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Topic: Things in Movies that PISS OFF projectionists!!!

Joseph Pandolfi
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 213
From: Milford, CT.
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 02-21-2001 03:57 PM

Yes, Rachel I did a double take when seen the squiggly line through the center of the screen. If it wasn't for the credits in between all the leader going through, it would sure be something wrong and the calls from downstairs would be coming in. By the way in the fake film melt department, any one see "The Shadow of the Vampire" 5 mins. before the end. There was one, but it was contrasted too bright, it would not send you jumping from your seat and running upstairs. Another projector slowdown and stop and restart happened twice during "Elmo in Grouchland".

Robert Golding
Film Handler

Posts: 65
From: Sutter, CA, USA
Registered: Jan 2001

posted 02-22-2001 01:18 AM

I ran a movie back in the 70's when we used carbon arc's along with 2000 ft reels. I don't recall the name of it but for 7 days straigh this movie got me out of my chair every showing. At the end of the movie, just before the credits came on, a 1955 chevy would come to a stop and the film would start to melt. Of course I would go running for the projector and about half way there I would realise that the sound was fine and it had gotten me again. I'll never forget that and I'm very glad they haven't made anymore movies that way.

Michael Brown
Phenomenal Film Handler

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

posted 06-01-2002 02:35 PM

There is a scene in "Slackers" that has vertical green scratches.

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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."

Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 06-01-2002 02:47 PM

On the "Fight Club" DVD director's commentary track David Fincher talks about how they unintentionally panicked a good number of projectionists with their "cigarette burns" display of changeover cues.

I saw a 70mm Dolby SR print of "Gremlins 2: The New Batch" and thought the film melting gag was kind of funny, although very disorienting at first. The gremlins were cackling behind the audience in the surround channel when they were doing their little hand shadow stunts. I was more annoyed by Hulk Hogan jumping in to break it up.

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Ian Price
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1714
From: Denver, CO
Registered: Jun 99

posted 06-01-2002 03:41 PM

We just had a copy of Dog Town & Z Boys at Mountainfilm in Telluride. This film is full of bad projection things like leaders going off screen, scratches, and focus problems. They use all these devices to signal scene changes.

All venues in Telluride are run reel to reel. So we hear that at the first venue it played, the projectionist missed every changeover. So we snickered and figured we could do better. We checked in the print. We noted that there were factory cue marks on every reel. The films is hard-masked 1.85:1 and Pillerboxed so the image is 1.33:1 like the 8mm, video and 16mm it was filmed with. The cue marks are all in the black of the Pillerboxed area. Also someone had done grease pencil cues inside the image area. So I give it to my veteran projectionist with 16 years of experience. She inspects the film and off we go. I'm not paying attention anymore as it is midnight and I have been at work since 8:00 AM. But I am watching the film from the floor.

So right after reel 2 in to reel 3 she blows the changeover. I run upstairs and see what's up. Well, reel 2 was so short that she was still threading up reel 3 when the cues went through. She never even saw them. She didn't miss another changeover though.

So watch out for Dog Town & Z Boys but if you are running it platterd you will probably not notice anything.

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Scott Norwood
Film God

Posts: 8146
From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas)
Registered: Jun 99

posted 06-01-2002 03:52 PM

Ian -- which print of Dogtown did you get? I'd be interested to know if it was the one that I ran....

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Adam Wilbert
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 590
From: Bellingham, WA, USA
Registered: Mar 2002

posted 06-01-2002 04:02 PM

Things that piss off projectionists? How about when the movies come pre-scratched even when they're brand new, like Sum of All Fears!?

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Michael Gonzalez
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 790
From: Grand Island , NE USA
Registered: Sep 2000

posted 06-01-2002 09:08 PM

I have the same problem. I even got angry at the girl who built up the movie (since it is the only way a new print could be scratched before it's first run) until it was realised that the film was printed that way. They look more like black lines than scratches upon close inspection.

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David Favel
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 764
From: Ashburton, New Zealand
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 06-02-2002 03:36 AM

Must admit that Galaxy Quest had me checking what was wrong with my equipment

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Heyward Garner
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 101
From: Winston-Salem, NC, USA
Registered: Jan 2001

posted 06-02-2002 03:45 AM

Yep, yep...
My print of Sum of All Fears was pretty crappy, too... =(

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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."

Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 06-02-2002 05:04 PM

I wonder if the studios are having the labs pre-scratching the films in an effort to sell us on DLP?

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Neil Hunter
Film Handler

Posts: 74
From: Salisbury, NC, USA
Registered: Oct 2001

posted 06-02-2002 08:49 PM

I sense a conspiricy theory coming.

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Peter Kerchinsky
Master Film Handler

Posts: 326
From: Seattle, WA, USA
Registered: Jan 2002

posted 06-03-2002 05:54 AM

Yep, Gremlins 2 got me by surprise.
I was running a trade screening about 10 in the morning after leaving a previous booth shift job well after midnight and was kind of sleepy. When the flm burned on the screen in the print I almost fell out of my chair to dash for the projector, Boy was I pissed. One of the bookers in attendance was about halfway through the booth door to complain when we both realized it was in the film.
Also I got a real kick out of a previous thread where a "non experienced" projectionist tried to correct the black and white opening and closing segments of WIZARD OF OZ.
Oh boy!

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John Pytlak
Film God

Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 06-04-2002 09:15 AM

It may be that "Sum of All Fears" required subtantial re-editing after the original negative had been cut. Recutting a negative usually involves taking apart and remaking cement splices, which adds considerably to the handling and risk of handling damage.

------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: +1 585 477 5325 Cell: +1 585 781 4036 Fax: +1 585 722 7243
e-mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

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John Hawkinson
Film God

Posts: 2273
From: Cambridge, MA, USA
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 06-04-2002 11:13 AM

The print of Sum of All Fears that I saw didn't have noticable scratches or other problems, so it seems unlikely to be re-editting of negatives as a cause. I do know there were a lot of preview screenings, both a few months ago as well as in late May, so perhaps it's just a case of prints being scratched at preview screenings.

--jhawk

p.s. The theatre where I watched it did have a really annoying combination of excess jump or weave coupled with heavy keystoning and a slight focus misadjustement such that the bottom of the screen, where the subtitles were, looked really bad, and the subtitles seemed to jump/weave a lot. (The middle of the screen was in focus...)

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