This is topic Technicolor sucks in forum Film Handlers' Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.
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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 09-24-1999, 03:58 PM:
OK we all know that Technicolor sucks. But I have a question concerning some more suckitude that they have implemented into their "services" lately:Has anybody noticed that nearly all films coming from Technicolor recently do not have all of the reels facing the same direction (ie heads or tails)? This pisses me off. I wish they would put all of the heads up reels into one batch of cans and all of the tails up reels into another batch. There is no need to mix and match. I assume that our idiot labs may have something to do with this as well. In my opinion, all film should come tails up. That way it would force the print to be "inspected" at the bench. There would be no way some crazy guy could build up straight from the cans to the platter. The general quality of splices would improve throughout the industry, because you could see them much better when you are making them. Also, it would greatly increase build-up speed for those of us who already build up at the bench, since we wouldn't have to rewind the "really big reel".
Posted by Stephen Jones (Member # 16) on 09-24-1999, 09:11 PM:
It happens here too as most prints come from the labs a couple of days before screening. Mostly they come on flats wraped in plastic wraps and then packed in carboard boxes,trunks are becoming rare or they send trunks and spls (empty) and when the season finishes we have break them down onto the exchange spls.Usually when they come from the labs the reels are end out but they also come with some end out and the rest head out,this as far as I am concerned isnt a problem as I for one never make-up a print straight from the lab or another location straight onto the platter.I always make it up onto 6000ft spools and check every foot of it.I always instruct any trainees I train to do the same.------------------
Posted by George Roher (Member # 91) on 09-24-1999, 10:29 PM:
Building film at the bench is much better, if there's time. I was in a sticky situation last night where I had to build a show for a promotional screening straight onto the platter and barely had time to finish before the show. I used to build all my shows onto Goldberg modular platter reels, at a theatre I used to work for, and I think that is the ultimate system. Build the entire show at the bench onto one giant reel. Then lift it onto the platter, unlock the top, stick in the center feed and thread. No messing with a makeup table and no platter loading. This was also the fasted way I ever built shows. I might add that the Goldbergs are the best method for print moving too. I wish I still had them.
Posted by Erika Hellgren (Member # 22) on 09-24-1999, 10:32 PM:
OK, OK, I really have to utilize this topic (appropriately named) to vent some frustration. While I agree with Joe's gripe about the reels, I must tell you about something that happened a few weeks ago that really pissed me off.Our theatre was showing a sneak of Mystery Alaska, and I expected that the print would show up the day before the screening. Well, by 6pm the day it should have arrived, it still was not there. I promptly called Technicolor because I'd had a previous incident with them regarding a sneak when they had had no knowledge that we were booked for the print and I couldn't get one till about two hours before it was supposed to show. Afraid that this might happen again, I asked them what time they were going to deliver Mystery Alaska, and they told me midnight that night. I asked the operator why we weren't notified about such a strange delivery time. I mean, how did they know anyone would be at the theatre at that time to receive the print? Of course, she was clueless like all the operators I talk to there.
So, I stayed late that night to let the Sky Courier guy in and to build up the print ... which was a shoe polish, junk print!!! (Somebody please explain to me why people still use shoe polish to mark the heads and tails of prints. Talk about amateurish!)
Anyway, the day after the sneak they tried to come pick up the print again, which wasn't ready yet since it was a fairly busy week, not to mention the fact that nobody bothered to call and set up a pick up time! When we called Technicolor again, they tried to blame it on our booker for only booking it for one day. They didn't understand that it wasn't so much the times that the print was dropped off and picked up, it was the lack of communication that was ticking me off. Do they expect us to read their minds? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARG!!!
Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 09-25-1999, 01:01 AM:
My TES horror story of the month:This week we are playing Bowfinger and Blair Witch Project. They both arrived yesterday, but I have a day job and can't inspect film until after 7:00 pm, so no chance of getting any replacement film until next Monday or Tuesday.
