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Author Topic: Laser Pens, a fustrating problem John Spooner Expert Film Handler Posts: 186 From: South Australia, Australia Registered: Jan 2003 posted 02-17-2003 10:04 AM                     Dear Tim and Colleagues. The terrible thing is I have a laser pointer, but I leave it in the car,it certainly would not be professional for the operator to shine it on the screen! On an allied theme, those of you who have operated at drive-ins would agree the high beam headlight flashers at the screen are a nuisance. Have you noticed that they do it right on the changeover so you have a hard time seeing the cues? John Spooner. South Australia.  |  IP: Logged Paul G. Thompson The Weenie Man Posts: 4718 From: Mount Vernon WA USA Registered: Nov 2000 posted 02-17-2003 02:18 PM                     In some theatres, I used "clickers" - because the booth design was so bad that in order to make a change-over, it was necessary to get on your knees to see the screen. The motor cues went "clickity clickity clickity" and the changeover cues went "clickity clickity" All the "clickers" were nothing but a small piece of masking tape affixed between the sprocket holes on the non-sound track side of the film in line with the frame line, four frames apart. Normally, they did not cause picture instability on the screen unless I got "carried away" with the masking tape. I know - film done wrong. But in that particular booth, everything was a trade-off anyway. Edited for a grammer error, and to see if I put all those "Clickities" that Jack said in a quote. [ 02-17-2003, 10:13 PM: Message edited by: Paul G. Thompson ]  |  IP: Logged Jack Ondracek Film God Posts: 2348 From: Port Orchard, WA, USA Registered: Oct 2002 posted 02-17-2003 06:01 PM                        quote: from Paul T.: ...The motor cues went "clickity clickity clickity clickity clickity clickity clickity clickity clickity clickity clickity clickity", and the changeover cues went "clickity clickity clickity clickity clickity clickity clickity clickity" ...I got "carried away" with the masking tape. I know - film done wrong. But in that particular booth, everything was a trade-off anyway. Are you kidding, Paul? I LEARNED that trick in several of Seattle's best (union) booths. Prior to that, I had never heard of such a thing... The wisdom of the day was that the tape cues augmented the visual ones... especially on darker scenes where some of the older guys had trouble seeing them. That not only made it less likely that the operator might miss a cue, but it saved a lot of prints from having their cues "enhanced" in the booth... both examples of film done right ... '60s ('70s) style.  |  IP: Logged Paul G. Thompson The Weenie Man Posts: 4718 From: Mount Vernon WA USA Registered: Nov 2000 posted 02-17-2003 10:06 PM                     Jack, I don't remember that many "clickity's"... ....but when it turned into a "Clackity"....well, that is because a paper clip got snagged in a sprocket perf.. And, yes...that dates back into the '60's and 70's.  |  IP: Logged Nicholas Roznovsky Expert Film Handler Posts: 156 From: College Station, TX, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 02-18-2003 12:26 AM                        quote: The terrible thing is I have a laser pointer I have quite the collection of laser pointers that I've confiscated from the misguided youth which felt the need to "light up" in one of my theaters. They always seem to forget to claim them at the box office after the show... Fortunately, it really hasn't been a problem for us since about the time The Phantom Menace came out. I guess pointing a little red laser dot at anything after just wasn't as fun after Jar-Jar.  |  IP: Logged Phil Hill I love my cootie bug Posts: 7595 From: Hollywood, CA USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 02-18-2003 12:39 AM                  I agree with Brad's method. I think the example set would detour any further use of the laser-pointers of the dick-heads. >>> Phil  |  IP: Logged Chad Calpito Film Handler Posts: 23 From: San Diego, CA, USA Registered: Jan 2003 posted 02-19-2003 03:14 PM                     I do occassionally have problems with those laser pointers when I do theater checks after starting a movie. I don't have any particular solutions to this problem, but, I give a really stern look to those patrons who are doing this and then I walk up to them tell them to stop or I will make sure they leave. Chad  |  IP: Logged Arthur Allen Film Handler Posts: 99 From: Renton, WA, USA Registered: Aug 2001 posted 02-21-2003 01:36 PM                        You could allow smoking in theaters again... I worry about looking around for laser users because they might get back at me by shining the light right in my eyes.  |  IP: Logged Randy Stankey Film God Posts: 6539 From: Erie, Pennsylvania Registered: Jun 99 posted 02-21-2003 02:43 PM                     Do you know how HARD it is to hit a person, on purpose, right in the eye? Put a one inch circle up on the wall and try to "bullseye" it from about 25 feet away. Once you get good at hitting that, make the circle move. Unless you have super human steady hands, I can all but guarantee that nobody can hit you right in the eye for more than a fraction of a second. Then the "blink reflex" would kick in. You'd flinch when the light hit you. Furthermore, at that distance, the light won't be so intense that it would hurt your vision during the brief time the light was on you. O.T.O.H: IF somebody knocked you down, sat on you and held the thing directly on your eyeball it WOULD do some damage!... But monkeys would come flying out of my ass sooner than THAT would happen!  |  IP: Logged

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