Without going into too much detail, what you should have seen depending on the size of the auditorium, is the front ceiling should have been bright enough to not wash out the screen, and the light gradually get brighter as you move towards the back of the auditorium.
There also should have been plenty of light coming from the sconces, but again not enough to wash out the screen.
This will vary some depending on the size of the auditorium, what type of dimmers are being used, and how many zones are on the dimmer.
In any case, there should be enough light in the room for you to see where you are going, even with the front ceiling lights being dimmer than the rest.
If there is not, then there definitely is a problem.
If you can e-mail me and let me know which theater you went to and if you remember which auditorium you were in, I can contact the technician for that area so he can do a check of that auditorium or the theatre if needed. Jeff, if you can do the same thing in regards to the Katy Mills theater, that would be appreciated.
I will be with the tech for the Houston area tomorrow, and I will let him know that there is an issue there. ------------------
Find me online
AOL: Dexter Caldwell
yahoo!: dexter_caldwell "It is the opinion of the entire staff the Dexter is criminally insane."
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Ken Lackner
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1907
From: Atlanta, GA, USA
Registered: Sep 2001
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posted 08-27-2002 07:23 PM
James said: quote:
Scott mentioned are correct, but with lights at mid for the end credits also.
When the new policy came out there were a lot of complaints about the walk in levels being too dark and we were told that we could bring them up if we needed to so people could see.
Then he said quote:
If the ceiling lights were completely dark and the sconce lights had only a small glow, then they were at feature level, which is not the policy for the walk-in.
If that's not the policy, than what "new policy" are you referring to?
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James R. Hammonds, Jr
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 931
From: Houston, TX, USA
Registered: Nov 2000
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posted 08-27-2002 10:14 PM
Ken, the new policy is the one Scott mentioned, except he left out the part about lights going to half at the credits.
The difference between this and the old policy is that the old policy had the trailers playing at feature level.
When they outlined the new policy and described how the lights should be set, many people (myself included) set them too low and we got complaints.
When we got complaints, we were told that we could bring them up if we needed to.
I assume this was done because they realize that people need to see.
What Ethan described in his first post and confirmed in his second post is what feature level lighting should be.
What Ethan desribes IS NOT what walk-in level should be and I suspect that a mistake was made in this case and was limited to this auditorium and hopefully limited to even this one ocurrence.
I imagine someone may have accidentally hit the setting for feature level and that is what Ethan walked into.
The manager may not have realized that the lights were actually at feature level and thought that the lights were at walk-in level without checking.
But since I was not there, I dont know.Ethan, unless you were at an older complex, I dont know of any of our theaters that have separate stage and auditorium lights.
All theaters I know of have ceiling and sconce lights and should be set to the walk-in levels I mentioned in the third paragraph of my earlier post. When set this way, there is still plenty of light to see where you are going.
The only issue MIGHT be in the very front of one of the larger auditoriums (auditoria?), but that doesnt seem to be the case, at least not in my theater.
I havent been to any other AMCs since the new lighing level policy was implemented.
Again, if you can let me know which theatre you went to and which auditorium you were in, I can let the Dallas tech know so he can check it out and hopefully it wont happen again. Hopefully I cleared everything up.  ------------------
Find me online
AOL: Dexter Caldwell
yahoo!: dexter_caldwell "It is the opinion of the entire staff the Dexter is criminally insane."
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Bernie Anderson Jr
Master Film Handler
Posts: 435
From: Woodbridge, New Jersey
Registered: Apr 2000
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posted 08-28-2002 03:46 PM
You want to talk about strange stuff in NJ, get this, in one of my other theatres they were not allowed to put the pleated fabric on the walls because it is a fire hazard, but it's okay to have masking and aprons on the screen tower. They consider that part of the screen To me it's the same thing but a different color. In the same theatre which is a stadium design, the town wanted hand rails down the aisles of the flat front part of the theatre. That was fought and there is no hand rails there, only in the stadium. And don't get me started with the Handicap access, that's a whole other story. But I've seen in almost everyone of my theatres, the yearly fire inspection also brings a meter reading of Auditorium lights. But as a can say for this new policy, it might be a district thing, because my instructions are very clear and I can't see what ther reasoning is for this policy. It's asking for trouble.
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Richard C. Wolfe
Master Film Handler
Posts: 250
From: Northampton, PA, USA
Registered: Apr 2000
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posted 08-31-2002 12:42 AM
I haven't been in any of our areas AMC theatres as of late so I can't comment on what they are doing in this area. I will agree with Frank when he said that safety requirements usually require that lighting is at a level that makes it safe to see to move about when the lighting is at it's darkest regardless if the feature is running or not. There is no time, or excuse to put patrons in harms way. They must be able to see to come and go at all times.Part of the problem as I see it is that most theatres today have their lobbies or access hallways much too bright so that when you enter the auditorium ones eyes have not been given the chance to adjust to the lower light levels. For those of you who are old enough to have experienced the grand movie palaces, either as employees or patrons, you probably remember the series of public spaces that separated the entrance from the auditorium. First you had the sidewalk space under the marquee, then the outside box office lobby, then upon entering the front doors there was the vestibule or carriage lobby, then the main lobby, the grand foyer, the standee area, and then the auditorium. Seldom were any of these spaces lighted with white light other then the exterior marquee ceiling and the box office lobby. Each successive room was illuminated with colored light, most often amber in different wattages which continued to lessen as you came nearer to the auditorium. This allowed your eyes to adjust from the outside light level to the auditorium level slowly so that once you entered the auditorium you could see well even with lower levels of light. Many theatres ran "grind" or continuous without stopping for many of there shows, which meant never bringing the houselights up more then 50% during the shorts and trailers. No stage lights were brought up at all except prior to starting the first show and for intermissions before the deluxe evening show(s), and then at the final exit of the night. Not only do most of todays plexes overlight the lobbies and hallways with white light, but use white light in the auditoriums as well. Whitelight in the auditorium was almost unheard of in the glory days of movie theatres. Running lights as they often were called were often red, as red doesn't interfere with the screen image, unless of course it's shining directly on it, and still allows the eyes to adapt to where they can see well in the darkened room. It is not a problem to create sufficient light without using white, plus the use of colored light adds to the restful and relaxing environment that a theatre should convey.
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Dave Williams
Wet nipple scene
Posts: 1836
From: Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Registered: Jan 2000
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posted 08-31-2002 01:12 PM
I worked for a guy here in UTAH that employs a former AMC manager. They both have this policy of making things so very dark that you need your own personal flashlight to find a seat. The reason??? Poor cleaning. This way, they do not have to worry about how the seats look or the floor for that matter. If AMC has made this switch, it must be to conceal dirty seats, to avoid constant and expensive seat cleaning. I could be wrong. Hey, maybe they are just conserving energy. Dave
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