As for playing an SDDS logo befor a non SDDS feature.... why?

The trailers are there to provide a taste of the film and its mood.... and the soundtrack is an important part of that. We don't run trailers on the front of the feature EVER!! If its a trailer that must be run it is removed and run with our own trailers.

It's like turning down the sound in action films. That's making an artistic decison which I don't think is our job. If the director has decided that the effects should be much louder than the dialog thats an artistic choice and its not up to us to decide otherwise.

If it were possible, would you run trailers in mono and Black & White just because the feature was? I don't think so, so why should the sound be treated any differently. Trailers are there to build excitement and expectation....

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Braid said:

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I have found consistently that *most* customers do not want to be blown away at the trailers, especially when they are coming to a drama or comedy movie (pretty much anything non-action/non-horror). They get up and complain because they are worried the feature will rip their ears off. I am a strong advocate of playing trailers at the same volume you would watch the evening news or a tv sitcom at. Playing them in SR also just happens to help.

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That is the exact reason why, at the last theater I worked at, our tech set up the euipment such that the trailers would play in analog and the feature would be cued to play in digital. This was with a CP-650. What I don't understand at all is why he chose A as the analog format!! All of our trailers would play in Format 4, even though the analog soundtrack on them was Format 5. He said it helped reduce complaints. Getting back to my point, he set up Format 4 to not be Auto Digital and to start out at, IIRC, volume setting 5. When the 650 switched over to Format 10 (or Format 11), it would then be playing at volume 7 and would be set to revert to Format 5 if there was digital dropout.

My understanding, if I am reading the manual correctly, is that you can create custom formats with the CP-650. If I wanted to play the trailers in digital, but just at a lower volume than the feature, would it be possible to create another Format 10 that started out at a lower volume, and then cue the processor to change to the "regular" Format 10 which would be set for volume level 7? Can this be done with any other processors?

Another question along the lines of the original topic of this thread: What if one or two of the trailers in your trailer pack have no digital? (I.E. An art or foreign film.) Would you play those trailers first so that the rest of the show would be in digital, or would you play the entire trailer pack in analog?

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Unless of course you turned off the SDDS processor (this action can apply to DTS processors and Dolby penthouse readers as well) at the beginning of the feature, which shuts the reader down saving its LEDs.

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I would think that all the on/off action throughout the day would not be good for the LEDs. I would just leave the SDDS off and play the trailers in analog in that case.

The THX logo is NOT about sound its about the whole environment INCLUDING the sound. By showing the THX logo you are advertising a commitment to good presentation, showing the film, no matter how old, in the best possible environment with little or no keystone distortion, no noisy distracting ventilation and good focus etc etc....

It's a common misconception by the public and, unfortunatly people who should know better, that THX is all about sound... it most certainly is not!

Old movies deserve and benefit from good presentation in the same way as new films, that's why our company, City Screen, have made a decision to put THX in at least one screen in all of our newer openings. It shows a commitment to good presentation and the future of cinema as the prefered place to see a movie.

the led's will not be harmed in any way by switching on and off all day.... think about any Dolby processor and there are led's on them that flicker in sync with the sound output as an indicator. They don't fail noticably quicker than any other I think you'll find.

I tend to run my trailers in date order making no allowence for sound format. I wouldn't dream of re ordering the advert reel so why the trailers.

By separating the trailers into format types you are highlighting any differences..... let the trailers speak for themselves.

Another thought, often the distributor logo's are non-digital, non DTS when the feature is digital/DTS, so would you run them silent?

I go back to my original thought that we are not there to make artistic decisions about the film we show.

Showing format trailers implies the film will be presented in that format. Most will not understand it to say "we have SDDS hardware even though this film isn't in SDDS".

Any THX snipe showed before an analog SR show should be played in analog. Run an SR-only version of "Cimarron" or "Simpsons" if it is a comedy. Or run "Broadway" or "Broadway 2000" in SR.

As for trailer loudness, ALL trailers regardless of format seem way loud to me. I listened to many an analog only trailer that seemed too loud and shrill. If anything, I strongly prefer listening to a movie trailer in digital if the thing is loud. At least if it is digital sound it will be better balanced and not so damned harsh.

If it's a dynamic film and the trailers demonstrates it then it should be run that way.

If you have ever seen an SDDS reader up close you will notice that as the large sprocket in the center of the reader is rotated, the LEDS flash off and on. As many as 48 (96?) times per second at 24fps film run speed. Also the LEDs are driven by a precision regulated power supply and would not be affected by powering up and down, as Ken M mentioned.

>>As for playing an SDDS logo befor a non SDDS feature.... why?<<

I think they are referring to a policy/'Feature Presentation' trailer with an SDDS-8 soundtrack.

-Aaron

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So old B&W Mono film.... trailers etc in mono?

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That's a special case. I would have the trailers play in analog and then slug in a few moments of total silence before bringing in the mono movie.

As for the logo snipe, it should match the format of the feature.

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For a mono feature, it is probably a judgment call as to whether or not to run trailers in mono. For a "new" mono mix that is likely to sound quite good (like a Woody Allen film), I'd probably run trailers in Dolby. For an older film which would likely lack the dynamic range of today's systems, I'd probably run trailers in mono.

I agree that exhibitors shouldn't (normally) be in the position to make artistic decisions about the films that they show, but I don't see this as being a hard and fast rule. If playing a particular film (or trailer) at a fader setting of "7" results in multiple complaints and angry customers, then I'll definitely run it at a lower fader setting. And, anyway, I don't think that running a given film/trailer in mono as opposed to Dolby is much of an alteration; after all, mono-only houses do this sort of thing all the time.

Again, I might feel differently if trailers weren't so loud, but I defy anyone to play something like the "Y Tu Mama Tambien" trailer at "7" and not generate numerous complaints (and hearing problems) for the audience.

Yes, THX is indeed about more than just sound. But 99.999999999% of people do not know that. They all equate it with sound. Plus, showing the THX logo these days has become a non-event in most auditoriums. You might as well show a trailer advertising it is in color. I like THX standards, don't get me wrong.

In the UK things have changed a little recently as the advertising companied have made a commitment to have adverts and trailers for that matter printed with more consistant lower sound levels. In general I'd say it is working and things playback better now than they did.