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Author Topic: Major Interlocks Mark J. Marshall Film God Posts: 3188 From: New Castle, DE, USA Registered: Aug 2002 posted 09-22-2009 04:50 AM                    The biggest interlock extravaganza I've heard of was with the midnight premier of The Matrix 3 at the Muvico Egyptian. Four prints on 18 screens. Two on five screens, and two on four. All sold out. I would have loved to have walked through that booth to see the film running all over the place.  |  IP: Logged Gordon McLeod Film God Posts: 9532 From: Toronto Ontario Canada Registered: Jun 99 posted 09-22-2009 09:56 AM                     Up here interlock is not popular because the studios only allow house allowance on the first screen and a decreasing rati for the extra screens so all theatre insist on seperate prints Which has the benifit of different show time options  |  IP: Logged Alex Edwards Expert Film Handler Posts: 114 From: Iowa Registered: Aug 2009 posted 09-22-2009 11:03 AM                  I was an idiot earlier and said we interlocked 10 screens but it was actually just 8. That is still a lot but I guess it is easier since they are mostly all in a row in the same room.  |  IP: Logged Sean McKinnon Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1712 From: Peabody Massachusetts Registered: Sep 2000 posted 09-22-2009 11:33 AM                        I managed a 10 screen Loews theatre in Cambridge, Ma that had 5 booths on 2 floors. I did a few pretty cool interlocks there as the auditoriums were on the small side and I wanted to take advantage of the business when we could. I did a few between theatres 1,2,3 which were on the second floor and each in a seperate booth. You had to run the film up the wall by climbing a ladder and through a small crawl space between the walls. Thankfully for these the hardware was all in place even though the interlock circuitry did not function. (Xetron Econolock and Maxi 8's) Another one I did was from theatre 10 on the ist floor up a back stairwell in theatres 1,2, and 3. In this situation there were no rollers or accumulators set up in the stairwell so we had to improvise with make up tables. Again no interlock curcuitry. I always pushed to interlock anytime I could as I find it to be lots of fun and wicked cool!  |  IP: Logged Geena Phillips Expert Film Handler Posts: 198 From: Norcross, GA / USA Registered: Apr 2006 posted 09-22-2009 08:42 PM                        Back when we did kids' shows this past summer, we ran two simultaneous four-screen interlocks three days a week; one of those was U-shaped, and involved two 90-degree turns. With the most recent Tyler Perry movie, we ran a four-screen and a two-screen, although those were (luckily) staggered.  |  IP: Logged Michael Voiland Expert Film Handler Posts: 219 From: Naperville, IL US Registered: Aug 2009 posted 09-25-2009 02:35 AM                     When we had hangover and I was at the other theater we interlocked that thing almost every other day between 2 projectors. No sync motors just an accumulator this was well i was in training. Machines running with ta10s in automation without the data bus mode.  |  IP: Logged Richard Hamilton Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1341 From: Evansville, Indiana Registered: Jan 2000 posted 09-25-2009 11:34 AM                     quote: Mark J. Marshall Four prints on 18 screens. Two on five screens, and two on four. Um....sounds like 9 screens  |  IP: Logged Joe Redifer You need a beating today Posts: 12859 From: Denver, Colorado Registered: May 99 posted 09-25-2009 12:06 PM                        I believe he means two separate 5-screen interlocks and two separate 4-screen interlocks. I'd rather do one print on all 18, but what do I know?  |  IP: Logged Karl Borowski Expert Film Handler Posts: 161 From: Sulking in GameFAQ Forum Registered: Sep 2009 posted 09-25-2009 03:24 PM                     I assume some sort of synchronous start mechanism is in place for a 10-screen show? We have done 2s and 3s, but never more than that, because our projectors don't have any slave features, at least installed. You have to press the start button on each one manually.  |  IP: Logged Jeremy Weigel Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1062 From: Edmond, OK, USA Registered: Mar 2007 posted 09-25-2009 04:49 PM                     quote: Karl Borowski I assume some sort of synchronous start mechanism is in place for a 10-screen show? Not necessarily. As long as you have enough people to start the projector motors simultaneously there's no need to have an automated interlock.  |  IP: Logged Joe Redifer You need a beating today Posts: 12859 From: Denver, Colorado Registered: May 99 posted 09-25-2009 04:53 PM                        quote: Karl Borowski You have to press the start button on each one manually. You can still interlock hundreds of screens without any synced automation and just one jackass starting them all with a little planning and some good running capability.  |  IP: Logged Mark J. Marshall Film God Posts: 3188 From: New Castle, DE, USA Registered: Aug 2002 posted 09-25-2009 04:57 PM                    quote: Joe Redifer I'd rather do one print on all 18, but what do I know? That would truly be impressive but would take a while to thread up!  |  IP: Logged Karl Borowski Expert Film Handler Posts: 161 From: Sulking in GameFAQ Forum Registered: Sep 2009 posted 09-26-2009 12:06 AM                     IDK guys, sounds like an awefully big risk to be taking with a $1600 piece of property. Just doing a two-screen interlock makes me intensely uncomfortable. Let me put it another way: What does a ten screen interlock that goes *wrong* look like? What do you say when a customer comes up and asks you why ten minutes of their movie are cut out?  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 09-26-2009 12:59 AM                     Oh that's nothing. Just imagine what would happen if a 3 screen 40 minute delayed interlock had something go wrong. That's over 2 reels of film flying between projectors! Guess its good there is such a thing as a professional projectionist, eh?  |  IP: Logged Joris Springer Film Handler Posts: 83 From: Almere, Flevoland, The Netherlands Registered: Feb 2007 posted 09-26-2009 02:09 AM                     Wow, very impressive those interlock stories. Here we have for 8 screens the amount of 7 booths, yes, the building was created for a cinema just the architect apparently never really informed about how to build a cinema and so we can only interlock in 1 booth. We dont often interlock because it doesnt really get that busy and because we get multiple prints if the movie is not digital. (due to some laws about weight to lift they also often bring more prints so we dont have to move the prints up and down on the stairs). In the old cinema in the city we often interlocked the 4 theaters (it only had 4 theaters so it was the maximum).  |  IP: Logged

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