Bowfinger: Reel 4 has at least 15 splices (all with real footage missing, not just cuts) and perf damage throughout the reel
All but about 30 seconds of the end-credits are cut off
The trailer(s) that are supposed to be attached are missing
A lab splice that was so far out of line it would have derailed the film in the projector
Blair Witch: So full of static electricity that I had to stick extra guards around the film pack to keep it from getting thrown
Perf damage in two reels
"Attached" trailer missing
Not only that, but both films had broken/falling apart split reels, loose/torn/stringless reel bands and of course the usual bent cans.
But hey, at least they arrived on time (TES's version of on-time -- 1 day early).
As Erika said....AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHH!!
Mike
Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 09-25-1999, 03:48 AM:
Why oh why does our industry have to be blessed with the existence of Technicolor Entertainment Services? Except for a few nice ladies whose job it is to answer the phone and nothing more (they know nothing about film), everybody I have ever spoken to at Technicolor has been lacking in the mental department in some way. That is the only explanation that I can come up with! They do not seem in the least bit interested in solving any of my problems with them.A week ago, we got "For Love of the Field of Dreams" and "Blue Streak" from TES, and a print of "Mumford" Every single reel in "Mumford" was broken, and a few broken reels were also in the other two prints. We built them up as carefully as we could so as not to damage the film, since broken reels are completely useless! Anyway, I called Technicolor and politely asked them to send me 10 empty plastic reels for replacements. "No problem, we'll get those out to you right away" the happy female voice on the other end proclaimed. We have received no replacements yet.
Something must be done about TES. I have never had a good experience with them. I don't think that anybody has. I think that perhaps the studios are the only ones who can make a difference now. I know every person on this forum wants to exhibit the movies the way the studios want us to. But TES makes this completely impossible. So attention studio executives: TES is ruining your film! The evidence is overwhelming!
Posted by Jim Ziegler (Member # 86) on 09-25-1999, 06:18 AM:
Do any of you ever have Technicolor showing up on Monday to get a print that doesn't close until Thursday? I run into this once a month.. Woe to Technicolor if they try to charge me for a missed print...
Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 09-25-1999, 06:34 AM:
Yes, I have had that happen many times! And they do try to charge! Of course, we don't pay.
Posted by Aaron Sisemore (Member # 145) on 09-26-1999, 01:19 AM:
OR on the other side of that coin: I have had a few prints (Phenomenon, Madeline) which sat for several MONTHS in the booth gathering dust, We tried in vain several times to get Airborne to take the damned things, but they didnt want them. Calling TES didnt seem to help much either... then one day they came asking for them and we pulled them out of wherever they were sitting and got them the hell outa there..
Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 09-26-1999, 11:52 AM:
If only there was a politically correct word I could use to describe TES.I'm really surprised some crazed projectionist out there hasn't torched the building yet. One day soon projectionists will be the butt of the same jokes everyone has tagged postal workers with. Come on guys, you know how you get when you're up in that dark room all day trying to provide a top notch presentation to your customers and you get a Technicolor print in with all broken reels. Remember that mental image of the reel splitting apart while you were unwinding it and then chasing the ever unwinding roll of film down the endless hallway...all the while destroying that reel? (This happens once to everyone and then learn to use the Goldberg split reel from that point on.) How many of you have cut open your hand due to a break in the flange of a TES reel? Is it possible for a TES reel NOT to wobble on the rewind shaft? Can anything think of two words more annoying than "integrity inspected"? What the hell does that mean? I'll tell you...some 16 year old who has never touched a film before is unwinding the first 20 feet of film of each reel onto the floor, looking at it and saying "uh, yeah I guess it's fine". And on goes the sticker! How many out there typically spend an hour a week on the phone...on hold with TES? Has the "print department" EVER actually called anyone back, as promised by the nice ladies who answer the phones? How many of you have sat ALL NIGHT at your theaters because that print is promised to be delivered 2 hours from the phone call. Another phone call comes "just one more hour"...then another, and another, and another. Finally you get your print at 3PM Friday afternoon! Gee, ETS has depots spread nicely around the continent!
Do the studios REALLY have no idea what's going on at Technicolor??? If they do, then they clearly don't care. If they don't, will someone who can get through to a higher up please tell them?
