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Topic: Rules for theatre managers

David Yauch
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 206
From: Mesa, AZ, USA
Registered: Oct 2004

posted 12-03-2004 09:10 PM

Radios are nice, but keep them only as loud as you need, and keep them off when you are in a theatre. Also, get radios that can utilize 2 channels, keep floor chatter on channel 1 and put projectionists, security guards, and the like on channel 2. We do this and it works great, and thats with over 30 people with a walkie at any given time on a weekend. We also have presentationists who are the only people forced to wear a headset(since they go in theatres but the projectionists still need to reach them). Headsets for all personel with walkies would look incredibly dorky.

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Chris Brown
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 105
From: Fairport, NY, USA
Registered: Nov 2004

posted 12-06-2004 12:43 AM

We used to have ear pieces for our walkies at my theatre...it only lasted about a week though. We typically didnt have a problem with excessive radio chatter or anything in the first place (usually we'd just radio to someone to call us on an office phone). The ear pieces were kinda cool I suppose, though they did make us look like FBI agents.

Like I said though, we've never had problems with the way we use our walkies. We follow pretty closely to Dominic's "radio rules" I'd say. Everyone keeps their walkie on them at all times, and most people know enough to speak clearly and identify who they're talking to. Our biggest problem with walkies actually is people dropping the damn things!

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Paul Rosenberry
Film Handler

Posts: 4
From: Wallingford, CT, USA
Registered: Dec 2004

posted 12-06-2004 02:38 PM

Rules for projectionists

1) If you turn your radio down or off to do theater checks, turn it back up when you're done. If there's an urgent problem, we don't have to waste 2-3 minutes calling out your name on the radio before making the hike upstairs to fix it ourselves.

2) If something breaks, tell the manager first thing. That way we don't look like fools to the customers that come to complain about it; then find out the projectionist already knew there was a problem and didn't say anything.

3) If you're fixing a problem that causes a show interruption or delay, give us an accurate estimate of the time it will take to resolve it.... not a "wishful thinking" estimate. We need to make decisions based on the time the machine will be down, such as cancelling the show, offering passes, moving customers to another house with a later showtime, etc. If you're not sure how long it will take, say so, or give us a range estimate i.e. "anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes".

4) If you give an estimated time for a show being down, and you come to realize the problem is more serious than you thought (e.g. a new bulb didn't fix it), update the manager immediately.

5) If you have a problem that you just don't know how to fix, say so. Don't waste 2 hours tinkering with it because you don't want to admit you're over your head. Techs are just a phone call away and some managers know a diode from a jackshaft.

6) If you're training a new guy, check his work and take responsibility for it. If you're there to train him and he damages a print, what was the point of having you there?

7) If you leave to make a run to Subway, tell the manager. This goes back to #1, above.

8) Don't sneak up behind a manager who's carrying a billion dollars in cash to the office and stick your finger in his back and yell "your money or your life". It'll be YOUR job to dispose of the soiled undies.

9) Lift the lid if you're going to spray, ok? There's people here.

10) If there's a hottie in the auditorium and you can see down her shirt, call the manager for help!

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Wolff King Morrow
Master Film Handler

Posts: 490
From: Denton, TX, USA
Registered: Feb 2004

posted 12-06-2004 07:08 PM

Answers to off-topic rules:

1. This is more a mistake that a person individually makes, not just projectionists. Managers and security have been guilty of this crime as well.

2. Goes without saying (unless your projectionist has his/her priorities wrong).

3. This requires knowing exactly what happened and knowing what to do to fix it. If the sound suddenly stops, it could take 5 seconds to fix or it could take 5 hours to fix.

4. See #2.

5. Usually the techs have you tinker with it for 2 hours over the phone before finally deciding they need to look at it... The next day. Pick your poison.

6. You can train the next person the exact same way and they go off to a perfect record. It's up to the individual to decide to do a good job and if they don't, they get fired. The point of having "you" there is to make sure the training is accurate. Beyond that, you can only replace the bad with the good.

7. Can't believe you let your projectionists take off on food runs without permission. This should be done by someone else, since something 'could' go wrong in the booth while they are gone.

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Alan Dallas
Film Handler

Posts: 48
From: Prescott Valley, AZ
Registered: Jul 2004

posted 12-08-2004 07:43 PM

quote: Wolff King Morrow
7. Can't believe you let your projectionists take off on food runs without permission. This should be done by someone else, since something 'could' go wrong in the booth while they are gone.

This is exactly why Harkins Theatres trains ALL managers in operating the projectors. [Smile]

Trouble shooting however is another issue altogether. Still when I'm on my projection shift other managers are pretty considerate. "Yo Dallas! I'm making a run for the boarder, you want anything?" heheh or were ever they happen to be going for food.

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Dominic Espinosa
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1172
From: California, U.S.A.
Registered: Jan 2004

posted 12-09-2004 12:44 PM

quote: Wolff King Morrow
7. Can't believe you let your projectionists take off on food runs without permission. This should be done by someone else, since something 'could' go wrong in the booth while they are gone.

