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Topic: rant on stupid customers

Sean McKinnon
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1712
From: Peabody Massachusetts
Registered: Sep 2000

posted 08-30-2008 02:47 PM

IMO The customer should NEVER see the screen get smaller. Only Larger. If I had to have on screen advertising I would set it up so that whichever was the smaller format would be how the advertising was shown that way the screen would always either stay the same or get larger.

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Michael Brown
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1522
From: Bradford, England
Registered: May 2001

posted 08-30-2008 07:57 PM

quote: Chris Slycord
Or couldn't you simply request your preshow ads to also be printed in scope. That's how it worked when my old theater had 35mm ads. They'd ship us both flat and scope versions.

Basically no. Most UK cinemas show advertising from either Pearl & Dean or Carlton Screen Advertising. These add reels come as standard in flat format. Also scope movie trailers are fairly rare in the UK. It's not an issue for the site I work at (we have common height screens, so our scope is larger). But many other cinemas in my local area have top masking.

In the UK the standard pretty much is - Adverts in flat, trailers in flat and then change over to scope, regardless of what type of masking you have.

quote: Sean McKinnon
Only Larger. If I had to have on screen advertising I would set it up so that whichever was the smaller format would be how the advertising was shown that way the screen would always either stay the same or get larger.

Certainly that's possible. But you need to have another flat lense (with less magnification), plates and any aditional side masking. I believe they do something like this at Odeon Leicester Square.

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Chris Slycord
Film God

Posts: 2986
From: 청주시, 경북도, South Korea
Registered: Mar 2007

posted 08-31-2008 04:06 AM

quote: Michael Brown
Basically no. Most UK cinemas show advertising from either Pearl & Dean or Carlton Screen Advertising. These add reels come as standard in flat format. Also scope movie trailers are fairly rare in the UK.

Still couldn't you at least try to request them to print a version that is in scope? I understood that they normally came in flat (otherwise you wouldn't have made the comment you did) but accepting that they're always in flat is really different from having scope versions an impossibility.

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Michael Brown
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1522
From: Bradford, England
Registered: May 2001

posted 08-31-2008 04:45 PM

It's how the situation has been in the UK for many many years.

I can understand it. It would be a logistical nightmare for the advertisers making sure that the correct format of adverts are sent out for each film. I could see adverts accidentally turning up in scope format for a flat film and vice versa. Keeping the ads in flat keeps it simple.

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Chris Slycord
Film God

Posts: 2986
From: 청주시, 경북도, South Korea
Registered: Mar 2007

posted 08-31-2008 10:54 PM

quote: Michael Brown
I can understand it. It would be a logistical nightmare for the advertisers making sure that the correct format of adverts are sent out for each film. I could see adverts accidentally turning up in scope format for a flat film and vice versa. Keeping the ads in flat keeps it simple.

It would not be a "logistical nightmare." If we're able to send out trailers here in the US (which has a higher volume sent out than the UK due to the fact that we have tons more cinemas), then it certainly can be done. We rarely get a trailer for a movie that's in the wrong format.

If it's a logistical nightmare to send trailers in the right format, then it must be at least pretty difficult for them to even send the right trailers to begin with.

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Edwin Schwing
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 116
From: Las Vegas NV
Registered: May 2002

posted 09-02-2008 04:15 AM

Chris,

Drop it already.

The UK is not like the USA!!!

Scope there, Flat here. WHO UCKEN CARES!!!

If you don't want to, I am sure I could buy a dead horse for you to beat on since you obviously have nothing else to do... (with your tired old rags!)

E

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Chris Slycord
Film God

Posts: 2986
From: 청주시, 경북도, South Korea
Registered: Mar 2007

posted 09-02-2008 09:33 AM

Calm down man. I wasn't really planning on continuing the conversation anyway.

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Sean McKinnon
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1712
From: Peabody Massachusetts
Registered: Sep 2000

posted 09-02-2008 08:26 PM

You know the issue of wether the advetising is "bigger" than the feature may really not be a huge deal but attacking another member and accusing him of beating a dead horse for trying to discuss solutions to the problem is the exact kind of attitude that is KILLING this business.

But of course, it doesnt matter what the screen looks like as long there is plenty of popcorn and large cups right?

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Chris Slycord
Film God

Posts: 2986
From: 청주시, 경북도, South Korea
Registered: Mar 2007

posted 09-02-2008 10:00 PM

And to be fair, it did seem that Michael was at least somewhat annoyed with the issue. I was simply trying to see if he had at least attempted to solve the issue.

