what you've discovered is shared experience.... you can't buy it, you can't teach it. It grow's each and every day you turn up for work. Thats the value of logs and diary's.

The fact that you found it whilst in the closet... is best glossed over

All comments made now , in the past or in the future are to be taken with a VERY big pinch of salt!!!!

• General notes
  
• Films to crossover (eg: the one-runs from BFI that need to be ready for 9am the next day. Despite the film finishing at 2am)
  
• Changes in procedure
  
• Current faults
  

The Maintenance log was strictly that -- a place to keep clear and concise records of what maitenance was done, when, why, etc. I ket this in a notebook, one per cinema or one per booth, depending on the size of the complex, that included a full equipment list, a Maintenance Schedule, troubleshooting guide and so on.

The Projectionists log was where people could get literary with movie reviews and such. I would NEVER combine such a log with maintenance record -- too hard to backtrack service information with the other stuff you'd encounter. Still, as long as it was written down and was conctructive, it could be a useful tool.

I think the white board is a great idea and would encourage that as well.

If you're curious, these maintenance schedules and logs are available on the strong-cinema website.

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We also maintain a make-up sheet for each film, containing things like splice/edge damage tallys for each reel. This, combined with the Securicor pick-up book, covers our backs in case a distributor has a problem.

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Towards the end of my time in cinemas, I found that a lot of films for crossover were not being picked up by Securicor, possibly because people were waking up to the fact that they were so useless. After a couple of occasions on which a print was left downstairs and handed over by a duty manager to a courier who did not leave any form of receipt or paperwork whatsoever, I introduced a crossover slip. This recorded the film title, print no., name of distributor, name of shipping company collecting the print, name and full address of destination, contact 'phone number, name of driver (legibly printed), date and time of pickup and driver's signature. After completion this would be photocopied and the copy given to the driver. I gave instructions that this paperwork had to be completed whenever a film was leaving the building that was not in the Perivale book or covered by a Securicor crossover slip. With arthouse and foreign prints this became increasingly common.

If a show goes down, a show interruption report is inserted in the log book on the day that it occurred. Reporting problems has helped us numerous times in dealing with complaints, both real and bogus. If something was our fault, we want to make good. If not, we don't want to get taken to the cleaners, either.

Additionally. we keep a maintenance log and a print log. That way, I know who did what, when, and how. There is simply too much to trust to memory.

I have an understanding with my people that personal comments are off limits. If there is a screw-up, I alone will determine who is to blame.

Good communication keeps everyone on the same page and prevents nasty surprises. I'm not a fan of leaving notes for the next guy. They can easily be misplaced, or might not have been written at all. If it's in the log, there are no questions.

Yes, people on rare occasions get busy and forget to make an entry, but for the most part, if you make reasonable demands, this will never be a problem.

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Oh, and yes, our chief techie keeps maintainance logs.

Basically, everyone wrote in the book as if it was their own personal diary and nobody outside the "circle" would read it. Well, when it came time where there was a legitimate problem, the DM and Tech looked through the log book to see if there was a chronic equipment problem. The next day, the log was gone and a note for "all booth employees to see the GM immediately."

I found that "Daily chores" lists don't work too well, either. The "chores" were to be divided among both shifts, but nobody ever indicated what had already been done on the previous shift. Others would make the list a top priority and other things would suffer (like starting a film 10 minutes late because they were on the other side of the booth mopping.) or use the list as an excuse for not doing other things. "Well, I WOULD HAVE broken down the print if I didn't have to clean the port glass..."

We tried a print log for a little while, but nobody ever wrote in it to document dirt, scratches, digital sound dropping out, etc. because they didn't want to be blamed for it.

A booth log for ONLY equipment problems, print problems, things the next shift's person should be careful of, etc. is a good idea. But just a general log can lead to problems.

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Besides, ten years from now, they make a very enjoyable read!