Print #1, reel 5 starts out normally then about 20 feet into the reel it starts printing the countdown to reel 2 "American Psycho- H-2" and reel 2 is printed....

Print #2, Reel 3 dubbed entirely in French!

What the fuck is going on over there at Technicolor????!!!

Tyler

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"not even a hummingbird could see tyler at work"
 

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

Today's episode: "Crappy reels from Technicolor part XXVIX"

This is Technicolor's new reel design. Anyone who has used these has found they are already starting to fall apart after only a couple of uses, but wait...look closer!

Yes, check out the spindle hole...there is no slot for the key!

There's nothing better than not being able to mount the reel onto a spindle for makeup! Yet another time where the good old fashioned split reel saved the day.

I wonder if this is in the original design details of their patent?

Today's second episode: "Film shipping canisters, what to look for"

Remember when Technicolor first opened and boasted "no more beat up shipping cans, blah, blah, blah"? Well kiddos, we all know where THAT went. But seriously folks, what are a few basic requirements of a film can? Hmmmm, perhaps it shouldn't be dished inward and be able to hold the reels. Let's take it one more and say, let's say it should be able to close. No wait, let's go even one further and say that it should be able to "latch" closed. Well what else could anyone want in a shipping canister???

Yes, that's it...A HANDLE!!!
That all-too-much taken for granted carrying handle. Oh, those poor Airborne drivers. But wait, let's take a closer look.

Upon closer inspection, it is obvious that this print's handle didn't just "fall off" during delivery...yet it was sent out anyway! (Oh well, it's only a tiny little film studio's product anyway right? It's not like it was a Buena Vista print with the fear of having a big influential company like BV get angry and switch over to the competition. Perhaps that's why the reels inside were all broken as well.)

Well kiddos, that wraps it up for this week. Stay tuned every week for the continuing saga!

Sometimes I think I prefer those PRE-WWII film cans you get from ETS. Yes, they weigh 9,000,000 metric tons EACH and they are often rusty as hell but I haven't yet had one with more than a minor dent. Usually I put the reels in a plastic bag when I break the print down. Dirt isn't so much of a problem then.
 

Anyway, I gota hand it to Technicolor's reel replacement department because both new reels were at the front door at 9am this morning. Didn't miss any shows.

fucking screwheads! (I do kinda like their new reels however)
 

I think when I send them back to Technicolor I will just duct tape it closed...maybe secure the duct tape with electrical tape to make sure.

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

Andrew D'Vrey
IATSE Local 219
 

--Chris
 

haha....right...
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Tyler Skinner:
thats a great Idea, maybe if we all start writing that on the insides of our cans they will actually do something...

haha....right...

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There's no reason to write it on the inside of the cans since they don't open them anyway. You may want to start writing it on the outside of the can.

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Colin Wiseley
Lyric Theatre
Blacksburg, VA www.thelyric.com
 

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Cans so bent up that it takes a prybar and rubber mallet to open and close them.

New prints being shipped in rusty and dirty cans.

New prints with no cardboard protective band.

Rachel's problem

Reels comming apart when trying to lift out of the can

Tails being taped to the core--makes build-ups fun!

Replacement reels shipped in cardboard box with the reel spool--but no reel flanges! Not trailer cores--the reel spool that almost made it impossible to mount on mut or rewind table.

Cracked and warped reel flanges

Having to disassemble reels, properly align the reel core with the reel flanges, and reassemble.

Preparing to build up reel 2 only to find that the first five minutes is the tail of reel 1.

Mismarked splice lines.

Duplicate reels, this is an example of what happened with Crouching Tiger. We received our prints late Thurs with it opening Fri morn.
Got duplicate reels of #2 and were missing #3. Distributor and home office were contacted, and new reel #3 was being overnighted. In the meantime, I built up the remaining reels onto 6000s. So we received reel#3 first thing in the am--but it was a used reel! So I was able to get the print built up about 10 minutes or so prior to showtime. Later that week, they sent us a new reel #3--but instead of just sending the one reel, they sent a whole new print. So I had to fix the same print again !
 

quote:

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Preparing to build up reel 2 only to find that the first five minutes is the tail of reel 1.

