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Author Topic: Hey you, you suck! (AKA: Outing bad film handlers) Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 04-13-2005 05:21 AM                     I've actually never had any formal projection training Monte. I was dumped in my first booth where the previous operator showed me how to thread the left projector, then said for me to use that as a model and to thread the right one. He left for coffee before the first reel change and I haven't seen him since. So to answer your question, it has come from many years of looking at various people's presentations and saying "ok where is that mark coming from", then figuring it out. Likewise "what's causing these little black specs around the reel changes", etc. It's not that hard, you just have to pay attention. I actually think I have become a better operator for NOT receiving any training and being forced to figure it out on my own. (Being incredibly picky about things has also no doubt helped.) As you probably know, unlearning other people's bad habits can be quite difficult.  |  IP: Logged John Pytlak Film God Posts: 9987 From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922 Registered: Jan 2000 posted 04-13-2005 05:46 AM                        quote: Brad Miller It's not that hard, you just have to pay attention. I actually think I have become a better operator for NOT receiving any training and being forced to figure it out on my own. (Being incredibly picky about things has also no doubt helped.) "Hands on" experience is usually the best kind. You don't learn to ride a bike or drive a car by reading a book or sitting in a classroom. But knowing where to find information and apply it to your work is a valuable part of education too. As Brad says, you need to "figure it out on your own" and set high personal goals of quality.  |  IP: Logged Monte L Fullmer Film God Posts: 8367 From: Nampa, Idaho, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 04-13-2005 01:35 PM                     Thx, Brad and John, for your replies. Yes, I went throught the basic "training experiences" as well-was trained rather sloppily and was left alone. My big advantage is that the owner helped me on one thing that I wasn't shown, and that was "setting the intermittent", for the clown who trained me didn't even show me that. I found out how to do things better than the guy who initally trained me within a month afterwards. Jumping up a bunch of years to automated houses, I did notice sloppy filmwork using opaque splices. "What a horrible way to present film!", I thought. "Are people that lazy to not look for their splices when breaking down to where they have to use opaque tape?" Then, there were those operators who would use those white opaque splices, using baby powder to pat over the splices to eliminate the stickiness of that tape. Talk about a "snow job" on the screen when those splices went through that were "baby powdered!" (makes you wonder if this practice is still being used. I remember getting used prints and feel the talc on the splice areas knowing that this print was powdered...) So, here I go training the best as I can at my theatre, and have a good operation. As you say, we have to learn things the hard way, but it's definitely worth it. Thx all - Monte  |  IP: Logged James Faber Film Handler Posts: 66 From: Des Moines, Iowa , USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 04-14-2005 04:10 AM                        Monte, I got a print with white opaque tape on it a few weeks ago, exactly like you described. It was from a local, theater, too! I almost called them up to ask to speak to the projectionist.  |  IP: Logged Randy Stankey Film God Posts: 6539 From: Erie, Pennsylvania Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-14-2005 12:51 PM                     Is there anybody out there in Film-Tech Land who recently (Last Week?) had a booking of The Corporation from Zeitgeist? Did your original print get "lost" in shipping and miss its playdate, causing the distributor to have to send you a "backup print" at the last minute? That's because: Emily Ogfabisz (Or minions therein.) Clark University Film Socity 950 Main Street -- Box B-10 Worcester, MA 01610 YOU SUCK! The print shipped out from my location on Feb. 17, 2005 and arrived in your Mail Room on Feb 21. (Might I add that the print was PERFECTLY broken down!) On April 11, 2005 I got a call from my Mail Room that three film cans had arrived. I wasn't expecting any film! We already had our print for this week! I went to the Mail Room, perplexed to find that the print of The Corporation that we had shipped out almost TWO MONTHS AGO somehow found its way back to us! Immediately, I got on the horn to Zeitgeist. As soon as I said, "Mercyhurst" the woman knew exactly what I was calling about! Instead of calling Zeitgeist and asking for shipping instructions the bone heads at Clark simply shipped the print back to the last address on the can! Zeitgeist told me that because of that swift move, somebody ELSE didn't get their print on time and there was a scramble to get another one shipped to them. I don't know if there was a lost show because of it but the original print DID miss its date. I now have a print in my possession waiting for a place to go. As soon as I get a message from Zeitgeist about Clark University's Fed-Ex account number I'm going to ship those cans out again... Fed-Ex Priority Overnight with $1,000 insurance per can, of course! Just to top it all off, I opened one of the cans to briefly see what the condition of the film was, inside. The leaders were all tangled up inside the cans. What do you expect from a bunch of bone heads who can't even fill out a waybill correctly? Meanwhile, the print is staying put. I'll not open the cans any further, lest somebody try to claim that we damaged it. Zeitgeist knows that *WE* did not send the film out in that condition and that any damage must have been done while in Clark's hands! The really sad part about this story is that these people pulled this same stunt about a year ago. At that time, I just brused it off as a "shit happens" kind of thing. Now, I'm starting to think that they do this kind of thing. I'm keeping an eye out for them!  |  IP: Logged Louis Bornwasser Film God Posts: 4441 From: prospect ky usa Registered: Mar 2005 posted 04-14-2005 03:52 PM                        It would make you wonder if there was any value in going to their school....if they can't even fill out a waybill!! Or maybe it's just a big Barbie party over there.  |  IP: Logged Jon Morgan Film Handler Posts: 60 From: Raleigh, NC Registered: Mar 2005 posted 04-14-2005 05:54 PM                     To whoever sent us our print of Sixteen Years of Alcohol, or whoever broke it down, clearly sufered from some sort of retardation. Reels 1-4 were heads out, as usual. Reel 5 was tails out. Reel 6 was labelled heads out, but was in fact tails out. Thanks, guys.  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 04-14-2005 06:23 PM                     Jon, was the condition of the print ok? I really don't consider heads vs. tails out orientation deserving of a "you suck" award. In fact there are good odds that the last theater who had that broke the print down and for whatever reason the wind was not suitable for shipping (or maybe a reel broke apart), to they took the extra trouble to rewind the two reels (thus "tails out") to protect the film from damage during transit. If the actual print condition was bad or they had leaders on the wrong reels or used masking tape etc, then that's another thing.  |  IP: Logged Randy Stankey Film God Posts: 6539 From: Erie, Pennsylvania Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-14-2005 06:59 PM                     Yes, and to top that off, when a print arrives fresh from the lab the reels are often in random Heads/Tails orientation depending on which way they came off the duplicating machine. There are some labs/depots that try to sort the reels so that prints come all heads or all tails but there is no guarantee. To tell the truth, if R-1 through R-4 were Heads and R-6 through R-7 were Tails I'd be quite pleased. I'd build 1-4 onto the big reel(s), making sure the ads, trailers and policy strips were perfect then rewind the reel(s) when finished. Then, while the first part of the movie is spinning onto the platter I'd use the extra down time to make sure that the cues were exactly the way I wanted them. (With a little judicious placement, you can hide them in the dark frames so nobody can see them. ) Once the first part was done spinning onto the platter I would spin the second part onto the platter but I wouldn't have to take the time to rewind the big reel(s) first. So, If *I* got a print where the first half was heads out and the second half was tails out, I'd be doing a little "Snoopy Dance" up there in the booth! Besides, the labeling on the tape used to stick the ends down is virtually irrellevant. You ALWAYS use the check frames from the leaders to identify the position of the reel(s) before you even start working... It's one of John Pytlak's "Seven Deadly Sins", doncha' know!  |  IP: Logged Richard Greco Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1180 From: Plant City, FL Registered: Nov 2003 posted 04-15-2005 12:16 AM                     Apparently, building onto two 6000's puts extra handling on the film and can cause damage.. [ 05-08-2005, 04:50 AM: Message edited by: Richard Greco ]  |  IP: Logged Jon Morgan Film Handler Posts: 60 From: Raleigh, NC Registered: Mar 2005 posted 04-15-2005 12:43 AM                     Now that I've screened it, yeah, it has horizontal scratches for the entire film.  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 04-15-2005 12:50 AM                     Ok Jon then it's official...they do suck! Richard, I think you just need to quit. Building straight from shipping reels is stupid for all the various reasons that have been documented time and time again on these forums. Seriously, I don't think I've ever heard anyone working for such a pathetic and shitty outfit as you are. This thread pretty much says it all. How about you out your tech's name so we can all give him a big "you suck" for you?  |  IP: Logged Richard Greco Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1180 From: Plant City, FL Registered: Nov 2003 posted 04-15-2005 01:09 AM                     I do my best from the shipping reels. At least I'm using a Potts MUT to build and tear down now, so my reels go out as good, if not better. Also, my machines run VERY well. [ 05-08-2005, 04:51 AM: Message edited by: Richard Greco ]  |  IP: Logged Mike Spaeth Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1129 From: Marietta, GA Registered: Jul 2000 posted 04-15-2005 01:27 AM                        Randy - in your above posted scenario, what do you do with Reel 5?  |  IP: Logged Monte L Fullmer Film God Posts: 8367 From: Nampa, Idaho, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 04-15-2005 03:27 AM                     quote: Richard Greco Also, my machines run VERY well. So I'm still going to do what they say, but modify it to suit my abilities. ..doesn't hurt to "bend the rules" a bit. Sound like your "higher up's" doesn't want you to be 'smart' and take over their business-they want to keep you "dumbnified" and just do the job as necessary. I went through that as well-bending rules to fit what I think works the best. Got in a few bits of trouble and scars over it, but when they found out that I REALLY knew my shit, they started to leave me alone to where they had great trust in my judgement and skills, but it took a while. That's one thing that can take years to acheive-is respect and trust from your "uppers..." -be kind of a goal for you to work forward to, Richard G. : ...and that is to: "sell yourself as a "two-bit whore" in what skills you have, by proving to them that you know what is what. Then, you're on the way to earn that what you deserve. I'm just a SOB at times and can fight dirty..(LOL) (...Like tonite, I did an intermittent rebuild. Had the theatre manager help me and watching what I did on these rebuilds. He was massively impressed in the results of a quieter, and smoother running unit, which was leaking oil bad due to a small crack in the nose piece...) good luck, thx-Monte  |  IP: Logged

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