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Author Topic: What is the value of a Simplex Standard? Paul G. Thompson The Weenie Man Posts: 4718 From: Mount Vernon WA USA Registered: Nov 2000 posted 07-03-2004 02:06 AM                     Cool. Someone was thinking. It is about time.  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 07-03-2004 03:50 AM                     Bad splice??? Bite your tongue young man!!! We do not make "bad splices". (All feature splices are ultrasonic, all trailer splices are tape.) Anyway, no splice has ever broken or stretched, so it's been a non-issue. Assuming your comments on the previous page were referring to the delayed interlock setup, and not typical running of a print in one screen... As far as to what makes this run, in the beginning we actually did initial testing of the theory and a few public shows without any "delayed interlock automation" by yelling "one, two, three, GOOOOOO!!!!!!!!" down the booth while everyone hit the START button at the same time. Then we all gulped a breath of air and ran around in a panic frenzy trying to see if we were about to rip the ceiling tile down with a few thousand feet of film and a truly generous dose of junk leader. (This was back in the medieval days of Strong automation and equipment, it's all been changed now.) We only had one disaster at the very beginning during the testing stages on junk film...and yes it did rip the ceiling down! We've never had a botched show, although there was one time where we had everything threaded up and within 10 seconds of the movie hitting the first screen it was noticed that the wrong print was running. That was the biggest goof, but even that was fixed with a 5 minute delay. Since to my knowledge this sort of thing had never been done, there was no documentation or other people to talk to for tips on how to make it work. The whole thing was a learning curve from just about ground zero and it took quite a bit to rig it up taking into account everything from film tension to potential static issues, to how to stop the system for an emergency or the end of the show (you can't let it tail out), and so forth. Anyway, while initially it was about figuring out how to physically make the idea work, nowadays the system is set up 100% automated and completely safe. The automation literally controls everything, right down to controlling tension on the film. The whole scenario is old hat now, sort of like threading up a movie on one screen and walking away is for most people. Still, you can't just walk in and do it without a pretty serious understanding of precisely the steps you must do to operate it properly. Miss or screw-up a step and you're fucked. Of course having gone through everything now, I could walk into a theater, install CA21s with the custom programming and know precisely what kind of rollers to use, precisely where and how to place them, the distances needed, required tension, etc and get the system set up perfectly on the first shot. And yes for those doubters and reel to reel boys out there, even with the most critical eye, the prints leave the theater in flawless condition, better than they arrived in every instance. There is no film damage or wear whatsoever. It's all in how you do it.  |  IP: Logged Jason Burroughs Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 654 From: Allen, TX Registered: Jun 99 posted 07-03-2004 03:51 AM                     quote: Paul G. Thompson Then, in the middle of the whole shebang a shitty splice breaks and you are up to your ass in 14,000 feet of film Dude, that's what ultrasonic splicers are for! Seriously though, once everything is up and running, its pretty much smooth sailing. Just keep those pesky managers out of the booth - usually not too much of a problem at this theater. By having the array, not only is moving prints so much easier, and safer, if managers decided to swap prints from once side of the building to the other, in same size houses (which we know they ALL like to do)- No Problemo! Let me move this roller, oh and this one here - Bingo, ready to go. This booth really highlights a need that is a basic need for ANY booth operator, wether button jockey, or Mr "I know everything about the booth because dammit I was around before it was invented even" is attention to detail.  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 07-03-2004 03:55 PM                        I sure wish that the people running military theatres now would get the kind of training that Paul had. I've been running some shows at the local Air Force base this weekend (see booth pictures under "Hanscom"), and I've been spending most of my time just cleaning and organizing stuff. It's obvious that their regular operators aren't big on film inspection or equipment maintenance. I suspect that they aren't so much lazy as they are poorly trained--i.e. the general lack of upkeep is really the fault of their employer and the lack of training provided. On the other hand, the manager there does seem to care about presentation quality. They have a brand-new screen, new lenses are on the way, and they have done some nice sound upgrades over the last couple of years.  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 07-03-2004 09:45 PM                     They better be serving ALOT of good meals downstairs to pay for that booth and still make some profit! I bet Guttag has since had a stroke since Brad posted those pictures. Mark  |  IP: Logged Joe Redifer You need a beating today Posts: 12859 From: Denver, Colorado Registered: May 99 posted 07-04-2004 12:35 AM                        How would this booth cost more than any other booth, with the exception of rollers that are around $50 a pop or more (of which there are several dozen), high calibur projectors, top of the line automations, and the best sound equipment? If you look at the platters, you can see that they have the old and chinsey black rollers. Everyone on the planet hates Christie black rollers. The designer of the black rollers eventually shot himself splattering his brains all over his bedroom wall which his wife had to clean up because he could not live with what he designed. Look at how much the theater has sacrificed and then you will see the whole picture.  |  IP: Logged Steve Kraus Film God Posts: 4094 From: Chicago, IL, USA Registered: May 2000 posted 07-04-2004 10:19 AM                    Just because something can be done doesn't mean it should be done. The whole thing is insane. Clever but insane.  |  IP: Logged Steven J Hart Master Film Handler Posts: 282 From: WALES, ND, USA Registered: Mar 2004 posted 07-04-2004 11:39 AM                        Brad, what happens in the dinner theater if you have a power interuption. Does everything grind to a halt smoothly?  |  IP: Logged Ken Lackner Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1907 From: Atlanta, GA, USA Registered: Sep 2001 posted 07-04-2004 12:26 PM                     A couple questions for Brad. How do you start the shows 20 minutes apart using the same print? Is it simply a matter of having 20 minutes of film running through the air before it gets to the next projector? Must be one helluva(n) interlock! And how does the automation cotrol the tentsion on the film?  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 07-04-2004 01:41 PM                     "How would this booth cost more than any other booth" Because you have to pay someone capable some real money to actually operate it. according to Brad..... "Still, you can't just walk in and do it without a pretty serious understanding of precisely the steps you must do to operate it properly. Miss or screw-up a step and you're fucked." The way I see it the theatre owners pay someone capable a decent wage or they are fucked! Mark  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 07-04-2004 01:49 PM                     Mark, the percap is insane. Steve, sure it's insane, but so is the percap, and it's all about money. If something can reliably be accomplished over and over without any negative side effects, there really is no reason not to. (For example, let's say you use the shipping reels to takeup your last show on, then put them straight into the shipping cans from the takeup arms. I don't consider that too good of an idea because of how prone the reels are to falling apart, but if it works for you over and over without film damage or problems during projection, why not?) Give me 2 screens both running changeovers and I'll show you a simultaneous interlock there as well. It can be done and it wouldn't be all that hard with CA21s running the show. Steven, everything except for the projector motor, lamphouse, amplifiers and dimmer packs are on UPS boxes. We laugh at power interruptions. Yes Ken, 2000 feet of film hanging in the air per 20 minutes delay. The CA21s were programmed to shut down each projector at a certain frame depending on how much film it would continue to coast through to a stop. That was with the Simplexes. We'll see what changes need to be made for the Kinotons.  |  IP: Logged Thomas Procyk Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1842 From: Royal Palm Beach, FL, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 07-04-2004 01:49 PM                     Okay, okay, if you all insist, I will comment. Warning for people with no sense of humor: Post contains joke. Read no further if you can't grasp the concept of funny. I saw the pics. That setup would never work down here in FL. Too much humidity. All those strips of film floating in the air would be nice and sticky by the time they took up on a platter. That's another thing I didn't understand. Why the dumb look from Joe when he's figuring out how to thread a movie on a platter that's got something taking up already? The AW3 can take up two prints at once... I don't get the "trauma"... And lastly, all that interlocking and those billions of rollers and hundreds of platters and film going everywhere looks like just a means of "showing off" that things can be accomplished more complicatedly (is that a real word?) than necessary. A REAL theater that was concerned with the bottom line would just install another projector on the 3 critical screens, and run changeover. Every 20 minutes or so, you could have another start time in another house with a greatly reduced risk. Then they could fire Brad and hire Paul at half the cost. ***EDIT*** BRAD POSTED THE SAME TIME I DID THAT THEY USE UPS BOXES FOR POWER STABILITY. DISREGARD THIS: And all this talk of flawlessness and that this or that catastrophe would NEVER happen is just hot air. A couple power spikes and it could throw things out of whack bad enough to cave in the cieling. And if you say that can't happen, I've had it happen. A quick power fluctuation is often all it takes to stop one machine but keep the others going. And yes, we had automation controlled interlocks. A very cool setup, but unnecessary. And a REAL PROFESSIONAL projectionist doesn't need the aid of a stepstool to reach the top platter. About as professional as opaque yellow tape to find splices quicker. =TMP=  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 07-04-2004 01:59 PM                     Actually yes it could work in FL. A few modifications may be needed to the roller structure, but it can be done. No print is ran without FG anyway. There is no "sticky". Adding another projector and lamphouse on the 3 critical screens (which actually all 7 are critical) and then hire Paul to run those, you still would have to hire someone to run the others as no one could run 2000' changeovers with only a couple of minutes between the time one reel ends to the time it has to start on the next machine and be able to keep up with all of the other screens. Plus then there's the whole re-building the prints back up when delayed interlocks weren't happening, which somehow would happen sometimes for just one round during the evening, and then miraculously be re-assembled for the late show. It's impossible. Even putting those issues aside, not only would the equipment costs be higher, but so would the operation cost. Doing the math, this is not only the cheaper way, but the more efficient way. (Unnecessary "showing off" would be interlocking one print between two nearby theater complexes.) Remember too we have on many occasion tied all 7 screens together with one print...and staggered showtimes. The stepstool is not used to reach the top platter, nor is it used to thread. It's for petty things like cleaning high places.  |  IP: Logged Thomas Procyk Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1842 From: Royal Palm Beach, FL, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 07-04-2004 02:06 PM                     Hmmm. Very Very interesting. It's hard to see exactly what's happening with just the pics and description. What do you mean by re-build the prints? Do they get "broken down" during the delayed interlock? I can't wait for the video tour on this one. It has to be over 2 hours so we can watch all operations from show start to end. And BRAD has to star in it. "Film-Tech: The Movie" no no no... wait... "The Passion of the Tech" Oh, what the hell. Make another tour at the UA Galaxy and call it "Fahrenheit 9+1" =TMP=  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 07-04-2004 02:15 PM                     Re: re-buiding prints You can't run one show off of a platter, then the next show off of changeovers via 2000' reels, then go back to running shows off of a platter without constant film handling and re-building. That is far from the best interest of the film. If we are going to run all week long with staggered showtimes on a delayed interlock, the film runs in a loop. There is no breaking down or rethreading. Remember, you can't let the film tail out.  |  IP: Logged

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