Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Raveing on John Pytlak

This is topic Raveing on John Pytlak in forum Film Handlers' Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by James Dunn (Member # 188) on 12-17-1999, 10:03 PM:

Just wanted to give John a public thumbs up on his articles in 'Film Notes for Reel People' I just recently discovered an old stash of the newsletters at our theatre and they each contain some very informative articles written by John. Although, I could live without the always obvious pro-Kodak slant (hey, what do I expect from a newsletter printed by Kodak? lol), each issue is a great quick read. Keep up the good work John.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 12-17-1999, 10:09 PM:

You forgot to mention the fact John peruses the forum here regularly and is always there to answer questions!

Hopefully the powers that be at Kodak will allow the online publication of all the old Film Notes for the Reel People as part of the Adobe Manual Download page. John is already checking the feasibility of this out for everyone and would be a welcome addition to the files available here, free for the downloading for all those seeking to improve their presentation.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 12-18-1999, 03:10 AM:

I think it's good that John actually gets into discussion on the forum. Many people who work for companies in the industry will not participate on the forum because they are either worried that they will somehow misrepresent their company or don't want to get flamed publicly. So far we have Kodak on the forum as well as Component Engineering. There is also a post or two by Dolby and DTS. Am I missing anybody?

Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 12-23-1999, 10:07 AM:

John Allen is on.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 12-23-1999, 04:06 PM:

He is? Must have missed him.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 12-23-1999, 11:00 PM:

He's only posted once.

Posted by Rick Long (Member # 213) on 12-27-1999, 10:17 PM:

I too, would be indeed remis if I did not take this opportunity to thank Mr. Pytlak for taking the time to share his vast knowledge and experience with us.

Like Brad Miller, Bill Purdy, and the guys from Dolby, the people who make this forum possible and very useful to all of us film handlers, is very much appreciated.

When I was the lone projectionist in a small Ontario town, I would have killed for access to a forum like this. ('course, I would have killed for a computer too).

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 01-05-2000, 08:21 AM:

Thanks for the "raves". Having started my career in the booth, I really enjoy participating in Film-Tech Forum and r.a.m.t newsgroup. Projection is where "the rubber meets the road" in pleasing movie audiences. Like any technology, film isn't always perfect and hassle-free (but it comes pretty close

). The challenge is even greater with the time and cost pressures in today's movie industry, that sometimes compromise quality. Kodak helps where it can, and continually strives to improve film technology. We listen and respond to your needs, which have become a major input in guiding our research and development efforts.

------------------
John Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Professional Motion Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7419
Eastman Kodak Company
Rochester, NY 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 716-477-5325 Fax: 716-722-7243

Posted by Chris Erwin (Member # 176) on 01-05-2000, 09:20 PM:

John,

A rave going out to you and Kodak for keeping Kodachrome 40 in the product line-up for Super 8mm. I still shoot it from time to time. Odd thing is,I'm only 23. Friends think I'm nuts for still shooting "home movies",but to each his/her own.

Thanks again for that and all the info on Film-Tech.

--Chris

BTW, is Film-Notes available to anyone or just theaters? I would like to get it.

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 01-06-2000, 07:30 AM:

Free subscriptions to Kodak's "Film Notes for Reel People" are available to anyone involved with movie projection. To be added to the mailing list, FAX your name, job title, and address information to Pamela Jackson in our Culver City CA office at 310-204-7111, or Email the same information to her at pamela.jackson@kodak.com.

BTW, the last eleven issues of "Film Notes for Reel People" are available on-line at Kodak's web site:
http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/newsletters/index.shtml

I am also gathering together earlier issues of Film Notes to send to Brad to scan and put up on the Film-Tech site.

Posted by John F. Allen (Member # 218) on 01-06-2000, 11:58 PM:

I have been traveling in and out of the country for the past three months. But I am checking in from time to time.

John F. Allen

Posted by Andrew D'Vrey (Member # 285) on 01-07-2000, 02:56 AM:

Thank you Mr Pytlak. I have read all of your Practical Projection articles online and look forward to future publications. All have been enlightening and informative. Everyone at my theater has commented on their benefits to the film handling and presentation quality in our theater.

------------------
"And the monkey flips the switch."
- Major Don West, "Lost In Space"

Andrew D'Vrey
IATSE Local 219

Posted by Erika Hellgren (Member # 22) on 02-24-2000, 04:47 PM:

Mr. Pytlak, I remember when you first came onto this forum. At that time everyone was very much against Kodak and their film stocks. However, you faced the general projection community head on and without fear, providing solid and excellent help. Shortly thereafter FilmGuard was released to the public market and with Kodak and FG used together, I believe film presentation has been brought to a new and higher level of quality. I just wanted to say thank you for representing your company when other companies simply try and pretend that Film-Tech and all of us here simply do not exist.