SMPTE and Kodak needs to have a "recommended practice" of "No print who's end result is to provide an entertaining and excellent presentation shall be handled by Technicolor!"
Sorry for the rant guys, but until I find that Army surplus store I've gotta vent somehow. 
Posted by Aaron Sisemore (Member # 145) on 09-26-1999, 10:14 PM:
The following is ripped directly from Technicolor's website(With a few of my own comments added)for your enjoyment ( or enragement as the case may be)...In 1993, Technicolor entered the
arena of physical distribution of
motion picture release prints as a
result of the need to add value to the
core services that Technicolor had
provided for over three-quarters of a
century. The distribution model
employed was based on two
distribution centers located in
Wilmington, Ohio and Ontario,
California. Within a one-hour flight
from 60% of the U.S. population and
at the source of a spoke and hub air
transportation system, TES can react
quickly and efficiently to changing
conditions, including transport
related such as weather and market
related such as release strategies.
Intrinsic to the model and TES's core
tenets are the following:
Security - from the time a print
leaves the laboratory, each
step is recorded and
monitored by sophisticated
information technology
including GPS tracking,
secured warehouses and
bar-coding.
...Then how do you explain all these 'free' or 'lost' prints or prints with DUPLICATE PRINT NUMBERS (I have had a couple instances of this happen, honest...) laying around in theatres all over the country?
Quality - with a quality zoned
environmentally controlled
warehouse, integrity checks
and proactive logistics
management, TES ensures
only the highest quality print are
on screen.
...You have GOT to be kidding... What a joke. Nuff said.
Outsourcing - by providing 7
x 24 customer service, reel
replacements and circuit
management, TES allows its
customers to focus on revenue
and cash flow generating
activities.
...Those 'cash flow generating activities' usually involve the sales of consessions to disgruntled patrons that came to see a new print rather than a scratched, shoe polished mess missing leaders and tails etc etc that came as an 'integrity inspected' print from TES... '7x24'? I think they meant '24/7' 
Of course thats how much time you spend on HOLD when calling TES...
Speed to Market - by
employing modern logistics,
more prints can move to more
markets faster, better and
cheaper.
...Did this include buying a controlling interest in Airborne and Sky Courier by chance? Or maybe thats the other way around? Hell if I know
Aaron
Posted by George Roher (Member # 91) on 09-27-1999, 12:48 AM:
"Proactive logistics management" sounds like one of those phony and meaningless phrases that bad students use to try and impress their teachers. Technicolor manages their logistics pretty well. They have managed to eliminate logic from the film exhibition industry. If you put logic aside, what's wrong with shipping out the wrong reels or trying to pick up a print while it is still on screen? Nothing really. You just have to properly manage your logistical instincts so it won't bother you.
Posted by Erika Hellgren (Member # 22) on 10-01-1999, 06:10 PM:
Gosh, it seems each week I have a new Technicolor story - I never tire of telling them.
So, this week was the Hell week (you know about my eight new prints and two to tear down by midnight story if you read my "too many movies" post). Well, before I even had a chance to go in yesterday, I got a call from my theatre telling me that Technicolor wouldn't be delivering my two prints of American Beauty till Friday morning at 10. The first show, of course, being at 12. And on top of that, Plunkett and Macleane wouldn't be delivered till midnight Thursday - right around the time I had to have two prints down for Airborne. Thursday ended up being a late night, and Friday an early morning. I was talking to the Airbourne guy who delivered AB about all the prints he must have had to deliver on Thursday. He told me that they were notified at 5pm Thurs. that they had 24 prints of PandM to get out by 8pm. He said he laughed in Technicolor's face.
P.S. The American Beauty prints were both used!!!!! More on that in another topic
Posted by George Roher (Member # 91) on 10-23-1999, 12:41 AM:
Here we go again. I was building "Music Of the Heart" tonight for a sneak preview and I was treated to the full complement of Technicolor's specialties. Half the reels were broken. It was half heads/half tails. Reel 3 had the shipping band for reel 4, and vice versa. Reel 6 had no shipping band but reel 2 had two shipping bands carefully wrapped around it. The print also came with the obligatory lab splice in the middle of the frame. But wait, there's more! The cans contained a TAP alignment letter from Michael Crichton, instructing me to properly focus and frame "13th Warrior". A difficult task since I don't have it. Another dumb occurrence: I was building "Crazy In Alabama" Thursday and in one can was a note from Sony Pictures stating the film was flat/1:1.85, and of course it is scope! But that isn't a Technicolor gripe
Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 10-23-1999, 03:49 AM:
Yes, Sony sucks. Even their dumb ass movie studio.
Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 10-23-1999, 09:36 AM:
Semi-related question: are Sony Pictures Classics releases still shipped by something called "Reel Easy"? We had a guy from them once who asked me "Do you guys show movies here?" while I was signing for a print of John Sayle's "Men With Guns." I really wanted to reply to him "no, we just rent them and send them back...this whole theatre thing is just a front for the mafia."
Posted by Kenn Fong (Member # 118) on 10-26-1999, 03:17 AM:
You folks won't believe this. Our print of "Best Man" arrived with THIRTY-FIVE splices in the first six minutes! There were a couple of other bad splices sprinkled through the print and it was dirty. Management was told this would be a new print since it wasn't going to be sneaked.The union projectionist on duty reported this before the first show and was assured a replacement Reel 1 would arrive before the first show on Saturday. We ran four shows on Friday and two on Saturday before the replacement arrived.
Although I'm only an usher and have no special training, even I could spot all the splices on the print as it sat on the platter. It's clear this print was never inspected, although the sticker said it was.
------------------
Kenn Fong http://qwertyuiop.net
Screenwriter's Home Page
Posted by Jim Ziegler (Member # 86) on 10-27-1999, 02:16 PM:
Oh. I am sure it was *inspected*.. The little sticker don't say they fixed anything, or replaced anything, just that it was *inspected*...
Posted by Rick Uhlhorn (Member # 198) on 10-27-1999, 10:33 PM:
Sorry guys but I have had great luck with Technicolor since it came into being. Bad reels, you bet.Crummy lab splices, yep. Beat up cans, so whats new. When you get a bad reel of film from the other guys what is the alternative. You waite until Monday so you can get a new reel by Tuesday. I talked to the Technicolor people about their little inspection stickers. Their reply, and I know this to be fact, is that the film companies pay to have prints inspected. There are different charges for different kinds of inspection. The one most commonly used is to inspect the first 50 feet. If it is ok then on goes the sticker. Sorry but I have been doing this for 39 years and even with their faults Technicolor sure beats anything I have ever seen.
Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 10-27-1999, 11:09 PM:
With ETS I get replacement reels the SAME DAY or worst case senario, the next morning EARLY. Technicolor can have another print in town and yet can't get through the computer crap to figure out a way to transfer it to me. ETS has never let me down and I have problems with Technicolor at least every other release.You must be located away from a major city. That is the only reason I can possibly think of where the Airborne service could be better than the multiple ETS depots.
Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 10-28-1999, 12:11 AM:
From what I know, we have one ETS depot near Pittsburgh that delivers our prints. They come at about 5AM on Fri. Morn.Technicolor, delivers to us by Airborn EX. on Wed. afternoon. Even though Cleveland is about a 1 - 1.5 hour drive from here, it STILL takes them at least 2 days to replace a reel. ETS takes about the same amount of time to replace the reel. (Maybe a little less if you call them right away.)
Posted by Jim Ziegler (Member # 86) on 10-28-1999, 02:52 AM:
I can usually get ETS reels really quick. (It is not unusual for me to request an ETS reel on Thursday night and get it early Friday morning). With Technicolor, so far thay have only gotten me one replacement reel on the same day (it took 8 hours, not bad comming from Ohio), but usually replacement reels requested on Thursday night arrive on Monday.. Not good when you have a crappy reel for opening weekend of your #1 movie...BTW, has anyone ever noticed that it is always reel 1 or reel 2 that had lab scratches.. It's never reel 5 or reel 6...
Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 10-28-1999, 04:20 AM:
Yeah I am always replacing reel 1 it seems. I just load it up onto a ring and drop it into the print, and drop the trailer pack on top of that. No problems at all. That is one definite good thing about Christie platters, they can easilly handle multiple layers of film stacked up on top of eachother.
Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 10-28-1999, 07:34 AM:
I only replaced one ETS reel (R2 of "Elizabeth"...it was one of only two lab-new prints which I have handled and everything was in beautiful condition, but R2 was printed so that the picture was unsteady even though the film ran fine through the projector). I called on Friday and received the replacement on Tuesday. I was asked if I needed it on Monday, but I said not to worry about it. The replacement was shipped directly from Technicolor (the lab) in California to me in Virginia. I didn't call ETS about this...I called Gramercy Pictures in NYC...the lady I talked to there was extremely helpful.
I still have the defective reel, which I kept as a souvenir.
Posted by Mark Tiedemann (Member # 164) on 11-04-1999, 02:06 AM:
My TES Horror story of the week,
I was suppose to open "My Life So Far", the print was suppose to open up on Friday, but it was grounded by the huricane in Florida. A week later, I was still booked for the movie, but TES called and said that the print might of been destroyed by the Hurricane, than the print didn't arrive untill Friday morning (7 days late). The print was in good shape, but lost it a week later.
Posted by Jim Ziegler (Member # 86) on 11-04-1999, 03:59 AM:
For some reason, Technicolor actually dropped off my prints of Insider on Wednesday... Of course my staff didn't bother to tell me, so I didn't find out until midnight when I went up to thread Sleepy Hollow (which is pretty good BTW...Oh well, at least I know they won't show up Friday morning...
Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 11-04-1999, 05:13 AM:
Wednesday deliveries are not a good sign. Beware of a used print inside those cans! 9 times out of 10, a used print will be unacceptable for play.
Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 11-04-1999, 07:29 AM:
The funny thing is that the used prints that you all seem to be getting for first-run engagements--prints that might have been run once or twice--sound like they're worse than the prints that I was getting two or three (or more!) months after a particular film opened. Weird, huh. One wonders if Technicolor has a "film destruction department" or something like that...maybe they're testing Ian's "film-scratch" product, perhaps?
Posted by Jim Ziegler (Member # 86) on 11-04-1999, 12:07 PM:
Actually, Technicolor does have a film destruction department. It's called AMC.
Posted by Stephen Jones 1 (Member # 114) on 11-05-1999, 07:18 AM:
Yes, it was very nice to have Insider arrive on Wednesday. It was the first time in 11 months that TES has delivered a print to us on Wednesday.
Posted by Erika Hellgren (Member # 22) on 11-06-1999, 12:31 AM:
Oh, you mean everyone else got their Insider prints on Wed, too?! I was hoping they did that for us as a result of one of my co-workers bitching at them. Damn!
Posted by Masao Garcia (Member # 184) on 11-24-1999, 01:13 PM:
Just another quick rant about TES. Last night, one of my Toy Story 2 prints ended up having the 4th reel's head intertwined with reel #5. And it was more than just the head--the actual movie was scratched a couple feet in on R#4. And I also cut my finger on one of their patented broken azz reels. Technicolor can burn in hell.
Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 11-24-1999, 01:34 PM:
I can easily top that! (unfortunately)Last night I had to GO GET MY PRINTS FROM THE AIRBORNE DEPOT MYSELF! They wouldn't deliver them!!! Technicolor called and said we would "receive them Wednesday afternoon". Excuse me? Are we pulling another Saving Private Ryan here? The movie opens Wednesday MORNING! Did this happen to anyone else?
Also, out of 2 prints of "End of Days" only ONE reel in each print had any strength whatsoever to stay together. The others fell apart in the cans before I even opened them up. Also, most of the paper reel bands didn't have strings and the prints were extremely loosely wound onto the cores! It was hell just babying them to a Goldberg split reel they were so loose...and I'm very comfortable with handling 6000' film rolls on a core.
Yes, Technicolor has definitely mastered the art of screwing up. When oh when will the hell end? I'm thinking Kodak needsa "DepotCheck" training system for these guys.
Posted by Jim Ziegler (Member # 86) on 11-26-1999, 02:56 AM:
Technicolor: The AMC of film depots...
