This is topic Chain print circuits in forum Film Handlers' Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.
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Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 06-10-2001, 12:44 PM:
Here's one for John Pytlak and anyone else who cares to respond. Let's say you are working at a chain theater and TES ships you a print from another one of the theaters in your chain that they used for a screening...but it has all sorts of defects in it. What do you do? If you reject it, the chain has to pay for the print. Play it, and your presentation standards drop drastically. This one print I am thinking of arrived with all sorts of adhesive gunk on it and despite lengthy cleaning efforts during makeup, still caught throughout opening weekend, pulling 2 layers of film through the brain, resulting in more damage and refunds. Now FilmGuard was able to take it off after a couple of days running, but look at all of the damage that has happened already! Bear in mind that you are not able to do anything about how this fellow theater handles film and the circuit obviously wants the damage covered up so they will not have to pay for their other theater's sloppy film handling. What is the general consensus here?
Posted by Ken Layton (Member # 133) on 06-10-2001, 12:55 PM:
Reject it. I say let the chain learn their lesson and pay for the print.
Posted by Darryl Spicer (Member # 711) on 06-10-2001, 12:55 PM:
Turn them in and get a new print. The cost I would sy is shifted to the actuale theater. Thie will reflect on ther expenses for the year. It will also bring to attention that there is a theater in the circuit that needs to be checked or serviced. Saying or doing nothing will fix nothing. When I get a film from one of our theaters I fill out a damaged film report at put what theater it came from and send it to the region office and film department. If damage is very obviouse I will request another print.
Posted by Jerry Chase (Member # 660) on 06-10-2001, 02:18 PM:
Reject it. If the print was something that you had been able to clean up and the audience wasn't affected, I'd say to give the home office a call and heads up. The manager and projectionist on the other end are going to be pissed no matter how you handle it, so handle it in the most professional way possible by notifying the brass and letting them take action or not.
S.O.P.: File a written report (to at least two different people) detailing the damage, and get someone else to look at the print and verify in writing that the damage was as described. C.Y.A.
Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 06-10-2001, 05:20 PM:
Reject it.Each theatre has a budget that includes things like payroll, utilities and supplies. There is often a category for "film" ... including damaged film.
Also, think about this in terms of organizational behavior:
Basically what happens when you have one slacker and one over-achiever like that is the slacker doesn't get in trouble for slacking and the over-achiever doesn't get "credit" for doing all the work. The only way the slacker will get in trouble is when things don't get done. Since the over-achiever is doing it all he is, in essence, just giving the slacker permission to be lazy.
I used to find myself in situations all the time where I ended up doing a lot of extra work because other people weren't doing their work. After a while, people will just start slacking off even more because they think that you'll do it for them. It even got so bad that when things didn't get done managers would start comming to ME even though it wasn't my job! Finally, I just said to myself, "F*** it! If other people aren't going to do their jobs then I'm not going to it for them." Once a few people started getting in trouble for being lazy they started working more.
I say the same thing goes for you. That other theatre isn't going to learn to clean up their act unless somebody brings it to the company's attention. Just remember to be very diplomatic about it.
Posted by Dustin Mitchell (Member # 372) on 06-10-2001, 07:31 PM:
If you reject it do rember the cost will be billed to YOUR theatre, since you didn't reject it out of hand you can't prove you didn't do the damage. So you should be worrying about your P&L's, not the sister theatre that obviously doesn't know what they're doing.
Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 06-10-2001, 07:43 PM:
Dustin, I believe Brad is referring to when the print first arrives.I say reject it, unless you have some sort of bizarre and creepy love for the company, which no chain employee could possibly have since they all get paid so pitifully.
Posted by Dustin Mitchell (Member # 372) on 06-10-2001, 08:13 PM:
In that case reject it out of hand. If the circuit is big enough they won't put two and two together, ie they won't even realize that they got billed because YOU rejected it, they'll just know they got billed. If they care enough to investigate the matter they'll porbably care enough about presentation to punish the theatre that did the damage and not you.
Posted by John Walsh (Member # 168) on 06-10-2001, 08:26 PM:
Personally, I would think about reporting the damage first. I don't mean that I would _not_ report it; I just mean there may be other issues to think about before I do. Since both theaters work for the same company, I might do a little detective work (do they always damage prints? Are they short-staffed? Are the defects clearly lab-related, or operator-damage? Etc.)
If it is clearly lab-related, I'd reject it. Techincolor can see it's lab related, and shouldn't charge you, even if the print has been out for a while.
If it is operator damage, what happens if you report it? Is the company known for comming down hard on people who damage prints (ie: might they fire someone?) Can you live with "bad blood" between you and the other theater?
I'd have to know exactly how bad it is damaged.
These are the kind of things I'd think about.
Posted by Christopher Duvall (Member # 284) on 06-10-2001, 08:41 PM:
I say reject the print. Your location shouldn't have to suffer for somebody else screwing up YOUR print. If it was from your chain, somebody SHOULD be able to track which location it came from and bill it back to their P&L statements. However we are talking about TES. ------------------
Chris Duvall
General Manager
Regal Cinemas Colonnade14
Las Vegas, NV
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 06-10-2001, 09:45 PM:
Brad, "To thine own self be true." The print should be rejected. You owe it to your local theatre management and most of all to the patrons who buy tickets to your theatre to give them the highest quality and best presentation you can. When you come across a print that, in your opinion, is not suitable for presentation, then I believe you have an obligation to inform your local management and they should request a replacement print. Stat.
Posted by Bill Enos (Member # 440) on 06-11-2001, 08:09 AM:
Nobody will pay for that print. If you reject it TES wil just ship it Somewhere else where nobody will care and everything will be fine.
Posted by Rick McCluney (Member # 642) on 06-11-2001, 03:32 PM:
As a Projectionist, your top priority is to insure that the patrons have the best presentation possible. If that means that the company has to pay for the mistake of a sister theatre then so be it. Rick
Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 06-13-2001, 07:34 PM:
Brad: Ask for a replacement print, but give the other theatre a "heads up" on why you had to get a replacement. Tough as that may be, it's even tougher if you yourself cause damage through carelessness, and have to ask for a replacement print. Question: What does it say about a theatre when they post a sign "We are sorry to inform you that there is a very bad scratch through most of the print on Screen #5, and we can't get a replacement."? (Sign actually seen at a Rochester theatre during the first week's run of a major release).
Answer: It says they damaged the print, and are unwilling to admit it and pay for a replacement. So the audience is either forced to put up with the damage, or go to another theatre. 
------------------
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