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Author Topic: Chain Theater Hiring Practices Pravin Ratnam Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 844 From: Atlanta, GA,USA Registered: Sep 2002 posted 08-18-2004 11:01 PM                     Aaron, your comment to Rachel made me laugh and brought back memories of my stay in New Castle in the summer of 1988 where I was looking after my father's magnet factory. I got a free room at Jefferson Motel by putting in a few hours at the front desk. Boy , did I learn about people when I worked at the motel for a few hours. In New Castle, the only positive news, was me eating at some diner or some place owned by Chuck Tanner (or maybe he was a frequent guest?). Many seemed unemployed. I met all kinds of people at the motel. I would wonder how a loser would get a decent looking big breasted babe, only to see the room vacated after an hour and the light bulb in my head lights up. Heh. Mothers would come storming in looking for their daughters not because they were aimless and f***ing around at 16, but because they were f***ing around with black guys. A lot of druggies seemed to be there in that small town. I was threatened by some madam because she thought I had the audacity to give her an attitude. Then again, not all was bad. some greek/middle eastern restaurant used to give me free lunches for some unknown reason. I had no clue why the manager insisted I eat there for free ever since my second or third visit there. I ended up paying for some because it got kind of embarassing. I did see Beverly Hills Cop2 in New Castle at some 4 plex. Theater was not all that. I was stuck working many hours in New Castle while movies like Batman, Lethal Weapon 2 were coming out. 1988 was a damn good year for mainstream hollywood.  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 08-18-2004 11:02 PM                     Two interesting viewpoints here that stand out... quote: Chris Hipp Also, it is difficult to get people to break old habits. I would much rather start with someone new. and quote: Jesse Skeen It's definitely wrong to automatically assume someone with 10 years experience is going to have bad habits that make them worthless. Both have good arguments, but with the occasional exception the majority of the time I have to side with Chris here. The odds are that anyone brought into the booth with previous experience will be WORSE than training a 16 year old who has no idea we don't run DVDs. The reason is simple, they don't know ANYTHING, and when certain parts of the training are stressed, they take it more seriously than someone with experience. However training takes time and a LOT of patience, of which I don't always have the time for. What I ideally prefer to find is someone who is currently working at a local theater (or a theater not so far away that I can visit) and watch them in action and carefully pick their presentation apart. Now I don't take into account things like bad sound, or miscut aperture plates, but I do look at the condition of the prints and their attention to detail. If their oldest prints look brand new and they don't have any major bad habits, they are hired flat out because that proves that not only do they have at least the majority of things down, if they are to that level they in all probability know how to handle emergencies. Training someone along these lines will be fairly painless for both parties. Unfortunately when I visit random theaters I am generally vurping the entire visit. Occasionally I do come across someone who is really trying to put on a flawless show (usually only limited by the equipment they have to work with). For example, I would hire Adam or Kyle from the Esquire and I would also hire Ethan from the Angelika Plano or Chris from the AMC Mesquite in a second. I've seen their work and they have their shit together. I can't say that for very many people though. (Seriously, there are probably only about 1-2 dozen people of whom I can personally vouch for knowing how to truly do film done right, and I have visited A LOT of theaters.) Most people's presentations are lacking.  |  IP: Logged Dennis Benjamin Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1445 From: Denton, MD Registered: Feb 2002 posted 08-19-2004 07:17 AM                        There is one thing about hiring someone with previous booth experience: There are some people in the world who have no mechanical aptitude. Sometimes, when I train new people in projection, this becomes apparent in the first few weeks. Ususally these people do not work out as projectionists. They learn to thread -and that is about it. Someone who has worked in a booth prior - knows what they are getting into and ususally have the mechanical aptitude. It is the same with hiring someone for a floor position: If they have previous experience working at a movie theatre, they at least know what they are getting themselves into. Working weekends, odd hours, and knowing what is expected of them is already established coming in the door. As far as bringing bad habits with them - they are broken of those bad habits - or they go away.....  |  IP: Logged Rachel Craven Madam Moderator Posts: 2190 From: Pensacola, FL Registered: Dec 2000 posted 08-19-2004 08:02 AM                     Seems as Jacob probably said a little too much about his theater. Don't be afraid to post here Jacob, just watch what you post.  |  IP: Logged JC Cowles Film Handler Posts: 77 From: St. Paul, MN Registered: Jun 2001 posted 08-20-2004 09:20 AM                     As a former human resources manager for a both General Cinema and later AMC Theatres, I feel your pain. I witnessed many potential projectionists get thrown to the wind for a variety of reasons. But here are some suggestions that I hope will help. First off, in regards to AMC, they are very picky on appearance. Especially AMC theatres that were not gobbled up (like Ex-General Cinemas). No long hair on men (yes I have short hair now), no radical styling (corn-rows, dread locks, braiding, excessively teased hair on women, etc—the policy as it was explained to me is you wear your hear how you were born with it—employees with the aforementioned haircuts were terminated when AMC took over my GCC) no visible tattoos, no jewelry (except wedding bands) and no piercings. Not all hiring managers abide to these strict guidelines, but a large number of them do. In regards to any place you apply….I suggest wearing what you would to an interview when dropping off an application. First impressions are huge and if the hiring manager happens to greet you, a poor appearance may earn your application a place at the bottom of the list. Dress isn’t the only aspect of