Posted by Bill Carter (Member # 156) on 11-26-1999, 05:01 PM:
Last Thursday night, Technicolor was late as usual delivering The Limey. None of the reels would hold together. All the leaders were spliced both sides, but three of the six had head and tail leaders reversed. All six reels had half a dozen deep scratches running through, non-stop. The last three reels looked as if they had been thrown off a platter, and untangled in the parking lot. More ground in dirt and abrasions over sound and picture than I have ever seen.So, at about 1am Friday I'm leaving messages that I need a replacement print. Surprisingly, it arrived during the first show on Friday. It was in much better shape, but ALL SIX reels had head and tail leaders switched (who keeps doing this?) Plus, the attached trailer was gone, but someone had thoughtfully left the green band behind, spliced to the feature!
I don't know what I would have done, if I hadn't been taught to inspect everything!
Posted by Mike Bianchi (Member # 271) on 11-26-1999, 05:05 PM:
I'd rather see a return of the old tin shipping reels. They may have gotten warped but they never fell apart!The only technicolor shipping reels that seem to stay together are the ones with the hole blocked for the turning peg. Of course they stay together...
I guy's it's Murphy's Law of Technicolor (or one of the many)
Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 11-27-1999, 02:22 PM:
Thankfully in Canada we don't have Technicolor delivery we used to have two film depots in Toronto
One and the largest is Victoria Film Service which now warehouses and mounts and junks all the 35 prints. The other was Universal and they were the best All prints were hand rewound and inspected and repaired
When you opened a Universal can each band had a sticker saying Head Up ready for Showing
or Tail up Ready for showingAnd they meant ready for showing I regularly had screenings where we would put the head up shipping reel right on the machine and showit right onto another shipping reel with confidence that there would be changeover cues, leader in frame and a good print
Two months ago they closed there depot and now it has moved to Victoria Film service and even though they are better than what Technicolor sounds like they still arn't as good as Universal was.
Film shipping is handled by Mavety Cartage that is owned by Victoria film service and out of town prints go by greyhound> One of the reasons that the ELR reels haven't been implimented is that Greyhound Canada won't take them in bus cargo as they exceed federal regulations here
Posted by George Roher (Member # 91) on 12-15-1999, 11:07 PM:
I had to build up a 7 reel feature for a screening the other night, and all 7 reels had the cores in wrong so the holes weren't aligned. Half of the reels were broken. Heads and tails were attached with masking tape, and the previous operator had used opaque tape to build the show. It was kind of TES to deliver the print the day of the show. They also delivered a print that's not playing until next week. Strange luck.
Posted by Scott Ribbens (Member # 180) on 12-16-1999, 12:55 AM:
Watch out George, TES will probably want that print that they delivered early back, so they can ship you the "new" one that you were supposed to get on the first day of the show. ------------------
Scott
Posted by John Schulien (Member # 215) on 08-30-2000, 06:17 PM:
Just to resurrect an old thread ...
I was amused at just how long projectionists have been complaining about defective shipping reels ...
Every operator should have a full supply of good reels for use in the machine and should never let these get out of his house. The reels furnished by the exchanges are often very bad and if perchance a real good one is sent out, some wide-awake operator will surely keep it.
- Motion Picture Operation, Horstmann and Tousley, Chicago: Fredrick J. Drake & Co. 1914.
Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 08-30-2000, 08:44 PM:
I don't know what kind of shipping reels were in use in 1914 (1000' metal, perhaps?), but surely they were better than any of the three varieties of TES reels, right?
(Yes, I've used TES reels as take-ups and have lived to tell about it...some of them are OK...I still don't like them, though...I've gotten better reels from TES at second-run art houses than at the first run gigaplex.)
Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 08-31-2000, 02:58 AM:
1914??? Wow, that sure is outdated information. I'll bet the authors never saw TES on the horizon. Nostradomus may have predicted Adolf Hitler but even he couldn't predict TES and the horrors that accompany it.
Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 09-01-2000, 04:42 AM:
Imagine it...TES in 1914? That guy would still be waiting for his print.