Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Digital Cinema = The death of theaters?

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

»	Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE » Operations » Digital Cinema Forum » Digital Cinema = The death of theaters? (Page 10)

This topic comprises 12 pages: 1 2 3 ... 7 8 9 10 11 12

Author

Topic: Digital Cinema = The death of theaters?

Martin McCaffery
Film God

Posts: 2481
From: Montgomery, AL
Registered: Jun 99

posted 12-02-2010 02:46 PM

The real breakthrough will be when the computers can handle any aspect ratio at anytime. Why should film makers be stuck with a single aspect ratio per film? They toyed with it in the early days of cinerama, but now it should be easily attainable in digital.

Hell, Robert Downey, Sr once made a film shot with a triangle aspect ratio, and that was in the sixties. Time for the digitals to show their stuff!

| IP: Logged

John Wilson
Film God

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

posted 12-02-2010 05:17 PM

quote: Jonathan Smith
You guys all bitch about a lack of "projection done right," then want to relegate it all to technology.

Projection done right is not only a manual thing.

If I can automate something, I will. I have my automation set up so it mimicks exactly the presentation I can do manually. That way, so long as the lads on shift when I'm not there can thread (and believe me, they can do way more than that) then it's like I'm projecting there seven days a week for every session.

Why would you not automate if you have the capabilities to do it?

| IP: Logged

Jonathan Smith
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 201
From: Youngstown, OH
Registered: Jan 2010

posted 12-02-2010 10:08 PM

quote: Darryl Spicer
Guess you haven't seen the digital slate boards.

That's a time-code marker that is still manually clapped together and labeled for which take.

You DO realize that some movies still DON'T use these, even today, and the time-code is used for frame register, not sync throughout the take. ST:VOY never used one. Dark Knight neither.

Also, you're aware, that, almost 20 years ago, they came up with a film camera that could burn sync pulses directly onto negative film. Guess why it was almost never used. . .

| IP: Logged

Jesse Skeen
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1517
From: Sacramento, CA
Registered: Aug 2000

posted 12-02-2010 10:26 PM

So- has there ever been a time yet when the wrong digital feature is played on the wrong screen and/or at the wrong time? (Specifically when you have a G-rated movie during the day and an R at night.)

| IP: Logged

Joe Redifer
You need a beating today

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

posted 12-02-2010 11:39 PM

quote: John Wilson
it's like I'm projecting there seven days a week for every session.

All I can say is... thank goodness for Pennywise!

| IP: Logged

Monte L Fullmer
Film God

Posts: 8367
From: Nampa, Idaho, USA
Registered: Nov 2004

posted 12-03-2010 04:44 AM

quote: Jesse Skeen
(Specifically when you have a G-rated movie during the day and an R at night.)

Yep, at a local discount house in the area that has a digital and they punched up the wrong show....what ya get when you got min wage button pushers running around that don't care about their job..

| IP: Logged

Mark Hajducki
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 500
From: Edinburgh, UK
Registered: May 2003

posted 12-03-2010 09:24 AM

quote: Jesse Skeen
So- has there ever been a time yet when the wrong digital feature is played on the wrong screen and/or at the wrong time? (Specifically when you have a G-rated movie during the day and an R at night.)

As long as the digital scheduler is programmed separately (rather than by the box-office system) this can happen.

| IP: Logged

Jonathan Smith
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 201
From: Youngstown, OH
Registered: Jan 2010

posted 12-03-2010 11:04 AM

quote: Monte L Fullmer
Yep, at a local discount house in the area that has a digital and they punched up the wrong show....what ya get when you got min wage button pushers running around that don't care about their job..

Come on now, it happens to the best of us, with film prints too! (Boy what a lot of fun it is to perform surgery on a movie, removing both trailer packs to spare the audience the pain of watching the same trailers more or less twice, then having to add both back on at the end!)

I am guilty of doing this with the Toy Story I - II digital feature they had last year. I haven't used Barcos in quite a while now, but it boggles my mind why you have to click something and then confirm it. In a hurry, it was easy to hit the wrong key instead of enter, even though you highlighted the right show title.

