For example, the differences we have in spelling:

Color vs. Colour
Theatre vs. Theater

Or synonyms used for the same items:

Core = Bobbin
Thread = Lace
Trunk = Boot
Elevator = Lift

Or Metric (SI) units vs. "US Customary":

Metres vs. feet
Celsius vs. Fahrenheit
Candelas per square metre vs. footlamberts
Grams vs. ounces
Kilograms vs. pounds

Maybe this thread could serve as a dictionary of terms for the various languages we use to describe our jobs.

------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Eastman Kodak Company
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7419
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 716-477-5325 Cell: 716-781-4036 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

Does anyone know where the phrase 'Lacing Up' originated from?
 

Reflector = collector = mirror
Brain = feed unit = payout controller
Rectifier = power supply
Accumulator = tension arm
Field Flattener = field lens (Imax)
Scope = anamorphic
Base = pedestal
Auditorium = house
Show = session
Processor = reproducer
Cue tape = sensing tape = sensing foil

Technicolor = couldn't resist

Here in Canada, for example, most English speaking projectionists and technicians use the terms "open and closed" (electrically speaking) using the physics terms one learned in school. Thus, a "closed" circuit is one that is conducting, and an "open" circuit is one that has been interupted by a switch (or whatever) and is not conducting.

Projectionists and technicians whose first language is French, however, often use the water anology. Thus the term "I closed the breaker means they turned it off while "I opened the breaker" means that the power is ON!

This confusion in terms has often led to shocking consequences.
 

When working backstage in a theatre (vs. cinema) I was called upon to "stub-in" to the electrical service panel. 480 volts (or something like that) going up the lines, through a conduit and into a special distribution transformer. There were a couple of near misses. The hair on the back of my neck stands up just thinking about it.

After that, all of us guys who would be working on the project got together and agreed that before energizing ANY circuit, no matter how inconsequential it may seem, we would shout, "GOING LIVE!!!", and then wait for a response of, "CLEAR!!!", from your partner(s). We were even supposed to shout when we knew there was nobody in the area just to make sure. We would wait for a few seconds to give anybody the chance to shout, "HOLD UP!!!" before energizing.

So... what other conventions might I run into when working in similar situations in other countries?

Or "spool" vs. "roll." Or "spool-box" vs. "magazine."

Sometimes, one country will describe what an object does, rather than what it is (or looks like.) For example; the term "valves" vs. "vacumn tubes."
 

videotape: 35mm film

Frisbees: DTS Disks and/or the round holders for them

small nuclear munitions: xenon bulbs

non-sync: What the Titanic was supposed to be

duct tape: aperture plates

cardboard and duct tape: Super Sticky-Poos

non-functioning surrounds: what endless customers will invariably complain about during the run of the latest Woody Allen film

clusterf*ck: brain wrap

intermittent: A good way to describe SDDS digital playback

Century: A good projector, or the average amount of time between cleanings and lubrications on some of the machines I have had to service

Cinemeccanica: An Italian cinema technician

Sneak Preview: What anyone lucky enough to get into the auditorium via the exits gets if not caught and thrown out

UFOs: Miscellaneous fragments of Technicolor reels cominig apart at high speed

Mosaic: What you get when some idiot decides to set up a DLP system with a 70' wide screen

any more of this and Brad is gonna move it to Joke-yak

Aaron

The media doesn't know from shinola.
I was reading one food article in the Miami Herald yesterday where the writer stated that there was cholesterol in corn oil. <sigh>

 

While on the subject of terminology....those of us that deal with live-stage as well as film have to even keep Left and Right straight.

Most of the combo venues are live-stage with film thrown in...as such all orientations are presumed from the stage perspective unless "house-left" or "house-right" is specifically stated. Oh and to give cinema guys more grief...terms like left are often abbreviated "SL" or right as "SR"....which look like Surround Left and Surround Right to the cinema types.

On the different name for the same thing topic...

Splice = patch
rupture = break
chamber = booth
sound drum = impedance drum

Steve

------------------
"Old projectionists never die, they just changeover!"
 

"Quattro" is "Four" in english. "Quadro" is "frame, picture".

John, great thread. When I discovered Film-Tech I spent many time translating your techs words...
I really didn't understand what "house" meant!

Should I post Italian translation of common words?

Aaron: associate the term "Cinemeccanica" with "tech" is a bit rash

Bye
Antonio

The German Ernemann 15 manual had this sentence:

"The disk type shutter with its advantageous light efficiency cares for optimum exploitation of the Xenon light."

