posted 12-26-2002 01:01 AM                       

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from Paul T.:
I remember in the carbon-arc days where a 13-reel movie I inspected was in such bad of shape, I spent 6 hours splicing, repairing, and cussing before I could even think of running it.

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Most people who ran drive-in booths in the changeover days probably remember too much of that, if they think about it for a while...

Professional or not, many of those old booths had oily, leaky machines, and a lot of projectionists (operators?) let the leaders drop into those oversized drip pans... or the floor, in some cases where there were no pans. The ends of many reels were oily, dirty, scratched up messes, and you just about didn't need cue marks to find the ends on some of those prints. Multiple passes in front of some of those monster Strong (no offense, Pat!) and Ashcraft lamps made a mess of a lot of prints.

I think today's technology brings the ability to execute a quality presentation to operators who may not have had the resources, education, knowledge, intelligence or (unfortunately) the interest to go that extra few steps to even do "film half-assed" in the past.

What's unfortunate to me is that too many exhibitors have taken advantage of technology in order to economize even further in exactly the wrong area. As others here have said, the customer doesn't drive to your theatre to buy your popcorn (well, most of them, maybe)... yet a lot of theatres are dishing out some pretty sad presentations.

Boxoffice magazine recently ran a series of interviews of chain execs, asking them about how technology had affected their operations. One guy actually said he wished they could come up with a way to stick film into the top of a projector and make it come out the bottom, all threaded up like those old Bell & Howell Film-O-Sounds at school. He must have forgotten how much leader those things chewed up! The point is that there actually are some operators out there who would run their theatres with nothing but a single employee, if they could get away with it.

What they seem to miss is that it's gotten to the point that a little attention to detail and customer service... and I'm not talking a lot here, is actually noticed by the audience in a lot of cases... and what does that say about what some of these chains are dishing out as a "quality movie-going experience"?

Professionalism is a pretty subjective topic. It can take a lot of forms, depending on who you ask & what their background is. I worked for independent operators for years before I get anywhere near a union booth. I sure learned a lot from those guys when I did get the chance, and most of it stuck through the years and helped me establish standards that I operate by today. What comes out of the booth is our top priority here, with everything else being important but somewhat less so. Am I a professional? I think so... but from the perspective of a career union projectionist (what few there are left), probably not. Is Brad a professional... or Joe, or some of the other frequent posters here? By some standards, maybe rabidly so... but there are usually good points in the topics that really fire them up.

Makes this place a pretty good hang-out.

posted 12-26-2002 04:00 AM                       

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What's unfortunate to me is that too many exhibitors have taken advantage of technology in order to economize even further in exactly the wrong area. As others here have said, the customer doesn't drive to your theatre to buy your popcorn (well, most of them, maybe)... yet a lot of theatres are dishing out some pretty sad presentations.

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I think one good example of the "popcorn over presentation" belief is that while working for a chain I started out doing what everyone else did. There were actually classes on top of booklets instructing these people on how to work box office, concession, ticket taker, usher, etc. and especially on selling strategies in the concession stand. Yet, when I took interest in projection all I got was a tour of the booth and shown how to thread a couple times. After that I ran 8 of the 20 screens myself for a couple months before I felt I could work without having my threading checked. When Star Wars: Episode 1 came out I wouldn't even touch it because I didn't feel confident enough to be trusted with such a busy film.

There were never (and still weren't last I was there) any manuals or videos on "film done right" or even safety issues. Sure there are common sense things like not dragging film across the floor or opening the lamphouse door while in operation, but there are a lot of things I learned and am still learning that can only be taught by someone who has worked a booth before. The only "role model" the other projectionists in my booth had were the technicians. Certainly none of the managers knew more than threading, if that much, so if there was a problem we couldn't solve on our own we had to wait for a tech to come around.

I guess my point is you are only as good as your teachers were. You consider yourself a professional because you do things the way you have always been taught and constantly try to improve how things are done at your workplace. Sure, you might have been taught that masking tape is used in breakdowns instead of splicing tape, but how should you know (unless you come here) which is better? Sometimes I think it comes down to CAN you be a professional with the deadlines and expectations your management puts on you and still keep your job. Then it becomes a choice of stay on and do as they ask or quit and try to find a theater close to you that DOES give a damn about that silly movie on the screen which brings so little profit compared to the popcorn that brings so much.

I don't have two cents, anyone have change for a nickel?

posted 12-26-2002 07:44 PM                       

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from Sean:
The operator comes to work 45 mins late... wears whatever he pleases... blames everyone else for everything that goes wrong.... refuses to accept constructive criticism and claims that he knows everything. He allows an inferior presentation due to his arrogance.

Now is the operator a proffesional just because he is a "Projectionist" and is the Concession worker not because it is a "service" job?

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I don't think you can make a case for "stature due to training", and you bring up a good example. I wouldn't consider the person running your machines a "projectionist"... for that matter, probably not even much of an "operator". Based on your description, your concession worker takes his job more seriously than that guy upstairs in your booth. I'd vote for the higher level of professionalism being with the concession worker. Teach him to run the machines & get rid of the louse in the loft. You'll probably get a better show & a much more pleasant working environment. Send the arrogant operatorn to the competition