Like if he had said "We called someone up who did the distributing on those ads and were told 'No scope versions; too bad so sad'" I would've left it alone.

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Michael Brown
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1522
From: Bradford, England
Registered: May 2001

posted 09-02-2008 10:52 PM

The point is it's how it's been for years!, all over the country.

One of the main companies that sends out advertising in the UK is Peal & Dean, they have been around since 1953.

quote: Chris Slycord
"We called someone up who did the distributing on those ads and were told 'No scope versions; too bad so sad'"

I'm sure at some point between 1953 and now, someone has allready had that phone conversation. [Big Grin]

I probably should explain a little more how it works over here.

We get sent pre-assembled reels of adverts to go with each film. My site is a 13 screen multiplex, so we get sent 13 of these reels (each one labelled with the movie and screen number), A new batch of 13 are sent each week and we change them out on a thursday night, and the old set are sent back to have any changes made and then they are sent back for the week after.

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Sean McKinnon
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1712
From: Peabody Massachusetts
Registered: Sep 2000

posted 09-03-2008 01:55 PM

quote:
The point is it's how it's been for years!

It sounds like this is a situation that is out of your control but I have a personal pet peeve about the "Thats the way weve always done it" methidology. I heard that phrase so often as a tech regarding things as not dumping the leader on the floor, or running soundtrack down on platters, etc...

I misunderstood and thought we were talking about slide advertising for some reason. I can't beleive they wont give you adverts printed in the proper aspect ratio's. If it was my theatre I would refuse to run the adverts until they gave me the correct ones... but then again, I would not have common width screens to begin with so I would not have a problem running flat adverts and a scope feature.

What has to be remembered is that most customers do not understand film formats, and aspect ratios. All they know is that the screen was bigger when the coca-cola and gap jeans adverts were showing and now that the feature is on it got smaller???

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Cameron Glendinning
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 845
From: West Ryde, Sydney, NSW Australia
Registered: Dec 2005

posted 09-03-2008 04:59 PM

Americans please note, Australian and UK cinemas tend to be automated, lens change turrets, motorised masking and Sound level are pretty much the norm in multiplexs.

In Australia we have to do the ads ourselves, changing (ie breaking down and making up the Ads and trailers) in a 10 plex pretty much takes a whole day. On average the preshow including digital slideshow would last aprox 15 minutes before the feature. Over the years we occasionally get scope ads.

No we can not get scope versions of the ads.
Usually the screen grows for the Scope features from the flat trls.

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John Wilson
Film God

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

posted 09-03-2008 06:03 PM

quote: Cameron Glendinning
Over the years we occasionally get scope ads.

True, but not for many years in my booth. Last one would've been around 1996.

Of course, Tropic Thunder has a scope ad...but that doesn't count. [Wink]

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Joe Redifer
You need a beating today

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

posted 11-02-2008 07:52 PM

I'm not sure if this is a stupid customer or a stupid employee or both, but here is my epic tale:

Last night the entire world (or at least the majority of the states in the US) went off of daylights savings time, decreasing the clock by an hour. A couple that forgot to switch their clocks back came an hour early to a show that started in theater #D. Obviously they were confused why their show had not yet started and decided it would be best to inquire and maybe arrive at a possible solution. Here's how the call came up to me:

THEM- "Joe, we have a customer complaint, there's something wrong with the sound in theater #D".

ME- "Theater #D isn't running. It doesn't even start for another 45 minutes."

THEM- "Well maybe they meant theater #E or #F."

ME- "Nope, both #F and #E are running fine. The Dolby Digital error rates are 2 and 1, respectively. Nothing wrong with the sound. In fact I just calibrated the levels yesterday."

THEM- "Oh, OK. Nevermind then".

ME- "Hey can you bring me a cheeseburger? I want a cheeseburger."

As I wandered by #D, I noticed two people sitting in there. I went down there and asked them WTF and we discovered that they forgot about turning off Daylights Savings Time. Daylight is off of the endangered species list. Of course they were still very happy even though they had to wait because they were at the Tamarac.

Moral of the story: When a movie is late, complain about the sound.

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

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

posted 11-02-2008 10:30 PM

quote: Joe Redifer
A couple that forgot to switch their clocks back came an hour early to a show that started in theater #D.

I smell bullshit. If they forgot to switch their clocks BACK, that means their clocks said it was 8:00 when in reality it was 7:00. Therefore if they were following their clocks, they would have been an hour late for the movie, not an hour early. I think this story was just made up by Joe in order to increase his post count.

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