Antonio; What is a "Mascarini" switch? It's in the Cinemeccanica manual.
 

ROTFL!

When I read "Mascarini" on my Italian manual of V5, I thought that was a bad translation of an english manual.
In Italian "mascherini" are "aperture plates". Mascarini is meanless.

Antonio
 

quote:

---

I have taken the convention of referring to a cinema as "theatre" and live-stage venues as "theater." I have noted that others and some dictionaries follow this as well.

---

I promise you, the live-stage people insist that their stuff is "theatre" & a movie house is a "theater".

"The media" is not making this call. They are just following the dictionary, & what English usage profs & stylebook writers in the US call "standard English". Look in your US dictionary; most likely "theatre" will be listed as a "variant" after "theater".

Spell it "theatre" in a US English class, it'll be marked as incorrect, & may include a little note about pretentiousness.

It goes back to Webster's first US dictionary, when he was trying to differentiate the US language from the language of those people in England. He in many ways "improved" spellings: dropped the "u" in colour, favor, etc. And he phoneticized things like "theater".

However, all the people who work in theatres want something exotic & uptown (that's what they're selling, anyway), & also do ingroup/outgroup creation by saying "We are 'theatre', the *others* are 'theater'."

Generally, you can tell by the spelling in the US whether their profession is words or one or another segments of "the biz".

My view is: "Who gives a rip?" "And why?"

Spell it "theatere", & move on.

For training purposes, I have found it convenient to teach "lacing" as an activity involving the platters. "Threading" involves the projector and sound-head. "Threading" of projectors is taught after the candidates have mastered "lacing" the platters.

Booth Operator = Basic booth employee. Shows movies. Nothing else. Not permitted to possess or use so much as a screwdriver or other tool.

Projectionist = A booth operator who can build-up, tear-down and handle trailer placement. The term "supervisor" is sometimes used, but this connotes a wage increase, which isn't always the case. A projectionist can be trusted with making certain small repairs/adjustments.

Projector as "the whole thing" vs. Projector as "picture head"

Douser vs. Dowser
Cue detector (general) vs. Proximity detector (specific)
Platter (entire system) vs. Platter Deck (individual disc or "plate")

Armature plate = Aperture plate (misprounounced)
Island screw = Allen screw (mispronounced)

Movies = Motion Pictures from Hollywood
Film = Motion Pictures from New York
Cinema = Motion Pictures from Europe

Exception: Australian product is variable.

For clarification, we have taken to using the term "theatre" (only one accepted spelling here in The Bahamas) as a referrent to the building. It is usual to hear the term "theatre building."

"Auditorium" refers to the rooms where the movies/plays are presented. "House" has the same meaning, but this word is not used when communicating with the general public.

In The Bahamas, we do not use the word "cinema" too much to differentiate a film theatre from a "legit" theatre. British expatriates are an obvious exception; they still say "cinema." Older people have been known to use the phrase "cinema theatre" but I haven't heard that one in ages. "Movie theatre" used to be more common, but even *that* has fallen out of use.

------------------
And, hey! Let's be careful out there.

~Manny.

What term do you use for Canadian motion pictures that purport to depict the USA?

 

Although the board of directors made thier decision on how to spell, the arguments were heard as such....

Point 1: THEATRE is the appropriate old english spelling, only when referred to in its whole noun form, as in "Jonestown National Theatre"

Point 2: THEATER is only appropriate when referring to a building in general as in "lets go to a theater"

Thats where we stood on it, however ownership apparently wants us to spell it THEATRE all the time no matter what. They like the way it looks.

Dave
 

Mascarini - I never saw this word in printing, but but the old projectionist, by whom i learned in 1970, used this name for the switch on the Victoria 8's, which had to be turned back into correct position after a stop - any kind - film jam, reel end etc., before the projector could be started again. - A big, yellow plastic thing just next to the motor on/off grip.

Per
 

BTW, can anyone shed on any light on why the width of film gauges has always been expressed in millimetres? After all, the 35mm standard was laid down by an Englishman (W.K.L. Dickson) working in the US and for an American company (the Edison corporation) - both countries that used imperial measurements at that time. Apart from in continental Europe, film lengths have always been referred to in feet throughout the world, so I'm curious as to why widths have always been metric.

Around here, if the movie is out of frame, we place you on the rack.