presentation that makes a difference. The look of your application can often speak more. Legible handwriting is something I cannot stress enough. I used to receive countless applications that I simply couldn’t read. Never fold your application or use wild pen colors (I recommend using black ink from a Rollerball or possibly Gel pen). Even if you submit a resume, always fill out the application completely! This is especially important when it comes to previous job history. If you don’t have work history, provide personal references like school teachers. Unless you’re applying to Mary Kay Cosmetics, bright colored resumes are a definite no. There is nothing wrong with plain white 24# paper. Remember, your application speaks for you. When a hiring manager looks over applications to fill a job position, it is typically the only thing that will distinguish you from other applicants. For me, and I know of several other HR managers, completeness and neatness where the two prevailing aspects I’d use to determine who to call—not job history. In my experience, most applicants for projectionist positions did not have previous projection experience. Someone gave me a chance when I got my first projection job, I wasn’t about to rule out someone new to the industry. If you do have projection experience, the time for it to shine is during an actual interview. Keep in mind, not all hiring managers have projection experience. Make sure you find out if they do before using a vocabulary they may not understand. Confidence goes a long way in an interview, even if you’re partially faking it. If you act like you believe you are the person for the job, hiring mangers will typically pick up on it. Be prepared to answer technical questions (do your reading on Film-Tech kids). If you don’t have previous projection experience, then learn all you can before interviewing. However don’t give answer you’re not sure of. If a hiring manager knows you don’t have previous experience, they will probably be forgiving if you simply don’t know answers. But their opinion of you will certainly plummet if you try to B.S. you’re way around an answer. Also, if you don't have projection experience, be prepared to answer this question: "Why do you think you would be a better choice to hire over someone who has experience in the industry?" If they don't ask it. Tell them! In brief summary, the most important things I believe you can do is providing a neat and complete presentation when applying and show confidence when interviewing. I wish everyone applying to work for a theatre the best of luck. I sincerely enjoyed my 4+ years in the industry. Maybe if I get sick of toying around in the printing/copying industry, I’ll come back and have to take my own advice .  |  IP: Logged Aaron Mehocic Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 804 From: New Castle, PA, USA Registered: Jun 99 posted 08-22-2004 08:50 PM                     Pravin, Didn't know you were ever this close. In fact I'll bet the theatre you saw Beverly Hills Cop 2 is the place I'm currently employed at. Back in 1988 we were three screens (now nine) and were (and still are) the largest cinema in the city of New Castle. You're right about the place being mediocre. At that time the building was about ten years old and under old-school management. This was also about the same time the union operaters were locked out and floor staff trained upstairs. Oh yes, I know about the Jefferson Motel and what went on there. It has since closed down, but for a time a medical doctor owned it. I'm not quit sure if he still does or what will become of the property. What I find interesting about the whole thing is the Jefferson was built in the late 50's or early 60's to help stop what urban geographers call "white flight", or the mass movement of middle class whites into the suburbs. By showing a then-modern building in the downtown offering reasonable lodging to business class and vacationing people alike, this motel attempted to prove the central business district still had meaning in the regional economy. It failed miserably when by 1980, our industrial sector was literally pulled out from under us by foreign competion. By 1988, the Jefferson was simply a place for prostitutes to meet their "johns" or, as you say, quote: Pravin Ratnam Mothers would come storming in looking for their daughters not because they were aimless and f***ing around at 16, but because they were f***ing around with black guys. Now I will tell you why you got free food at either Nala's or Mary's (doesn't matter since they were both owned by the same family) ... It was your father's magnet factory. You could give somebody a job and they knew it. It was a classic case of "You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours". Even if you never mentioned the factory, they knew. And you know how they knew? New Castle is nothing but a bunch of ethnic clans looking out for each other. Greeks and Syrians on the south side, Irish and Blacks on the west side, Italians in the east, and old Pilgrim stock up on the North Hill. People talk in this town and it ain't about the weather or how Jimmy's doing away at school. Each one of these groups has their own people in charge of something in this town and they only staff those places with their own people. Outsiders may laugh, but when you get here it will amaze you! Many times I joke that I'm "going to America" when I leave town for a while. Those people that seemed unemployeed simply were since they had no patron to find them a job. Chuck Tanner (former major league ball player and 1979 world champion Pittsburgh Pirate manager) is a New Castle native and anybody whose anything always claims the old bullshit line that "they played little league with Chuck Tanner" BFD . Yet with this being said, I do recommend Tanner's Resturant on Wilmington Ave on the northside if anybody is passing through. The croissants are excellent. New Castle is finished. It will never be what it was, even though the people here still believe new factories will come in and save us all from that last act of final damnation. The average income is $29,000, yet over 20% of our county population makes $23,000 or less. My advice is to stay the hell away from here and if you ever came, don't look back.  |  IP: Logged Alan Plester Expert Film Handler Posts: 209 From: great yarmouth england Registered: Apr 2001 posted 09-10-2004 05:08 PM                     Shane Keep banging at them mate,maybe you`l get lucky I sure do hope so Was in the game nearly 20 years cant get back 4 love nor money they dont like experianced guys think they might tread on toes  |  IP: Logged

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