Here's one right off the bat. Click here!
 

Our method of rebellion has been to throw the damn things out. We bought a couple of metal split-reels from Golberg just for the purpose of handling those broken reels. If you can't get one of those, 'usurp' one good plastic split-reel from your next Technicolor can.

If we get a crappy reel, now, we just toss it. Logic is that if we do, they'll be out of circulation and new ones will have to be bought. If anybody complains, we'll just say that they were broken and if we kept them they'd damage film. (The truth!)

I suggest everybody toss out those crappy reels!

Besides, it's great therapy! You can get all of your agggressions out by busting them into little pieces!
 

Think I'm on to something?

--Chris
 

Mike
 

After a while of recieving and having to pay these bills maybe they'd improve their service. Technicolor has some great ideas... they just need to follow through.
 

Nothing happens.

Last week, we had 5 more TES reels fall apart during buildup. I called the TES lady and bitched again "5 more reels have fallen apart due to their crappy design and we still haven't gotten the 10 from last week. Send me 15 now!" TES lady says "Sorry about that. Those reels should have shipped, I'm not sure why they haven't, I'll notify the reel department to send you 15 new empty reels."

Nothing happens

This week we have 5 more bust on us during buildup. I call the TES lady and say "Lemme speak to your supervisor!!!!!!" Supervisor lady comes on an I bitch "What the hell is goin' on with these crappy reels??? I am at my wits end because they keep falling apart. It is obvious that your depot does not care about the 'work' that they do. And the other 15 empty relacement reels that I have ordered over the past weeks STILL have not come in!!! What is the deal?" Supervisor lady: "Well, we're working on more flexible reels that don't break, as you may have heard. I don't know why your replacement reels haven't arrived. I'll contact the reel department and make sure they send out as many reels as possible to you. Me:"OK but what about 'Snow Falling on Cedars' which must be broken down tonight by 12:30? I don't have enough good reels to cover it. I guess I'll just have to break it down onto cores and hope that the next theatre that gets it tomorrow can assemble it from that form. If not, oh well, not my problem."

The supervisor lady gave me her extension in case the reels keep busting apart. I still have not gotten any replacement reels.
 

-Mike
 

Personally, I prefer Goldberg's metal shipping reels. In the plastic department, I prefer Goldberg's again, their 5/16" core design wont tear up spindle keys the way other's do.

Again, I prefer metal shipping reels.

Steve

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"Old projectionists never die, they just changeover!"

 

Also see "The Royal Tenenbaums" in Features & Trailers. That post will come in handy regardless of when your theater opens that film.
 

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Christopher Wehrman
Head Projectionist
Belle Starr Theater
 

Absolutely. They fit fine.

-Aaron

 

I have taken to using industrial strength E6000 adhesive to glue the flanges on when the snaps have broken and won't hold the flanges to the hub. I just gives me that extra bit of pleasure picturing "Mona," who proudly put her "Inspected by" sticker on the print in the first place, trying to pull the flanges off the hub. Hey, it should be as hard for her to get the damn things apart as it is for us to keep them together. Fair is fair.

But actually, guys, FORGET about even talking to TES -- they have no vested interest in making you happy. Talk to the distrib! He's PAYING for the lousy service; it's HIS $10,000 print. Tell him that TES is shipping it out on reels that have broken, razor-sharp edges that will cut his print with every revolution. Find the guy in the studio's print department -- the HEAD of the print control department if need be -- and SEND him one of these print-shredding reels. Bet we can find SOMEONE in the bowels of the studio's distribution arm that is conscientious and will get really pissed if he gets a bunch of these complaints (with indesputable examples) arriving on his desk on a daily basis.
 

Or at least we'd be on the fast track to digital, with the studios paying the bill!
 

I like your idea of super glue. Shall we all take to doing this when we find a reel that won't stay together?

I requested replacement reels through my booker. I told her I needed a dozen or so and she said that sounded like too much to ask for. Truth is that now I need more than twenty reels. There are a couple of 7 or 8 reel epics here with no reels. Anyway, it's been weeks and no reels have arrived.

I've started returning prints on cores with a note inside the cans saying that their reels kept falling apart and so now we don't have any TES reels to work with.

As somebody mentioned earlier, I think it's important to take those reels out of circulation. Also, this may be the only way to bring this problem to their urgent attention.

This has afforded the opportunity to return a lot of those DTS frisbees that I have lying around here. When the DTS discs arrive as "chasers" there usually isn't room in the can to return, so the discs have to go back "naked" and I'm left with piles of the yellow and black shippers.

Problem is that Technicolor movies take FOREVER to breakdown because we can't mark the reels with a "fill line" because...well...there are no reels! Policy now is that new movies with good reels will get to keep their reels so that we can go back to marking the fill line to help break-down go faster again.

Oh yeah! I've seen more than a few of those blue, white, grey and clear reels come in with lines drawn directly onto them. I always wonder what those people do when they get a black reel..?

But until they settle on a better mousetrap, I will continue to throw out the flanges that come shattered and that can cause knicks and/or slice the film, yes, but where the flanges are intact but the clips are broken -- GLUE it is. I glue the flanges to the hub when I am making up the show and by the time I need to ship-out, they are as good as the single-piece contruction of the good ole reels which we miss so dearly. Remember those uni-body reels we took for granted -- as the saying goes, you never know how good you've got it until it's gone!

Frank

PS -- Why not put those order in for replacement reels in ANTICIPATION of the broken reels you KNOW you will eventually have to deal with. If you order ten reels now, then when you get down to say 3 or 4, you order another 10 -- you'll always be ahead of the game.
 

I think you're better off going through 800 99 FILMS rather than talking to your booker, with respect to ordering replacement reels from TES.

--jhawk
 

Definitely call TES directly. If nothing else, it will send a message to them...I've never actually managed to get them to send out reels, though.
 

You will have your requested reels the next morning. If they don't send them, don't return the prints that are missing reels. Simple.

I will say one thing, at least they are improving. Granted I still get on average 1 bad reel per every other print, but that is a vast improvement to before. Also, I've found they are getting much more efficient with replacement reels and their staff is much nicer than they used to be. I've noticed this over roughly the last year, maybe year and a half. They've still got a lot of things to fix, but something is slowly happening.