my profile | my password | search | faq & rules | forum home

» Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE   » Operations   » Film Handlers' Forum   » What is the value of a Simplex Standard? (Page 9)

This topic comprises 11 pages: 1  2  3  ...  6  7  8  9  10  11

Author Topic: What is the value of a Simplex Standard? Adam Martin I'm not even gonna point out the irony. Posts: 3686 From: Dallas, TX Registered: Nov 2000 posted 07-05-2004 06:02 PM                     I thought of a better definition of showmanship: Letting the show be the show, and not drawing attention to the fact that someone's running it.  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 07-05-2004 07:53 PM                     "Letting the show be the show, and not drawing attention to the fact that someone's running it." _________________________________________________________________ Of course thats not a job that falls only on the projectionist's shoulders.... It also falls on the director, Director Of Photography, Film Editor, Etc., and so on down the lines shoulders. It is nice when the projectionist can blend in with the rest of them although that rarely happens any more.  |  IP: Logged Phil Hill I love my cootie bug Posts: 7595 From: Hollywood, CA USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 07-05-2004 09:15 PM                  quote: Adam Martin ...automation enhances the showmanship. quote: Adam Martin...AGAIN! Letting the show be the show, and not drawing attention to the fact that someone's running it. So, Adam.... which is it? Automation or "someone" running the show? You seem to be contradicting yourself bub! BTW: I vote for CA-21 too! >>> Phil  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 07-05-2004 09:17 PM                     His entire quote was: quote: Adam Martin's UNEDITED comment While this may be true in most theaters today, there are many theaters where automation enhances the showmanship. Ya gotta read the WHOLE sentence there bub!  |  IP: Logged Phil Hill I love my cootie bug Posts: 7595 From: Hollywood, CA USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 07-05-2004 09:18 PM                  I did ya jerk! Did you notice those dots in front of my quoting Adam? DON'T steal my fire! I'm "stirring"! HA! >>> Phil  |  IP: Logged Joe Redifer You need a beating today Posts: 12859 From: Denver, Colorado Registered: May 99 posted 07-05-2004 09:21 PM                        Showmanship is lost? I don't think so. Do you remember that stupid movie with Jim Carrey called "Man on da Moon"? It was about Andy Kaufman. Anyway in the beginning Andy comes on the screen, says some BS, and then says the movie is over (or something like that). He then walks off the screen and black film plays for about 45 to 60 seconds. The point of that joke is to get the audience to think they've just been had and the movie will not progress. At my theater, about 7 seconds after Andy walked off the screen, the house lights faded up to mid level just like the movie was indeed over. And they stayed that way. But then as Andy peeked back onto the screen asking "Are you still here?" and then he starts to walk back into the picture, the lights slowly faded back down. The audience freakin' loved it. I got many compliments about that, even from projectionists of other theaters who decided to see the movie at my theater. And I did it all with the CA21 automation system. It did that every single show every single day, no matter what auditorium of the complex it was playing in and no matter what I happed to be doing at the time. You simply cannot beat that.  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 07-05-2004 09:26 PM                     I'm surprised you didn't bring the lights up AND put the slide show back on, switch to intermission music, close the curtains, etc. All effortlessly done on the CA21, perfect every time without someone punching buttons. It's clear to me Will has never worked with truly versatile automations which is why he thinks showmanship is lost in automated booths.  |  IP: Logged Paul G. Thompson The Weenie Man Posts: 4718 From: Mount Vernon WA USA Registered: Nov 2000 posted 07-05-2004 09:33 PM                     Some of you guys dispute the fact that showmanship is lost. The fact is, most people don't know what true showmanship is even if it bit them in the butt! If I had a choice, I would sooner watch a movie run in a carbon arc manual house than one run by a damn automation. Reason? Simple. The guy running that manual house is always checking what is on the screen and looking for problems to make sure everything looks good. Automated houses? Nah! Most (not all) projectionists are too busy watching TV, sitting on their butts fiddling around with a computer or shootin' the shit with the cute vendette and completely ignoring the booth.  |  IP: Logged Gordon McLeod Film God Posts: 9532 From: Toronto Ontario Canada Registered: Jun 99 posted 07-05-2004 09:33 PM                     skip the ca21 go to a showmanII or a cinemation MKIV  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 07-05-2004 09:36 PM                     I agree Brad, It is easily possible today to put on a great show by way of automation. Will needs to take a close look the many computerized automations out there, not just the CA-21, and try to get a feel of whats possible today which is virtually anything you desire right down to automatically flushing the booth toilet. Will. just go see any of the film or live shows at Disney Land, Walt Disney World, Or Epcot Center. They've been all automated since they opened, Disney Land included! Mark @ CLACO  |  IP: Logged Paul G. Thompson The Weenie Man Posts: 4718 From: Mount Vernon WA USA Registered: Nov 2000 posted 07-05-2004 09:37 PM                     Some of the automations are excellent. I blasted the Cinemacitation unit once, and I was corrected in nothing flat. An automation that can do everything is great! Unfortunately, the automations that can do everything are not necessarily found in EVERY theater. Only in a small percentage. And if they were, the so-called projectionist does a shitty job in cue placement. Seen it, and so has everyone else.  |  IP: Logged Joe Redifer You need a beating today Posts: 12859 From: Denver, Colorado Registered: May 99 posted 07-05-2004 09:43 PM                        Brad - it took too long to close and open the curtains again. I remember timing everything. I also didn't want to overdo it. And why would I put the slides on AND close the curtains? Geez.  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 07-05-2004 09:47 PM                     quote: Paul G. Thompson Some of you guys dispute the fact that showmanship is lost. The fact is, most people don't know what true showmanship is even if it bit them in the butt! You've clearly been burned by working with or attending theaters with idiots operating or that have lousy equipment. Just because it's automation doesn't make it bad, and just because someone isn't sitting on a barstool beside the ONE projector they are responsible for doesn't make it bad either. You've been burned and it's going to take more than anything we can do on the forums here to convince/prove to you otherwise. (BTW have I ever mentioned how many changeover shows I have seen crash because a friggin' takeup belt broke...or a reel was pinching the film causing it to break or rope...or the supply reel falls off of the spindle because it wasn't latched on...or the projectionist missed the first motor cue...or the projectionist was busy taking a dump in the restroom and missed the changeover alltogether...or the projectionist wasn't Navy trained...or the barrage of dirt that accompanies *most* changeover prints because *most* changeover operators are too friggin' stupid to add extra head and tail leader? All of those examples can be attributed to a less-than-ideal operator. It's all about who is running the show. Automation is the same way. Crappy equipment issues aside, put a moron running it and you have a bad show. Put a professional running it and you have a top notch show. PLEASE comprehend this for the good of all. ) Joe - slide/curtain depended on the auditorium. Remember that place only had curtains in half of them. Gordon - ShowmanII? I've used the Cinemation MKIV and liked it a lot, but it is NOWHERE CLOSE to as flexible as the CA21. It's in a whole different ballpark.  |  IP: Logged Phil Hill I love my cootie bug Posts: 7595 From: Hollywood, CA USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 07-05-2004 09:51 PM                  quote: Paul G. Thompson The guy running that manual house is always checking what is on the screen and looking for problems to make sure everything looks good. Gosh Paul, I don't know what you're smokin' up there bud, but there are PLENTY of f*ck-ups by so-called "manual projectionists" that I have seen! Some of them just don't give a damn one way or another. AND/OR they are probably "shootin' the shit with the cute vendette and completely ignoring the booth" as well as the automated-theatre guy! * So I got a little white/black on the screen? What's the big deal? I'm ONLY human! * What's that you say? The sound didn't change over and we lost it? Ahhh... tell them it was part of the movie to be in silent. * What? The lights are still on? Ooops! I forgot about those! Thanks! etc. Ya really NEED to get with modern times and stop slamming the people that do care to put on a good show whether it's an automated or manual theatre...people are people. Whether it be some kid or some old fart...there are good ones as well as the bad ones. I really doubt that has changed much from the days of old. >>> Phil  |  IP: Logged Gordon McLeod Film God Posts: 9532 From: Toronto Ontario Canada Registered: Jun 99 posted 07-05-2004 10:02 PM                     The ShowmanII automation started out as the offshoot of a hibrid automation that famous players chief projectionist Lorne Greer designed. It took the peg board cueing of the cinemations and coupled it to a sequential timer so that when a print was moved it was not necessary to change foil positions since the soils were always placed in the same place and the automation on installation was programmed with preset delays to match the timing of its dimmers curtains etc The timmer was 55 sec and provided cues in 5 sec increments The automation LED's displayed what was going to happen on the next foil not what had happened The units became very popular and were for years the only unit installed in Famous Players theatres in canada and there parent company National Amusments had them built by Hadden theatre supply in the US as well  |  IP: Logged

All times are Central (GMT -6:00)

This topic comprises 11 pages: 1  2  3  ...  6  7  8  9  10  11

Printer-friendly view of this topic

Hop To: Select a Forum: Category: Operations -------------------- Digital Cinema Forum Film Handlers' Forum Large Format Forum Ground Level Feature Info, Trailer Attachments & REAL Credit Offsets Category: Community -------------------- Film-Yak Film Handlers' Movie Reviews The Afterlife Bob Maar's Joke-A-Thon Category: Classified -------------------- Equipment and Supplies Wanted/For Sale Help Wanted/Seeking Employment Category: System -------------------- Software Beta Testing Forum

The Film-Tech Forums are designed for various members related to the cinema industry to express their opinions, viewpoints and testimonials on various products, services and events based upon speculation, personal knowledge and factual information through use, therefore all views represented here allow no liability upon the publishers of this web site and the owners of said views assume no liability for any ill will resulting from these postings. The posts made here are for educational as well as entertainment purposes and as such anyone viewing this portion of the website must accept these views as statements of the author of that opinion and agrees to release the authors from any and all liability.