Which is what the Orcs had Gollum on when he shouted
Shhhhhiiiiiiiirrrrrreeeeeeee
Baaaaaaaagggggggggiiinnnnnnnsssss
 

The original standard for "Professional Standard Film" published by the Society of Motion Picture Engineers in July 1917 shows the width of the film to be 1.375 inches. As you may know, for Edison's Kinetoscope experiments, Dickson purchased film from Kodak that was 2-3/4 inches wide, and it was slit in half to 1-3/8 inches. In a note to Kodak in September 1889, Dickson wrote:

"Dear Sirs:

Enclosed please find sum of $2.50 P.O.O. due you for one roll of Kodak film for which please accept thanks -- I shall try same to-day & report -- it looks splendid -- I never succeeded in getting this substance in such straight and long pieces --

Sincerely yrs.
W. K. L. Dickson"

The SMPTE standards for 35mm films today are SMPTE 93-1998 (BH perf), SMPTE 102-1997 (CS-1870 perf), SMPTE 237-1998 (DH-1870 perf), and SMPTE 139-1996 (KS perf). They specify the width as 1.377 +/-0.001 inches or 34.975 +/-0.025 mm.

My guess is that when Leica adopted the motion-picture format for still cameras is when the simple "35mm" nomenclature became popular, even though the aim width has always been slightly less than 35mm.

------------------
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

I had always assumed that it was easier for Dickson and Edison to express the gauge in millimetres because with inches, they would be hassled by fractions.

------------------
And, hey! Let's be careful out there.

~Manny.
 

Interesting question. Maybe if I got more exposure to Canadian product, I'd have a stronger idea of how to categorize it.

IMAX often counts as cinema...I'm bad about verifying what country produced a given title...I've always assumed they were all Canadian.

For clarification: I am not referring to American movies that hopped over to Canada to take advantage of cheaper production. I assumed you were asking about bona fide Canadian movies.

------------------
And, hey! Let's be careful out there.

~Manny.
 

A nice anecdote, but an unlikely scenario. As I mentioned, Kodak made a 2-3/4 inch wide roll film, and Edison/Dickson slit it in half to 1-3/8 inch width. Check out "The Story of Kodak" by Douglas Collins:
The Story of Kodak

------------------
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

I've been in the motion picture business for 34 yrs and was raise
in it. My late Dad began managing a movie theatre when I was a year
old in 1952. He once told me that when he entered the industry he
was informed that a movie house was a THEATRE and that a stage house
was a THEATER. That's what seems to be the accepted wisdom in our industry

Even more ironic is that our Gershwin Theatre has a bronze plaque that says it's the Gershwin Theatre, but up over the canopy entrance to the same theatre, large two foot letters proclaim it is the Gershwin Theater. And in one of the playbills for a college Mainstage Production, the location is given as the Gershwin Theatre but on the same page, it says the play is being produced by the college Theater Department! No rhyme or reason.

I was working with Anthony Daniels (C3P0) this week in a show Lucas put together with the museum: Star Wars-Magic of the Myth exhibit that runs thru May at the Brooklyn Museum. Storm Troupers on stage, and lots of slides and video material from all the films showing lots of visual tricks, augmented with talks by the heads of ILM miniatures and the CG depts -- great fun. Anyway, I heard two things from Daniels that struck me -- he refered to the projection booth as the projection "box" (as he gratiously thanked the projectionists at the end of the show - very classy). And he also pronounced aluminum as "al-you-mini-um," which to me sounded like some weird element we never discovered over here in the US.

We will be running all four SW titles starting next week, and they want us to run their Ep 2 trailer ever time anyone walks in or out of the theatre (just exagerating, but we are running it ALOT). I have no idea if these prints are coming directly from LucasFilm, or from Fox -- no idea what condition they will be in. I suspect they may be coming from Lucas since they seem to have a very hands-on control of this exhibit -- I can't imagine they would rely on Fox to send whatever prints they have lying around from the trilogy re-release for such a big exhibit. Will report back.
 

Paul, I've heard the term "discharge vessel" also, but I thought it was referring to the quartz envelope. I can't remember where I saw it.

------------------
This one time, at Projection Camp, I stuck a xenon bulb....
 

------------------
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
 

I also use Cinnemeccanica projectors. In my booth I have 4
Victoria IVs and 3 Victoira 8s. I think the Mascarini swithc
is used to shut off the projector in case of a break.
Sometmes when film breaks and the projector keeps running the film will
continue to wrap around the feed sprocket. Once it builds up enough it will be high enough to raise the small rounded lever above the feed
sprocket. Once this lever raises high enough it will trigger a microswitch( I think) that will shut off the projector. They were, as
far as I know, an early version of a fail-safe.

Maybe there is someone out there who can verify this but I think I real close to being right on this one.

Carl