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Author Topic: List some dumb things you have seen projectionists do John Pytlak Film God Posts: 9987 From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922 Registered: Jan 2000 posted 04-21-2006 10:20 AM                        quote: Louis Bornwasser A customer lemon-pledged an entire 8-plex of Potts platters. Film would not stay put. The temporary fix was 5 "spokes" of double thickness duct tape. Louis Prints "Slip-Sliding Away".  |  IP: Logged Robert Burtcher Expert Film Handler Posts: 194 From: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Registered: Jun 2005 posted 04-22-2006 03:01 AM                     According to the managers... A previous projectionist got a bright idea with our 10 Christie AW3 platters and a tub of Turtle Wax. I guess he figured a slick platter would make the film payout easier... Instead, it just made it easier for the platter to payout onto the floor. He attempted to correct his mistake with Stainless Steel cleaner/polish, which didn't help the situation much.  |  IP: Logged Eric Robinson Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 538 From: Santa Rosa, CA Registered: Jan 2005 posted 04-22-2006 05:23 PM                     During a random visit to the booth I noted that one of our projectors was happily playing the movie and depositing it on the floor. Also I noted a very alarming mechanical squeaking sound...one I never had heard before. The sound was coming from the employee break room. I walked in to discover the projectionist spinning round and round in a chair which was badly in need of some new bearings, this chair made a horrible screech and sqeak each time it went around. The projectionist was oblivious to the noise though since he had his walkman on full blast, staring at the ceiling with his eyes closed. I was not a happy camper.  |  IP: Logged Floyd Justin Newton Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 559 From: Phoenix, Arizona, USA Registered: Jun 2002 posted 04-22-2006 06:04 PM                     Eric-- If the "projectionist" had THAT much time on his hands to do what he was doing I would have fired him on the spot.  |  IP: Logged Geena Phillips Expert Film Handler Posts: 198 From: Norcross, GA / USA Registered: Apr 2006 posted 04-29-2006 08:30 AM                        We never use suction cups. The theatre I used to work at had very uneven Christie platters, so we definitely used things to hold the prints in place (that's its own story), but where I am now, we use Neu-Made platters, and I've never had a single problem with films moving out of position.  |  IP: Logged Monte L Fullmer Film God Posts: 8367 From: Nampa, Idaho, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 04-29-2006 01:21 PM                     quote: Robert Burtcher platter would make the film payout easier ..it's sorta interesting to hear these stories of polished decks to ease payout since I've seen it also (only thing that I had to do to decks was used a cleaner to clean the formica decks of the AW2's, but never had to wax the decks to make them shine-and told the manager, that made the recommendation on waxing the surfaces, that the prints would fly off quite easily if did..) at many other cinemas. ...and you tell them that the payout comes from the center of the roll.....and there is no resistance when film leaves the center of the roll. ..where do these 'booth clowns' come up with these crazy ideas anywho.. -Monte  |  IP: Logged Robert Burtcher Expert Film Handler Posts: 194 From: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Registered: Jun 2005 posted 04-30-2006 03:39 AM                     Monte, Not a clue. At least the managers had their heads on right. They about filled the booth with bricks when the previous guy told them he'd waxed the platters.  |  IP: Logged Paul Montz Film Handler Posts: 7 From: prescott az us Registered: Apr 2006 posted 05-01-2006 01:35 AM                     so not having people trained rightthat are under me is awesome (got to love bosses that wont let me train people) , not to mention that i have only been head of my booth for about a year. but still certain things are or should be known not to do. we had a brain wrap one day i was gone and they decided to cut it out and string it on the floor from end to end and re load it by hand, they reloaded around 30 minutes of film back on to the platter, needless to say it looked like crap afterwards. we just need to teach people to think more i guess. and my boss always wonders why are prints look like crap  |  IP: Logged Frank Angel Film God Posts: 5305 From: Brooklyn NY USA Registered: Dec 1999 posted 05-01-2006 10:29 AM                        In a change-over house years ago, the chief projectionist had put on the wrong reel. He realized as soon as he made the change-over that he had put the wrong reel on -- R5 instead of R4. He yelled at me to grab R4 for him, but he didn't stop R5. He just let it play as he threaded up R4. I ask why he wasn't stopping R5. He said, "Oh, I never stop the show, unless I absolutely have to." I asked what he planned on doing. He told me to "watch and learn." He unthreaded what he had on the second projector and threaded R4l he watched the screen for a moment and then made a change-over. The audience never saw a dark screen. Of course they would see a few minutes of the same material that they already saw when R5 comes around again, but he said that would be less of an visible mistake than stopping the show for the time it would take to remove what was on the second projector and rethread the right reel. I must say, although I thought that procedure was just compounding the mistake, not a single patron complained or even mentioned it. On the other hand, this was at a Drive-in. So do we have a pro and con here? Which is a more agregious error (assuming a change-over booth)? I am on the side of stopping the wrong reel. My rule of thumb is, if the filmmaker were in the audience, what would he/she think.