Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Prints of "Benjamin Button" to be locked...Here we go again...

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Topic: Prints of "Benjamin Button" to be locked...Here we go again...

Bill Gabel
Film God

Posts: 3873
From: Technicolor / Postworks NY, USA
Registered: Jan 2002

posted 12-18-2008 08:02 PM

I've had prints show up 15 minutes before showtime. And I've had them on screen as soon as I could tread the projector. I see so many Master locks every week, that I could just [puke]

I have to go through the same with the lock codes on times. But because our time frame is different sometimes Technicolor and Deluxe calls after the screen has started with the codes. Or they will send 2-3 prints of a title (with locks) and I have to use a selected # print for that screening.

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John Wilson
Film God

Posts: 5438
From: Sydney, Australia.
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 12-18-2008 10:44 PM

quote: Tyler Potts
And the girl who's going to be building, last Christmas Eve butchered Alien vs. Predator: Requiem. I'm talking backwards reels, reels out of order and two of the same trailer (back to back).

One year on, surely she now knows how to do it properly. If not, why would she still be allowed in the booth?

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Tyler Potts
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 159
From: Anderson, SC, USA
Registered: Sep 2008

posted 12-19-2008 01:48 PM

[ 03-10-2009, 10:53 AM: Message edited by: Tyler Potts ]

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Brad Miller
Administrator

Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99

posted 12-19-2008 02:30 PM

quote: Tyler Potts
our GM tends to treat it as if he doesn't want to deal with someone on the floor he puts them in projection.

Oh boy that just brought back some bad memories from a long time ago when Cinemark did that to me. What's worse is that the guy didn't speak any English!

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Jack Ondracek
Film God

Posts: 2348
From: Port Orchard, WA, USA
Registered: Oct 2002

posted 12-19-2008 02:30 PM

quote: Brad Miller
Then with a simple modification of the MUT and a few tricks, splice on the next reels while it is running and let the spinning of the payout pull the last reels on.

quote: Bernie Anderson Jr
You're talking about splicing the remaining reels on while the movie is running. How do you splice the remaining reels on while its spinning with out the print brainwrapping. Interesting idea.

Interesting, but not fun, and you have absolutely no margin for error. Make one mistake, and you're screwed.

One. You need enough film on the platter, so that its weight will pull the new film off your mut without the pack shifting. For me, that's no less than 3 full reels worth... and you need to get to this before the projector pulls much of it off. The more it removes, the lighter that pack is. By the way... Film Guard on the platter reduces friction. In this case, friction is your friend. If you need to, clean off the platter.

Two. You have to free-wheel the mut. No spindle keys, drive motors, and the like. It has to pull off easily. the clutched spindle on the Strong mut works ok, at least the way I do it.

Three. You put the feed platter in makeup mode, and run it manually from the mut. With the backpressure from the film it's pulling, the autofeed won't keep up... at least not with a Strong platter (it's only deficiency, I might add!).

Four. You (or at least I) wind the film ahead a bit, so it doesn't wrap while the ends are spliced together. After splicing, you run the mut control so the platter keeps up with the projector. The control will need frequent adjusting, as the diameter of the feed pack, and backtension from the feed reel changes. Because the larger outer diameter of the pack is pulling the film off your mut, you'll be winding the film onto the platter faster than it's being drawn by the projector.

Since I do my inspection on the bench and splice 3 or 4 reels to a large one, this is pretty easy for me. After the first reel goes on, I only have one left (on most features).

You can see this is pretty hazardous. If you were to splice the sound track on the wrong side, you'd be screwed, because there's no going back. If you splice something out of frame (which none of us ever do), you'd have to deal with that at some point. too.

The biggest risk is not having enough film on the platter to begin with. If you don't have enough film (weight) to pull the film from the feed reel, or if you overdrive the platter and pull the film too hard, it will go off-center, and you will be honest and truly screwed.

This is something that happens to me once or twice in a season... usually due to late arrivals or us changing the order of one of our doubles. It's NOT something I look forward to, or am particularly proud that I've figured out. By its nature, it happens with a crowd outside, and any mistake on my part means they don't get what they paid for. It's a tool you can use if you absolutely have no option. Personally, I wouldn't advise that you look forward to trying it.

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Brad Miller
Administrator

Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99

posted 12-19-2008 02:40 PM

Interesting, I didn't think about the Strong design causing such a problem with the motor slippage. I did this from a SPECO LP270 which is a rim drive system, and did not need to use the MUT. In thinking back I just realized I did this once with a Christie AW3 too, as I recall pulling the belt off of the MUT to let it free-wheel since there would've been too much tension with the belt on. I can't recall the movie though.