At Cinema West projectionists and managers are assigned "on-duty" lunch breaks. It works out rather well. We can't go too far unless there's another projectionists on duty. I usually stay within a 1 or 2 block radius of the building as it is or get delivery. Works great and I get paid for my lunch. On the off-chance that something breaks there's no reason I can't fix it and go back to my lunch.
If you think about it thought. More often than not projectionists get paid to sit around listening to projectors rattling. What a great job.

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Jeremy Fuentes
Mmmm, Dr. Pepper!

Posts: 1168
From: Corpus Christi, TX United States
Registered: Jan 2004

posted 12-09-2004 02:07 PM

quote:
Rules for theatre managers

Pay your projectionists more.

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Scott D. Neff
Theatre Dork

Posts: 919
From: San Francisco, CA
Registered: Oct 1999

posted 12-14-2004 11:16 AM

A lot of the theatres I visit will put the projection booth on an entirely different channel of the walkie talkies. That way they don't have to listen to change requests and customer service issues.

When there's a projection problem, downstairs switches to channel 2, and BAM! Problem reported and the projection staff doesn't get in the habit of tuning out radio chatter.

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David Yauch
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 206
From: Mesa, AZ, USA
Registered: Oct 2004

posted 12-15-2004 04:21 AM

I said:

"Also, get radios that can utilize 2 channels, keep floor chatter on channel 1 and put projectionists, security guards, and the like on channel 2."

And you said:

"When there's a projection problem, downstairs switches to channel 2, and BAM! Problem reported and the projection staff doesn't get in the habit of tuning out radio chatter. "

See that makes 2 of us.

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Christian Volpi
Master Film Handler

Posts: 349
From: Arlington, NE
Registered: Apr 2004

posted 12-15-2004 01:35 PM

Paul--

It sounds like your theater has a lot of problems or shotty projectionists because the majority of your "rules" refer to film breakage. What's up with that?

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Dan Costello
Film Handler

Posts: 3
From: Green Bay, WI USA
Registered: Jan 2004

posted 12-15-2004 02:27 PM

Anyone know where to get some good earpieces to use for staff communication?

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Kris Brunton
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 108
From: Napanee, Ontario, Canada
Registered: Apr 2000

posted 12-17-2004 11:28 AM

quote:
1. If you decide to change showtimes, move a print, or not move a print, or otherwise decide to change the schedule from what it was originally supposed to be, please tell the projectionist.

This reminds me of opening night at a 10 screen theater. We (the booth) recieved the schedule for shows in the afternoon and did a run through in the afternoon to make sure everything was good. Sometime between the afternoon and the evening the shedule and auditorium placement was changed without notifying the booth. Thankfully someone was walking downstairs and noticed via the LED signage that the movies were in the wrong houses. After talking with managment we had 5 minutes before showtime to move 9 of the 10 threaded prints to new houses. We were a little late getting all on screen but at least they were in the right auditoriums.

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Dominic Espinosa
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1172
From: California, U.S.A.
Registered: Jan 2004

posted 12-20-2004 12:51 AM

That happened to us once at the 13 screen.
Mid-week schedule change to make room for new prints and to get the earliest out print of whatever we had into a big house so it'd be out of the way for the sneak of Mummy Returns...It was an ugly morning.

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Adam Heath
Film Handler

Posts: 20
From: Rock Island, IL
Registered: Dec 2004

posted 12-21-2004 11:27 PM

What I hate is when you change the schedules, move the movies for the projectionists and leave the clamps on the film and in our case, the wrong ring for the platter (hint, hint) And they still start the wrong movie! Now I just leave notes in big fonts all over the place and let them do the work!

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Monte L Fullmer
Film God

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

posted 12-22-2004 03:15 AM

Yea, been there as well. Back a few years when New Line released that IB anamorphic release of "Gone with the Wind", I wasn't told that the print was to be in another house. Course, we know how long GWTW is (222m/13reels). I used to work in a 21 screener and this print was playing in large house. I worked that evening shift to close. I opened that next day and started GWTW on schedule. Then, I got called that GWTW was to be in another house-clear across the complex,for they decided to move that print later the previous night, but never made mention to me on this decision (obvious breakdown in the "chain of command"), and the print was going 20minutes. I had to shut down, unload the machine, wind the film back on the ring, attempt to put most of that small wind back in the big wind and move the print to the newly assigned house. I called up some help from downstairs, got TWO of the "Pizza boards", scooped that print with boards end-to-end overlap, and monkey-hustled that monstrosity to that assigned house. After about losing that print a couple of times down from one end of the building to another, we got the show running again. Only thing I was gorked at is that Mgnt blamed us for not doing our job. "HEY! we weren't told, so leave us alone!" (I was presentation manager/engineer at this 21 plex...)

quote: Jeremy Fuentes
Pay your projectionists more.

We need the "force" of the IATSE @ MPMO to be back amongt us. -Monte

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