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 05-01-2006 12:26 PM                        If the film-maker was in the audience he'd probably have a heart attack when the first frame of the wrong reel hit the screen... but he's a guy who knows his movie intimately, whereas unless you're showing a classic, the audience doesn't know diddly-squat. In a change over situation I would let the film run, thread the proper reel as fast as possible and change'er over. 75% of the crowd wouldn't notice, and those people who did notice would get back into the story and forget it happened. (IF it's a good movie, that is.)  |  IP: Logged John Pytlak Film God Posts: 9987 From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922 Registered: Jan 2000 posted 05-01-2006 12:46 PM                        I agree, in a change-over theatre, if you accidently put the wrong reel up, better to quickly correct your mistake without going to a blank screen. A minute or so of repeated action will be less obvious than a blank screen. About the only exception would be a movie where the premature wrong reel gave away the ending of the movie or a "spoiler".  |  IP: Logged Sam D. Chavez Film God Posts: 2153 From: Martinez, CA USA Registered: Aug 2003 posted 05-01-2006 01:14 PM                       Being a purist, I think you should stop and put up the correct reel. But, on the one occasion in 14 years I put up the wrong reel, I kept running and changed back to the correct reel. The movie was "Bullitt" I had a full house in a brand new theatre and the Chief Projectionist in the house (not in the audience). Didn't want to draw attention to myself and get fired. It's amazing how fast the mind (even one with 102 fever) can work in crisis mode. I went all the way from reel 2 before the car chase to reel 5 where the effects of the chase were being discussed. It only took about 30 seconds and only 7 people came out to ask WTF. Turned out the Chief had left the building so all was cool.  |  IP: Logged Monte L Fullmer Film God Posts: 8367 From: Nampa, Idaho, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 05-01-2006 01:40 PM                     Yep..did that as well - put on a wrong reel, realized that I did that, kept the wrong reel playing while I hurriedly put on the correct reel on the other machine (left the lamphouse on knowing that I had enough positive carbon length) and quickly and smoothly did the changeover...and did get the out of some of the customers.. Now, what's bad is when you do the changeover and you've forgotten to check for positive carbon length and the rod is way too short for the duration of the reel. This is when you remember the show and the dark scenes - good place to switch off the lamphouse to put a new rod, or a stub rod that can run the rest of the reel - you might get a few yells or honks if at a drive-in, but it was only off for a few seconds. Ah..the life of a projectionist. Can the booth operators nowdays handle such crisis and stay under control? -monte  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 05-01-2006 02:09 PM                        quote: Monte L Fullmer Now, what's bad is when you do the changeover and you've forgotten to check for positive carbon length and the rod is way too short for the duration of the reel. Been there, done that. With the theatre owner in the booth, no less. /me hides face in shame  |  IP: Logged Frank Angel Film God Posts: 5305 From: Brooklyn NY USA Registered: Dec 1999 posted 05-02-2006 12:06 AM                        Ah, that super shot of adrenalin that surges through your blood when you nonchalantly peer into that lamphouse and !KAZAM! -- you see that you've got 5 minutes left on the carbon and 10 minutes on the reel! I am sure you loose a couple of days at the end of your life due to that shock to your system (then again, who wants those extra few days drooling in the rest home anyway?). With the good ole Magnarcs, if you are running out of the postitive, you're a gonner, BUT, if you were running out of the negative carbon, there's this little trick that you can do; it's saved my life at least two times: once the transport mechanism can no longer feed the negative rod, there is nearly an inch of rod left beyond the end of the support. Of course normally you can't burn that inch. BUT, you can open the back of the lamphouse and loosen the mirror screw lock at the top of the mirror holder. Unscrew the knurled lock nut at the bottom of the mirror holder as well. Then you can slowly adjust the mirror and the positive carbon simultaniously so that you keep the arc focused as the negative burns back toward the support -- you're moving the mirror to follow it. You can get about 5 minutes out of this which JUST be enough to finish the reel, and to save your ass. However, you are not out of the woods yet. The next trick is to judge exactly when you need to leave that machine and get over to the other machine to make your changeover. You've to time it just right because there are two pitfalls -- 1) you misjudge how close you are to the changeover and you leave your arc focusing manuver and go to the other machine. But you've misjudge and you wait and wait for your cues and since you are no longer adjusting the arc focus and feed, the arc dims and go out, or 2) you miss judge when you need to get to the other projector and you miss the motor cue. If the celluloid gods are smileing on you, you get it just right and no one notices that you pee-ed your pants.  |  IP: Logged

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