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 02-25-2000, 07:33 AM:

Erika and others:

Thanks for the compliments. Your kind words make me blush.

I don't pretend that I have all the answers. I don't pretend that Kodak film is perfect in every way. But successful companies listen to their customers, help them address problems, and continually try to improve their products to achieve "customer delight". And although the people in theatres don't actually buy the print film, theatre audiences and projectionists are probably our most important customers.

------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Professional Motion Imaging
Eastman Kodak Company
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7419
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 716-477-5325 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 02-25-2000, 04:22 PM:

Exactly! This is why I wish more companies would participate in the forum. It really would be beneficial for everybody in the long run.

Posted by Dave Williams (Member # 299) on 02-28-2000, 05:24 PM:

Oh no theres that "customer delight" crap. Last place I worked at we had a little thing we provided called "client delight". I remarked in a management meeting that it sounded like a fruit cocktail with vodka. Hence I no longer work there, but then again, no one else does either. Seems that "client delight" went over as well as a fruit cocktail with vodka.

However since the introduction of film-guard, i have to agree that kodak film totally rocks.

------------------
"If it's not worth doing, I have allready been there and done it"

Posted by Jason Burroughs (Member # 68) on 02-28-2000, 05:31 PM:

I'd have to admit, IMHO, John Pytlak is a model company representitive. He does not run away from problems that a product that his company produces may have, but instead tries to gather information from the customers (projectionists) that acually use the product, and make the product better. Instead of pointing the finger in the direction of user error, he comes up with solutions. Way to go John! If only every company had an employee like you...

Posted by Scott Nelson (Member # 344) on 02-28-2000, 06:00 PM:

I'm pretty new to this forum but I have read back as far as it goes and it is obvious projectionists several months back preferred the Fuji film to Kodak because of the shedding problems. I agree with Dave Williams that when Film-Guard is used on Kodak film, that the combination is nothing short of perfection. Kodak prints look better but always had shedding problems and ran very loud through my projectors. Now with Film-Guard Kodak films run whisper quiet and there is not a piece of dirt anywhere to be seen and they clearly outperform the Fuji films. However I have an incredible amount of respect for Mr.Pytlak as he was here way back even when his company's product was being bashed and he has provided mountains of support in all the various film related subjects on this forum. Not too many people can tackle compaints head on like he has. Most companies would not even try.

John, you are the best and it looks like all of the shedding issues are a thing of the past. Long live Kodak.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 02-28-2000, 07:01 PM:

Now John, you've just gotta 'splain to me why Kodak got rid of the PhotoCD format and came up with the consumer-oriented PictureCD format, with all of the yucky menu's and such. Because of that I bought a digital camera! But that is good anyway because that allows me to take pictures quicker for the site, and the quality rivals PhotoCD, which nobody around here will develop for me anymore.

So I guess your evil plan turned out OK after all. (Yes, I hold you responsible for EVERYTHING that has ever happened at Kodak)

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 02-28-2000, 08:34 PM:

Yeah! I gotta' know, too! I got a player and had all my best photos transfered to CD! Now the system is defunct! Wassup?

Posted by John Walsh (Member # 168) on 02-28-2000, 10:58 PM:

Is there a place where I can download past issues of "Reel People"? I'm looking for old ones, ie: H-50-4. Are they around in *.pdf format anywhere?

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 02-28-2000, 11:51 PM:

Yes. John Pytlak and Kodak have been gracious enough to send me copies of ALL of the Film Notes for Reel People issues for conversion to pdf format.

You will see them available for free download on this site in a few weeks.

Thanks John!

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 02-29-2000, 08:00 AM:

Joe and Randy ---

AFAIK, Photo CD is still alive and well. As you know, it can store very high resolution images (2048 X 3072 pixels), and output at six different levels of resolution. It is primary used in professional and commercial applications. Here is a link to all the current information about Photo CD:
http://www.kodak.com/go/photocd

Picture CD stores images in a compressed 1024 X 1536 pixel format, and is gaining popularity amoung photographers in general, who want to work with their film images in digital form. The link to information about Picture CD is at:
http://www.kodak.com/go/picturecd

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 02-29-2000, 08:30 AM:

Dave Williams:

I'm sorry that you felt "client delight" was "crap". It sounds like your former employer "talked the talk" but didn't "walk the walk".

Call me naive or idealistic, but "customer delight" is really something I believe in. Nothing in this world is perfect, but if we give up in frustration or for fear of making a change, it won't change for the better.