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Author Topic: Employees clueless about booth importance. Carl Martin Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1424 From: Oakland, CA, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 02-29-2004 02:19 AM                        what's the best way of doing this -- just starting the motor (no failsafe), or cutting power to the lamp (rectifier) then starting as normal with automation? carl  |  IP: Logged Daryl C. W. O'Shea Film God Posts: 3977 From: Midland Ontario Canada (where Panavision & IMAX lenses come from) Registered: Jun 2002 posted 02-29-2004 02:30 AM                        Depends on the automation. If you can disable the lamp ignition (some automations have a lamp AUTO / OFF / ON switch), do that (set to off). If you're really in to not only saving lamp hours, but saving power, make sure you switch the sound system back into non-sync. Usually I leave the sync (film's) sound on though, since you'll often have someone complain that you started the movie half way through for them if the film sound isn't already 'on' when they walk in. Whatever you do make sure you can ignite the lamp at any time during the show or else it defeats the purpose.  |  IP: Logged Wolff King Morrow Master Film Handler Posts: 490 From: Denton, TX, USA Registered: Feb 2004 posted 02-29-2004 08:07 AM                        Edit: My apologies for editing my posts. I was informed by my employers that I am not allowed to discuss anything pertaining to operation, proceedures, profits, or wages of the company I work for on this or any other public media. Please note I was NOT aware of such a policy, so I apologize for the disruption of the thread. Thanks for your understanding on this. -Wolff [ 03-02-2004, 09:54 PM: Message edited by: Wolff King Morrow ]  |  IP: Logged Carl Martin Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1424 From: Oakland, CA, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 03-01-2004 04:01 AM                        but why run it all manual? as soon as that ticket is sold, hit start and turn off the motor. you may still have to manually open the douser, switch the sound, and dim the lights, depending on if the feature has started, etc., but you won't have to worry about shutting down. carl  |  IP: Logged Jack Ondracek Film God Posts: 2348 From: Port Orchard, WA, USA Registered: Oct 2002 posted 03-01-2004 11:02 AM                        Not sure about your question, Carl. You don't want to run anything manual, unless you plan to sit there and wait for someone to buy a ticket. Starting your automation as usual, but "manually" turning off your lamp keeps all of your automation's protection in place, should something go wrong. You'd also want to choose the mode that lets you turn off the lamp AND your hour meter, if this is something that might happen frequently in your theatre. Just disabling an ignition switch (Irem, Neumade?) would probably leave your hour meter running. The rest of it is a matter of personal choice... whether to manual the lights to some setting, or where to leave the sound. We don't let the sound run in film mode, because our doors stay open in an empty auditorium. Those with those nifty magnetic door holders wouldn't have to worry about that, though! On manual motor (or lamp) operations... especially with a TA-10... resist at all costs the temptation to let your staff use these switches at startup time! It's almost guaranteed that, once they start messing with them, one will get left on through an entire show. I disconnected the manual lamp switch on my 4K auditorium because the manual switch occasionally got "accidentally" left on.  |  IP: Logged Carl Martin Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1424 From: Oakland, CA, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 03-02-2004 02:55 AM                        i was arguing against running manually, which is what i thought wolff was suggesting. we have ta-10's and my current starting procedure is to thread early on the leader, motor up to a certain point, then press "start" and turn off the motor. i'll admit to leaving the motor on a few times initially, but now turning it off is "automatic". carl  |  IP: Logged Rob Butler Film Handler Posts: 91 From: Westford, MA, USA Registered: Mar 2004 posted 03-31-2004 03:44 PM                     Back on to the original topic of this thread, I know exactly how you feel about people's perception of booth operations. I lost count of how many ushers that seem jelous because while they're working hard, I'm just "sitting there enjoying the movies". Or the people that don't care about showmanship as long as they get their paycheck on Friday.  |  IP: Logged Brian Michael Weidemann Expert cat molester Posts: 944 From: Costa Mesa, CA United States Registered: Feb 2004 posted 03-31-2004 07:50 PM                        It's the classic hierarchy: concession thinks ushers are lazy, ushers think box staff is lazy, box staff thinks floor (managerial) staff is lazy, floor staff thinks booth staff are lazy, and booth staffs think IMAX booth staff are lazy. According to this, IMAX booth staff are the laziest compared to concession ... well, based purely on where the theatre income comes from, this seems true! ARGH!  |  IP: Logged Sam Johnson II Film Handler Posts: 25 From: Waynesburg, KY, USA Registered: Jan 2004 posted 04-01-2004 12:40 AM                     quote: Back on to the original topic of this thread, I know exactly how you feel about people's perception of booth operations. I lost count of how many ushers that seem jelous because while they're working hard, I'm just "sitting there enjoying the movies". I had this problem where I used to work. The concession people, and I think even some of the managers (who weren't the most competent) viewed the projectionists as lazy. I think this is because our rushes pretty much occured during different times. Because our movies (four of them) started and let out at roughly the same times, we'd be cleaning and threading and stuff back-to-back. Depending on the schedule, when we were done, concession would just be starting their rush of people coming in or be in the middle of it. If we had the full crew working, that means there wasn't much room to help concession, and we didn't have much to do until all for movies were started and the vast majority of the people were cleared out so we could start cleaning it. Sad to say, this, among other things that I'll not bother getting into, led to a negative working atsmosphere for pretty much everyone. Let's also just say, if I didn't know before, I definitely