The good thing about this is that so long as you have enough weight to spin the reel initially, you're pretty safe because each turn of the payout will give a certain amount of footage to the projector, but will pull significantly more footage from the reel due to the differences in inner vs. outer diameter.

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Joe Redifer
You need a beating today

Posts: 12859
From: Denver, Colorado
Registered: May 99

posted 12-19-2008 08:03 PM

I did this with a Strong and I had to engage the MAKE UP mode simply because I had a microswitch brain in that particular unit. I didn't want it jerking on and off pulling reels at the same time. I did let it run from the brain for a bit and it seemed fine, but I just got nervous and engaged the makeup mode. It adds film to the platter faster than it removes it.

quote:
Strong platter (it's only deficiency, I might add!).

Strong platters are ASS. We should all try and guess Bob Pott's IQ. My guess is less than 108. And why has Strong not improved it besides adding "digital" control?

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Jack Ondracek
Film God

Posts: 2348
From: Port Orchard, WA, USA
Registered: Oct 2002

posted 12-19-2008 08:34 PM

quote: Joe Redifer
Strong platters are ASS.

Thanks, Joe. I was counting on that to bring you out!

[beer]

Good point on the microswitches though. I'd forgotten about that.

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Tyler Potts
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 159
From: Anderson, SC, USA
Registered: Sep 2008

posted 12-20-2008 12:53 AM

[ 03-10-2009, 10:54 AM: Message edited by: Tyler Potts ]

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Jim Cassedy
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1661
From: San Francisco, CA
Registered: Dec 2006

posted 12-20-2008 10:32 AM

I received notice yesterday that Paramount will be sending "quality control" techs around to different theaters in my area to check the light/sound levels & general presentation for B.B.

I'm to expect mine on the 26th.

I've had these guys stop by before, usually for Disney/Pixar films like Rattatouille and WALL-E, but this is the first time I can recall Paramount doing this.

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Frank Angel
Film God

Posts: 5305
From: Brooklyn NY USA
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 12-20-2008 10:53 AM

We had a tech come out for one of our sneak previews (the studio pays us to show these, so I guess they want to see if they are getting their money's worth). We gave the tech a soda and popcorn and he basically sat in the theatre munching away, no meter or test equipment of any kind that we could see without being obviously nosey. When he finished his popcorn, he left. He must have like what he saw and heard because we still get more requests for sneaks than we have dates to squeeze them in between the live shows.

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Jack Ondracek
Film God

Posts: 2348
From: Port Orchard, WA, USA
Registered: Oct 2002

posted 12-20-2008 12:37 PM

quote: Tyler Potts
but I never want to work with a Big Sky again.

p.s. - 4 more days until Benjamin.

I think Big Sky makes one of the best high-power lamphouses on the market right now. Can't say anything about their platters, but if someone's doing something with them that wasn't in their design, that's not Big Sky's fault.

I once saw someone put a full, 4-reel shipping can on an ORC platter... yah, it warped. Darned ORC garbage! [Razz]

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Tony Bandiera Jr
Film God

Posts: 3067
From: Moreland Idaho
Registered: Apr 2004

posted 12-20-2008 02:16 PM

Jack, ORC IS garbage!! [Big Grin]

I've had some prints arrive to UC Irvine with padlocks, but they have always given me the code in a note attached to the can. Duh.

I did have some prints come in with the plastic seals, and a letter threatening death and loss of women and children if I didn't re-seal the cans with the seals provided in the cans....one small problem, there were NO seals in the cans, they kinda forgot to provide them. So I left a note threatening loss of print and ability to procreate for forgetting to provide the seals. [Eek!]

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Gordon McLeod
Film God

Posts: 9532
From: Toronto Ontario Canada
Registered: Jun 99

posted 12-20-2008 06:37 PM

Actually the most reliable platter in the theatres I service is the ORC platter with the strong being #2 lowest amount of parts and service grief

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Brad Allen
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 688
From: Evansville, IN, USA
Registered: May 2000

posted 12-22-2008 08:32 PM

quote: Frank Angel
We had a tech come out for one of our sneak previews (the studio pays us to show these, so I guess they want to see if they are getting their money's worth). We gave the tech a soda and popcorn and he basically sat in the theatre munching away, no meter or test equipment of any kind that we could see without being obviously nosey. When he finished his popcorn, he left. He must have like what he saw and heard because we still get more requests for sneaks than we have dates to squeeze them in between the live shows.

They probably hire these "techs" the same way they do checkers...if you can breath, you've got the job.

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