That having been said, let me add a bit of an editorial. Your signoff is "Bob, the Old Showman." Showmanship was the stuff that theatres were made before the cracker-box multiplex era began. The projectionist was the "showman" of his day. His artistic handling, without benefit of automation or computers, of house lights, curtains and curtain lights, tasteful non-synch music (to fill the intermission void now addressed by advertizing slides), and indeed his very "riding" of the fader and just "being there" made the movie going experience a joy, and spawned much repeat business.

There are few "showmen" left, Bob. Be proud of what you were and what you will likely continue to be in your new ventures!

I have no problem with your posting my letter. In fact Kim Williamson, editor of box office called me and asked if he could print it. I believe showmanship is the one big thing missing from the theatre today. Most managers (or corporate brass) don't seem to know how to promote a film. They seem to let the distributor promote what he wants and then the theatres battle with each other to get the film for which the distributor has fostered an appetite. Look in the page of any metro newspaper. Most theatre ads require a magnifying glass and that is about the extent of their promotion. This leaves many films from around the world unseen. "Hollywood" isn't the only place films are made.

I noticed in your pic your have some Peerless lamps behind you. Are you working a changeover booth (as they call it these days) or have they been converted. I still believe carbons put out a better light. It tends to be warmer where xenon is blue and cold (if the theatre even uses one strong enough to properly light the screen). However, carbons cost about $3,000 a year and a xenon will run about $550.

I agree with you about who the showman was (and should be) in a theatre. FYI for 20 years I was a member of IA Local 577 San Bernardino. Thanks for your good wishes.

Bob
The Old Showman

I guess I'm an "old showman" too, as that photo dates from 1972. I opted to use it because it was more "booth relevant" than a head shot, and the background a bit more interesting than a platter. I agree that carbon arc is superior in many ways to Xenon, and a carbon arc lamphouse, properly adjusted, tuned and maintained, is a joy to operate, as is a changeover booth. I'll e-mail you directly with some additional background.

A prolific contributor to these forums, who is wise well beyond his years,closes his posts with the observation, "Carbon Arc -- the light that's bright, the light's that right!" Amen.

-Gordon

Horay for old showmen! There are still some of us left. I too, have worked both sides of the fence (union & non) and agree with Brad and others who point out that it's the individual who takes pride in his/her show who makes the difference.

And... horay for young showmen. This site proves that we have them. Yes, we do make a difference because we all care. We can't change some of the corporate stupidity that goes on out there, but at least we can educate and fight for what we know is "film done right."

I am extremely fortunate to be working in a plex that believes in presentation. Some of our equipment isn't new, some of it is. We do the very best we can with what we have, and get damned few complaints. We try to do a better job than our competition in a highly competitive area, and our numbers are starting to show that. We will upgrade our equipment as monies permit.

Bob
The Old Showman

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John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: +1 585 477 5325 Cell: +1 585 781 4036 Fax: +1 585 722 7243
e-mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

Hi I'm Steve...

Steve

We run a booth with both the ability to run changeovers and off a platter. It is nice to be able to have both since if a xenon goes we can get back on screen in less than 5 minutes. Also, if a print happens to come 20 minutes before showtime we can still run it on c/o (but havent had to do that in 10 years). Its still a nice thing to have and your customers will appreciate the fact that if there is a problem 99.9% of the time you can get back on screen very quickly.

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