learned the concept of backstabbing there . Funny how I miss the job, though...oh well, hopefully I can land a job at a new theater being built across town  |  IP: Logged Randy Stankey Film God Posts: 6539 From: Erie, Pennsylvania Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-01-2004 03:31 PM                     Nobody seems to notice how heavy film cans are until you ask them to help you lug one up the stairs. Working at the megaplex, it wasn't too bad because we had an elevator that went from the booth to the loading dock. But, here, there are no elevators. Ya' gotta' carry the stinkin' things up the stairs. Furthermore, I have to lug them from the mail room which is in another building across campus. When the film comes in, I always get a call from the mail room to come pick them up. When I get there, they invariably complain how heavy they are. I just look at them and say, "No shit?!" I have to carry them from the mail room, across campus, up the stairs and back again for every film we play! They only have to move them, maybe 20 feet, from the receiving room to the pick-up area! One time, we got two films in one delivery. I didn't have a dolly handy so I carried them all in one trip, bellhop style. You should have seen the look on their faces! I just told them that, over the years, I have lugged over 1,000 film cans. They think I'm giving them a line of bull. So, my answer is: If you think I'm lazy, then why don't YOU haul this shit around for a while! Oh yeah! How did all the projectors get up to the booth? What about that semi-truck full of speakers? Who unloaded all the seats for every auditorium in the building? How about those popcorn poppers? Add it all up and I'd say that I, PERSONALLY, unloaded 4 or 5 semis full of equipment and supplies in order to get that theater operational! That was just MY share. There was probably about 2 or 3 times that amount I didn't unload. The other guys on the booth crew pitched in, too! Who do you think they call when the sacks of popcorn and the BIBs of soda need to be stacked in the stock room? Do you think an usher would do all that?! Don't bet on it! They are all a bunch of wussies! And they think *I'm* lazy?!  |  IP: Logged Rob Butler Film Handler Posts: 91 From: Westford, MA, USA Registered: Mar 2004 posted 04-01-2004 05:43 PM                     You'll find this kind of thinking in every industry. Truck drivers think that train engineers are lazy because all they have to control is the speed. Laborers think that machine operators are lazy because they sit there all day pulling levers, etc. For the most part, ushers aren't allowed into the booth, so they never get to see how much work is actually involved. As far as they know, you just walk in and hit play and the system does the rest. For someone that knows absolutely nothing about how a projection booth works, you can see how when someone hears the term "automation system" they interpret that as "completely automated" or "it's a big DVD player". Every so often, if an usher's giving me s*** about how lazy I am and how hard he has to work, I'll offer to show him the booth when he goes on break, usually, the usher takes me up on the offer, that's when I make him stand there and watch me thread up, after that, I usually seem to get a little more respect from that usher. I've been laughed at by other employees when they find out how important the presentation quality of a show is to me. To the ushers, it's all about customer service, kindness, and professionalism, they make sure that the guests are happy from the moment they step in the door, till they sit down in the theater, but as soon as their asses hit the seats, that's where I take over, and I take my job seriously, not just because I'm paid to do the job right, and not just because one simple screwup could destroy a whole print, but also because if I screw something up that affects the show, the ushers have to deal with a few hundred angry guests which leaves them angry with me.  |  IP: Logged Brian Michael Weidemann Expert cat molester Posts: 944 From: Costa Mesa, CA United States Registered: Feb 2004 posted 04-02-2004 02:05 AM                        Yes, that's the key right there! The fact that your presence as projectionist is NOT NOTICED is the testament to how good a job you're doing. One tends to take for granted that which works its best by staying invisible. Too bad there isn't a "Great Presentation/Thank You Projection Team" tip jar on the tables where you would find Customer Satisfaction cards. I mean, even if one out of every 500 people through the door on a flawless Saturday night left a buck ... well, that would make me a happy guy. Okay, well, you could argue that it's our JOB to be flawless, so why should we deserve a tip? Well, wait-staff in a restaurant have the job to take an order and bring out food, and that's precisely what they do (well, nowadays, it's not even your SERVER who actually BRINGS the food, some restaurants), yet tips are perfectly accepted in society for THEM. Hmmm ... perhaps I should do a search on TIPS FOR PROJECTIONISTS threads before I just start ranting on a tangent ...  |  IP: Logged John Pytlak Film God Posts: 9987 From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922 Registered: Jan 2000 posted 04-02-2004 07:47 AM                        I made a short film in college, showing my fellow Grandview Drive-In projectionist Carl inspecting a print and putting on the show. The title was "The Unseen Showman". IMHO, floor staff should be shown what happens in the projection room, along with training on what projection and sound problems to look for and listen for as they patrol each auditorium. For example, being able to report if there is a framing or focus problem, or a problem with the sound. Good communication between the floor staff and projection crew is important.  |  IP: Logged Rob Butler Film Handler Posts: 91 From: Westford, MA, USA Registered: Mar 2004 posted 04-02-2004 03:21 PM                     You gotta love it when management cuts down on turnaround time to get an extra show in and pins the blame on the projectionist because the show started late.  |  IP: Logged Stewart Anderson Expert Film Handler Posts: 105 From: Sandy, Utah /United States of America Registered: Aug 2003 posted 04-03-2004 05:25 PM                        My favorite is when they schedule a print to move and interlock with only a few minutes to get it ready. They think about the floor staff and how long it takes to clean a theater but sometimes forget all about the projectionists.  |  IP: Logged

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