I credit being an automation monkey with getting me interested in all of the nifty little sub-menus and projector options. This is the one area where control has actually shifted back in favor of the operator compared with film programming: The ability to calibrate colors, formats, illumination.

As far as playing "Private Parts" instead of "Bambi," I have a harder time understanding how that one could happen. . .

| IP: Logged

Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 12-03-2010 11:18 AM

Well if you have two features on a server and they are listed right next to each other, it's quite easy to click on the wrong thing. Add in the "in a hurry" factor and it's believable. I put the same trailer in the pack twice once....just got in a rush and missed it, is all. Mistakes can happen to anybody when you are rushing.

| IP: Logged

Jonathan Smith
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 201
From: Youngstown, OH
Registered: Jan 2010

posted 12-03-2010 11:54 AM

Yeah. A lot of people like to belittle the "hurry up mode," but it certainly does come in handy when there's 1,000 angry Twitards in the auditorium [uhoh]

Mike: There was one time I was on such an "autopilot" (euphemism) mode that after I put a trailer (and ad, so far more potential for mistakes with all those films) pack together, I honestly couldn't remember any of it. I was going go to back and check it, for fear of building the whole thing upside down, then the manager goes and starts the movie!

Amazingly, in that case, there wasn't a thing wrong with it, but I still remember the fear I experienced when I said to myself "Wait, I just put that whole pack together and don't remember it?" Of course, I never had a chance to fix it, had to tear down a bunch of movies for pick up, and for all I know I built both the ads and trailers in reverse order.

It never ceases to amaze me the non-conformity of programming sheets among the "Big Three." Of course, they probably never anticipated having situations where union guys cycle through all three on a regular basis that a "floater" such as I does.

| IP: Logged

Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 12-03-2010 12:07 PM

My worst example of being on autopilot was one Thursday night...after the show, I changed the marquee, broke down the film, went home and turned on the TV and that's when I found out it was only Wednesday. So I had to go back downtown, put the film back together and change the marquee back. I invented some new cuss words that night.

| IP: Logged

Jonathan Smith
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 201
From: Youngstown, OH
Registered: Jan 2010

posted 12-03-2010 12:13 PM

WOW. I bet!

Last year I had to put a 35mm print of "Avatar" back together. This was after the management figured out that they only had one digital projector and the next big movie release was in 3D too.

I think I was there until 4 or 5, but it was the only opportunity I got to see "Avatar" through and through. I ended up watching it with Jamal, one of the theatre cleaners, and his young daughter.

| IP: Logged

Monte L Fullmer
Film God

Posts: 8367
From: Nampa, Idaho, USA
Registered: Nov 2004

posted 12-03-2010 12:32 PM

...bet you got that show memorized by then ....

| IP: Logged

John Wilson
Film God

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

posted 12-03-2010 04:29 PM

quote: Mike Blakesley
My worst example of being on autopilot was one Thursday night...after the show, I changed the marquee, broke down the film, went home and turned on the TV and that's when I found out it was only Wednesday. So I had to go back downtown, put the film back together and change the marquee back. I invented some new cuss words that night.

Now THAT'S funny! [thumbsup]

| IP: Logged

Marc Jensen
Film Handler

Posts: 20
From: Auckland, New Zealand
Registered: Jan 2006

posted 12-06-2010 01:34 AM

quote: Monte L Fullmer
Yep, at a local discount house in the area that has a digital and they punched up the wrong show....what ya get when you got min wage button pushers running around that don't care about their job..

Or alternatively, a decent projectionist trying to run shows from a shitty photocopied schedule complete with photocopied ballpoint pen adjustments... and the photocopied pen scribbles over the photocopied ballpoint pen adjustments.

Guess what happened to me this morning. [Roll Eyes]

| IP: Logged

All times are Central (GMT -6:00)

This topic comprises 12 pages: 1 2 3 ... 7 8 9 10 11 12

Printer-friendly view of this topic

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.