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Something very similar happened to me with one of my prints of Saving Private Ryan. I have probably already discussed this in the forum. Basically reel #1 ended and then "reel 2" started and it showed that last several minutes of reel 1, then it had the typical tail and head leader and then reel 2 started. I don't know who's actual fault this was (I didn't build up that print), but it was the one incident that finally made Mann Theaters say "Yes, you can screen your prints before they are shown to audiences".

Unfortuneatly, this was not practical at my old theater. Films were built up during the day, with no extra time being allotted for build-ups and inspection. Ya, I had to build 2-3 prints and run 10 screens (at least 30 shows) within a 6-8hr shift. Instead, once built up we would dry run them after closing--especially if the film was a blockbuster! Keep in mind that I worked for a major theater chain with all THX screens in this 20plex. Unlike IATSE projectionists, we were not paid for dry runs--being able to prescreen the film--and watch it for free was considered payment! But even without table inspection, outside of used prints and the other mentioned problems, print quality was generally ok.

I forgot what print it was, but you know how directors and producers enclose letters to the projectionist on how to run the film, I distinctly remember one director or producer recommending that splices be marked with liquid paper?!
 

-Aaron

 

One night I was assigned to build two prints of the "Animal" for the next day's release. When first inspecting the reels of all the films before buildup I noticed one can, even when closed, let off a particular nasty smell. Opening it up revealed a tremendous amount of mold covering the entire inside of the can. I took the reels themselves out and noticed the film had been severly water-damaged. The mold smell itself proved so bad that for the time being we had to store the can in a faraway closet so no one would get sick. We called technicolor up and they apologized, blah blah blah, leaving us with half a print built and the morning projectionist having to come in early and finish up. Then the next day I came in to find out that the replacement reels were delivered to the Loews Cineplex down the street, so when we finally got it, we had to put it together in the last minute, now come on! Also to add the bad can stayed with us for about a week stinking up our closet before anyone decided to pick it up. Needless to say Technicolor wasn't on my good list from then on.

Last year about this time we got socked with a major blizzard and every area theatre closed. UPS and airborne had loads of prints that couldn't be delivered so yup, you guessed it, they were told to ship them all to me... since our office staff had been stranded and we were "open".

The only thing I will say in Technicolor's defense is that their use of airborne's ez-return label system saves me about 14 seconds a week.
 

I called in and inquired as to the reasoning why they needed to send us another print when we already had one sitting right here (in good condition too). The operator found out that the print that was shipped (and addressed) to us needed to play at another theater. So why can't they just ship the other print to this other theater to save on everyone's hassles? Our screening dates were exactly the same. Funny enough, even the TES operator thought it was senseless and we were told to hold the existing print. Shortly thereafter we were called back and told to release the print, and then that we could keep it again. Then another call came in from TES furious that we "refused to release the print". (The rep was very rude from what I understand.) Bullshit! We never said we would not release the print, we only asked if we could just keep this one. This crap went on for a couple of hours with them not being able to make up their mind. Finally we just gave it to the Airborne guy who showed up for the initial pickup just to get it the hell out of the theater so we wouldn't have to listen to the bs anymore.

Turns out the print we got right before the screening came from some theater in Virginia. It was broken down with masking tape, leaders thrown on reels every which way, stretched sprockets in sections of the film and scratched! Thanks again Technicolor. You're AWESOME!

While I'm thinking about it, I heard that Universal is going to pull out of TES and go over to the infinitely superior ETS depots. Anyone know more specifics?

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3% Body Fat. 1% Brain Activity.
 

I had one that almost required "Jaws of Life" to open...