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Author Topic: Another Employee Problem......and it wasn't my fault :) Jeremy Fuentes Mmmm, Dr. Pepper! Posts: 1168 From: Corpus Christi, TX United States Registered: Jan 2004 posted 03-19-2005 06:05 PM                     I'm glad I was born a projectionist!! Otherwise, I wouldnt know what I am!  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 03-19-2005 06:26 PM                     quote: Larry Myers Sometimes bosses come on a little strong. If he is indeed a trained projectionist, he really doesn't need to be retrained by you or anyone else. Think of how you would feel if someone said you need training to filling-in at a theater across town. You know, the best projectionist in the world doesn't know how to operate EVERY piece of machinery out there. The best projectionist in the country could be competent with all models of Century, Simplex, Cinemeccanica and Christie projectors, but throw him in a booth with Kinoton equipment and it's ridiculous to think that he could walk in there and "know" the equipment and how to properly run and maintain it. Furthermore there are different types of automation in use, different makes and models of platters and different booth setups that must be learned. No two theaters are alike, unless you are comparing cookie-cutter AMC/Cinemarks.  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 03-19-2005 06:51 PM                     I dunno Brad...NOBODY ever showed me how to run a Christie, Bauer, Cinemeccanica, Kinoton, countless automations, spool towers, some platters... Heck, on the Bauer U2, that one I was thrown on while running 70mm and weeks later, I converted it 35mm too. I mention the Bauer U2 since it doesn't seem to thread like other projectors. A really good projectionist should realize, all projectors are really more alike than different. They all must run the same film. Once that concept is understood...the retraining shouldn't really be necessary. If all one can do is parrot what they have been shown...they are an accident waiting to happen because they don't really know what they are doing....just going through the motions.  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 03-19-2005 07:17 PM                     Steve, you are nitpicking my post and twisting it into something that you KNOW is not what I am trying to say. I find it hard to believe that you are such a perfect operator that you can walk into ANY booth ANYWHERE without any training (no matter how minimal) and not fuck up something at least once. Also remember that most people don't really analyze the equipment very well. They do stupid things like making "2 finger loops" regardless of the make/model of projector because they fail to use their brains.  |  IP: Logged Gordon McLeod Film God Posts: 9532 From: Toronto Ontario Canada Registered: Jun 99 posted 03-19-2005 09:32 PM                     Like steve as a relief operator I was expected to go in and operate any machine I came across and in toronto we had 3 different prevosts 5 different cinemecanicas Century variants simplex variants ernamans from 7 to12 Bauers U2 and the latter belt machines Meoptas Gaumount Kalee Motiographs every concievable platter reel to reel and automation and a projectionist was expected to walk in and run it If one wants to be called a projectionist then they should be one as for the 2 finger loop SMPTE gave the only proper way of threading a unknown machine turn it over by hand to determin the direction of sprocket rotation thread Pix star across the apperture, and the correct sound diamond across the reader (mag or optical) and then use up the excess film in the loops and then turn it over to ensure the loops don't flap and hit anything If ne is hiring a projectionist then hire one not someone off the street  |  IP: Logged Jeremy Fuentes Mmmm, Dr. Pepper! Posts: 1168 From: Corpus Christi, TX United States Registered: Jan 2004 posted 03-19-2005 10:50 PM                     When I was first put in the booth, I scratched a print within a week due to a misthread. I guess I belong here for not knowing how to thread up a projector before I worked at a theater. Maybe my trainer belongs there, but thats not the point. Everyone here was "someone off the street" before becoming a projectionist. But I'll go ahead and say it for Steve and Gordon... you're better than me since you can operate any piece of equipment perfectly right off the bat. Maybe thats not what yall meant, but thats surely the way it comes across.  |  IP: Logged Will Kutler Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1506 From: Tucson, AZ, USA Registered: Feb 2001 posted 03-20-2005 12:07 AM                     I stand with Steve and Gord. A projector is a projector and all pretty much do the same thing in the same way! The only thing is that it might take a try or two to get the film path down, but any competitent projectionist should be able to quickly analyze a film-path! Furthermore, any competitent projectionist should know how to identify any potential trouble spots that might result in film damage, ie (platter scratch, misaligned rollers, bad loops, etc, etc, etc)! For example, I walked into a cinema as a relief projectionist using the new Simplex Milleniums. I was at the theater a few days before my shift, where I got a "basic" low-down on their operations. So, of course a problem arose on the day of my shift! I had to quickly thread up and start a show within a about 10-15 minutes of my arrival. And for this show I had to switch from Flat to Scope. Well, I was befuddeled! For some reason I could not get the turret latch to unlock so that I could switch formats! Furthermore, up to this point I had no prior mechanical repair experience with Simplex/Century turrets, and I was not able to immediatly locate the equipment repair manuals! So, what to do? I started looking around at the switch, and noticed something funny. So, I then ran to projector #2 for a quick visual inspection. Turns out that my problem-child switch had been disassembeled and reassembeled backward, which prevented operation! I was able to quickly locate some make-shift tools and put things right. And the show started on-time! I do believe that the major training when going into any new booth, such as an art-house cinema, would be learning their computer/sound system. For example if they are running a computer Power-Point or video presentation that needs to be programmed, swapped over for film start, etc! Other interesting encounters: a masking motor that crapped out. So what to do to prevent a dark screen or crappy performance or late-start in a 20-plex? Go downstairs and crank the damn masking by hand! And I could goon about countless other encounters and technical difficulty that seperate the pros from the conseccion stand kids! Cheers K.  |  IP: Logged Adam Martin I'm not even gonna point out the irony. Posts: 3686 From: Dallas, TX Registered: Nov 2000 posted 03-20-2005 12:22 AM                     Dear Will, Please find the "Spell Check" button next to the "Add Reply" button on your next post. Love, Martha.  |  IP: Logged Tim Reed Better Projection Pays Posts: 5246 From: Northampton, PA Registered: Sep 1999 posted 03-20-2005 12:31 AM                       quote: Gordon McLeod I was expected to go in and operate any machine I came across Same here. AFAIK, this was fairly common practice with larger IA locals, where a man from the roster could be sent out on a moment's notice to cover a shift anywhere. Over the years, I have been sent to take over several booths that I'd never set foot in before. My only preparation was to show up a couple hours early to find all the breakers and locate controls, etc. It was really a test of a guy's mettle. The main problem for me was the several weeks it took to clean the place up and get rid of all the other guy's junk, so I could feel more at home. In fact, even before I got in the union, one of my very first jobs was at a big drive-in that had brand new Sword systems. I'd never seen this before outside of pictures in Boxoffice, and I had zero experience with xenon. The guy who was supposed to train me that night never showed up. It was at showtime when we learned he'd had a motorcycle crash on the way to the theatre and was in the hospital. Since I was the only one there who even remotely had a chance of getting the show on the screen, I had to train myself. It was about 45 minutes late, but by gosh, I figured it out and ran three features that night!  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 03-20-2005 01:23 AM                     *whatever* You guys are all WAY too full of yourselves over this. So big deal someone well trained switched booths between a Simplex, Century and Christie projector (that all have VERY close threading paths). The first projector I ever ran I was shown "this is how you thread the film and these are the changeover buttons. You start the motor with this switch here when you see the first dot in the corner, then when you see the second dot press these two buttons. I'll be back in a few minutes to see how you are doing once I get some coffee".......then I never saw him again (he walked out right then and there without fulfilling his 2 weeks he had promised), yet the show ran just fine. Intuition and basic common sense is great and all, but just because the show physically ran to the audience without any mishaps doesn't mean that I didn't somehow damage that print unknowingly.  |  IP: Logged Joe Redifer You need a beating today Posts: 12859 From: Denver, Colorado Registered: May 99 posted 03-20-2005 02:12 AM                        quote: A projector is a projector and all pretty much do the same thing in the same way! And they all thread the same way as well! Since I was trained on Century's, I had no problem wandering in to the local 12-plex outfitted with Cinemeccanica V5's. In fact I didn't even notice that they were different projectors until someone pointed out the difference in color from the ones I was trained on (the ones I trained on were grey, but these were light blue, otherwise they were almost identical, obviously). You've threaded one, you've threaded them all. It's that simple. I haven't been into Brad's new Kinoton booth but I'm sure they thread just like the Century does.  |  IP: Logged Richard Greco Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1180 From: Plant City, FL Registered: Nov 2003 posted 03-20-2005 03:46 AM                     I am very well knowledgable on Century projectors and soundheads. I got my current job mainly because of my knowledge of the equipment, (they did't have to train me). I only needed to look at the RCA soundheads that they ran for about a minute to get the proper thread path.  |  IP: Logged Chase Hanson Expert Film Handler Posts: 172 From: San Diego, CA Registered: Oct 2004 posted 03-20-2005 03:50 AM                     I believe Brad and Steve agree...they just dont know. Im going to draw a dangerous analogy here and say Projectors are very much similar to Cars. When I look at a car I know that it has 4 basic components...its got fuel, its got oxygen, its got compression and its got a spark. When I look at a projector I know its got a light source, its got a lense, its got a trap and its got rollers with sprokets on them. From this point we begin to branch out into the systems that fulfil these essential needs; Lamphouses, projector heads, lense turrets, etc. Different manufacturers might do certain things different ways...but DC powersupplies are pretty much all the same, all Xenon lamps have an anode and a cathode, lenses are two pieces of glass in a metal cylinder. These are examples of things that are synoymus with all units, things that let you coast from one booth to another...that and instruction manuals (per Steve) Its the little things, the quirks; Christies and belt shedding, Strong/Century/Simplex and their tendency to be oily...these are the types of things that you probably wouldnt just 'know' without being told or having worked with the units yourself. (per Brad)  |  IP: Logged Monte L Fullmer Film God Posts: 8367 From: Nampa, Idaho, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 03-20-2005 04:03 AM                     Course, go from running B&H's, Kodaks, Kalart-Victors, RCA's, Greyflex, Eiki 16mm manual thread units and then switch over to the 35mm machines. Now, that's a bit of a trip to stumble over at times. Agree, switch from the "classic" 35mm machines, then to the "V" series of the Cinemeccanica with that reverse rotation intermittent sprocket, to the split sounddrum arrangement. Pooh! the guy who trained me in running 35mm machines didn't himself know what "up" was...I had to retrain him that next season at the drive-in that I was working at...and he was older than me, and here I was a "snot-nosed," 19 year old kid! (LOL) -Monte  |  IP: Logged Rick Raskin Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1100 From: Manassas Virginia Registered: Jan 2003 posted 03-20-2005 01:17 PM                     FWIW: True, we projectionists could run practically any machine out there but the union had two recommendations. First that resident projectionists be sure that all switches were labeled in their booths and second, that relief and permit men visit theatres and learn the booths prior to working there. I used to have a loose leaf binder with specifics of many of the booths in the metro DC area but on several occasions had to work a booth cold. I showed up extra early for those. I also remember that at union meetings the business agent used to emphasize labeling switches so as "to avoid the having the relief man turn on the sprinkler system when he thought he was closing the curtain".  |  IP: Logged

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