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Author Topic: Hey, you, you rule! (AKA: Praising good film handlers) Frank Angel Film God Posts: 5305 From: Brooklyn NY USA Registered: Dec 1999 posted 02-08-2007 08:19 AM                        Monte, I am really not following....what kind of splicing misalignment problems do you find? I run lots of old prints and I rarely see a splice that is so badly cut that it can't be rehabilitated. Are they punching the sprocket holes not true -- enlarging them or distorting them in some way? Mostly if there is some kind of misalignment it causes a gap or the splicing tape is larger than the width of the film and it sticks out....something like that, but that's fixable. The Letterset applique stuff that I use covers a lot of ills...literally -- it is a great blooper as it is the exact size of the soundtrack and if you wind up with a gap between film ends, you can use it to cover the gap, giving the splice strength so it won't fold as it travels thru the mechanism. I think in all the years I have been in the booth, a bad splice may have caused an actual mistracking so the film jumped a sprocket at most 2 or 3 times, if even that. But you can tell just by looking at a splice it is that badly made. I've gotten some handmade splices that were difficult to salvage -- but few and far in between. The thing I can't for the life of me understand is why would anyone cut an additional frame when they can just as easily cut on the same frame cut? Splicing "over" the existing splice, even if they are too damn lazy to peal the tape off, it is still much better than compromising the integrity of the print by lopping off another frame. As Brad rightly points out, well aligned projectors are very tolerant of splice thickness -- the double acetate film thickness of cement splices were routine. It would take quite a few multiple layers of tape, especially on thinner estar base film, to have a mechanical mishap because of thickness. You figure even if you have a few I-can't-give-a-damn booth clowns just taping over existing tape without pealing it, there has got to eventually be one conscientious professional who will peal off the multiple layers of tape and make a good clean splice and send it out to be multiple layered again by the a-holes. Or am I missing something here? Just seems to me that no matter how lazy someone is, making a cut on a new frame isn't any quicker or easier than just making the cut on the existing splice cut. How is cutting a new frame an advantage in any way whatsoever? Is it just that they need to be better trained? Or do they just need to have their fat little effin fingers broken? And Tim, just look at it this way, if a booth is run by people who have a "what's all this fuss about doing things correctly" work ethic and are sloppy because, well, it's just easier and hey, look at all the other jerks cutting corners so what's the big deal when there are soooo many other things that are wrong so how's this additional little thing going to hurt.... well you can be damn sure that you put those same lame people into a booth that has D-Cinema and given time they'll rape that system just as surely as the do the film system. Unprofessional is unprofessional no matter what kind of equipment happens to be in the booth. And D-Cinema may look like just a box with a light coming out of one end, but it is a highly sophisticated and VERY EXPENSIVE system. Put clowns that have an I-really-couldn't-give-a-damn attitude near that equipment and they will find a way to screw it up. You can put money on it.  |  IP: Logged Monte L Fullmer Film God Posts: 8367 From: Nampa, Idaho, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 02-08-2007 03:36 PM                     quote: Frank Angel . Are they punching the sprocket holes not true -- enlarging them or distorting them in some way? Yes, this is my big beef, is that when the punch comes down and punches in the film's sprocketholes itself, it enlarges the sprocketholes slightly. thus with these slightly enlarged holes, the pulldown from the intermittent sprocket is slightly off when the sprocket is pulling down this section of fim causing the film to pop a bit in the trap and the picture will slightly hop - due to the slight offset speed of the film going through the trap. This is not an issue of either overlap or gapping when splicing, for that can be easily fixed in the splice. Guess, I have to clear up something: I live in a regional area that booth professionalism is on the rare side-if they have projectionists at all. If they do have booth operators, it's the 'wal-mart' training techniques handed down from corporate to location.Thus,why should they care on how do to things if the pay isn't there and having pride in their jobs is next to nil? Thus,all of my ETS prints comes from these regional locations, and I tell you, I do find some doozies in the 'fox-box' or cans.. I've seen this so many times within first run theatres that I anticipate a hopping picture when the splice hits. I'll have to get to a splicer and explain more on how things do get out of alignment and which splicer is more of the culprit. But I know that when tearing down a splicer to clean it and putting it back together, I align the punch and die assembly with a piece of film to ensure a full aligned punch. It's amazing on how things cut and splice with everything aligned. Hope I cleared things up here a bit .... thx - Monte  |  IP: Logged Brian Guckian Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 594 From: Dublin, Ireland Registered: Apr 2003 posted 02-08-2007 08:13 PM                     quote: Tim Asten But all of this,dispite trying to run a 15 screen multiplex-largly single manning-does not mean I dont try to do the best job that I can What? Well that just about sums it up . Aren't you guys in a union? Single-manning in a 15-plex should be totally verboten  |  IP: Logged Tim Asten Film Handler Posts: 98 From: Brighton, United Kingdom Registered: Nov 2006 posted 02-09-2007 01:46 PM                     Hi Brian,most of us are in the union,but I feel the issue of single manning is something they expect us to live with.Perhaps others can comment whether their unions have helped is this regard.We single man most weekday evenings,except Thursdays, because this is when we do trailering/moving the prints etc,for the following day.Friday afternoons also we double up to do all the ad reels.It can be very tireing.The cinema I work in is one of the busiest theatres in the UK,and the owners know this,so I think they milk it for all its worth.Sometimes we run over 80 separate shows a day not including previews etc.The cinema is on 2 floors,thankfully connected by a lift.We hardly have time for even the smallest of breaks.Then there are technical issues/faults to deal with and so on.Im not suggesting other projectionist have an easy life-there must be other cinemas with similar schedules-but you do get run down at times and presentation does suffer.Mind you it does teach you to be very efficient,and we have learned a lot of useful techniques,especially with regard to keeping the equipment running.  |  IP: Logged Jeremy Jorgenson Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1002 From: Chicago, IL, USA Registered: Feb 2005 posted 02-09-2007 03:15 PM                        Back to the "you rule" part of this thread ... Willow Knolls 14, Peoria, IL*. I just built your former print of The Painted Veil ... probably the best condition of a used print that I've received in a LONG time. Thanks! *at least that's the label on the box ... as was discussed in the "you suck" thread, that isn't always 100% accurate.  |  IP: Logged Brian Guckian Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 594 From: Dublin, Ireland Registered: Apr 2003 posted 02-09-2007 03:22 PM                     Good stuff, sorry for going off-thread back there.  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 02-09-2007 04:23 PM                     Tim what you just described isn't that big of a deal in all honesty. I've worked a 16 plex with 5 to 6 shows a day per screen by myself MANY times, as have tons of other people on this site. (Some have worked 30 plexes by themselves on non-print/trailer shifts.) It's not that difficult, and I have single handedly ran a 16 plex including changing out all 35mm rolling stock ads, trailer changeouts as well as changing all 16 film cleaners in one evening shift (this is usually done on Wednesdays). I have also built 8 prints and broken down 6 on one Thursday evening by myself while running that same 16 screen booth...and it was spread over 4 different rooms. The presentation did NOT suffer in the least bit. You just have to know how to manage your time and to do it properly you need a Goldberg platter reel for assembling prints, a Goldberg collapsible trailer-hub split reel and a Kelmar film cleaner running FilmGuard on every screen. With those tools in hand, you won't be wasting your time running around chasing brain wraps, focusing, cleaning out projectors after each show, or even just wasting time "loading" new films to the platter with a MUT. Having a truly qualified tech on call, or doing it yourself, is also of primary importance because if there are equipment problems, it suddenly takes a major toll on how much extra time you have to devote to that problem.  |  IP: Logged Louis Bornwasser Film God Posts: 4441 From: prospect ky usa Registered: Mar 2005 posted 02-09-2007 08:55 PM                        Be careful....wage & hour people require a 15 minute break after 2 hours; 30 minutes for lunch break, and another 15 minute break later. This is state law in most states, not contract or "policy." Louis  |  IP: Logged Monte L Fullmer Film God Posts: 8367 From: Nampa, Idaho, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 02-10-2007 12:51 AM                     I ran a 21plex all by myself for a couple of wknds since some of my crew wanted time off for special engagements of sorts or got sick. Manager was deeply impressed that I did it all with no problems and had shows on the screen in time, but recommended that I'd better not do that anymore, for if one house muffs up bad, the rest of that entire theatre's performance times would be all but late. One thing about running a 14 plus screen complex by yourself, it builds character knowing that you can do it all under control in as well as it makes the day/night shifts go fast - plus having some good excersize from running to one end of the building to the other.  |  IP: Logged Tim Asten Film Handler Posts: 98 From: Brighton, United Kingdom Registered: Nov 2006 posted 02-10-2007 10:51 AM                     Hi Brad,we dont have access to the Goldberg platter discs that you mention,therefor we have no choice but to use MUTS and good old rewind benches.However I am a little perplexed to how you managed to make up 8 prints and break down 6 while still running 16 screens.In our theatre at least that would take many hours of back to back print make up/break down,and thats without any distractions like threading up projectors etc.there is obviously a lot of projection techniques that we are not aware of.Perhaps you could start a new topic,if its not already listed,suggesting the most efficient way to make up prints,change ads/trailers etc,as this current topic is supposed to be the "you rule" thread.-my fault,sorry.  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 02-10-2007 04:07 PM                        Brad is obviously super-human. My personal record is four prints in, four prints out, plus trailer changes, plus running a 6-plex in about 8 1/2 hours. Prints were fully inspected on the bench and made up onto 6000' reels. It would have been faster if there had been a second working MUT in the booth. I never want to do that again and I really don't understand how people who work in the larger theatres can do this sort of thing every week. I've run a 16-plex a couple of times and it's not all that difficult on a "normal" night with start timers and equipment that is in good condition.  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 02-10-2007 06:14 PM                     It's all how you manage your time. Also little things like not having to thread to a certain start point in the leader helps (but most crappy automations don't have such a "show start" cue). When I said that the platter reel and FilmGuarded cleaners were a must, I literally meant that. WAY too much time is wasted just loading up prints from big reels to the platter. With the platter reel, you can be 100% done with the assembly and the print on the platter in less time than it takes to build to two 6Ks on the bench. And don't forget all of the time wasted in cleaning out the projectors when running the film dry.  |  IP: Logged Dustin Mitchell Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1865 From: Mondovi, WI, USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 02-10-2007 07:20 PM                     Louis, I don't know if Wisconsin is the oddball state or not but we have no mandated breaks here except for minor who are required to have a 30 minute break after 6 hours of work.  |  IP: Logged System Notices Forum Watchdog / Soup Nazi Posts: 215 Registered: Apr 2004 posted 06-08-2008 03:47 AM                 It has been 483 days since the last post.  |  IP: Logged Chad M Calpito Master Film Handler Posts: 435 From: San Diego, CA Registered: Apr 2006 posted 06-08-2008 03:47 AM                        About two weeks ago, I received a print of OSS 117 from the Landmark's Ken Cinema and was really pleased with the excellent condition that the print was in. No scratches or other problems. It made me happy knowing that there are people out there who really care about the prints and doing Film Done Right. So, to the Ken Cinema Booth People, Thanks! Oh yeah, I even sent them an e-mail as well thanking them for a wonderful job.  |  IP: Logged

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