I've always kept one as i've always worked for not so organized companies, i have found it to be a blessing when you get that phone call a few months later wanting to know what happened to the print that was last seen at our cinema and has since gone missing and you tell them on whatever date 'so and so' picked up the film and took it off the premises. We only work one projectionist at a time and the company wil not pay for any crossover time at shift changeover, so we dont always get a chance to communicate all the reqiured info, so the diary serves it's most important function for us in that way.
I have on occasions found the diary to be a ball and chain, we all know that at times you dont have time to stop and write in the book and some things are forgotten, in an official diary this CAN mean that it didn't happen!
The management know that we have a diary but only rarely asks to see it (once in the last 3 years), so we try to refrain from expressing our feelings toward the company and their decisions.
Do you keep a logbook or a diary?
-Aaron
Projection logs are still kept by many cinemas in the UK. UCI / Filmworks cinemas make it mandatory for their projectionists to keep a log and I am sure other exhibitors do as well.
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Les Brock
Principal Engineer
SDDS Systems.
Priestly Road Basingstoke,Hants
United Kingdom, RG24 9JP
Phone +44 1256 484924
Les.Brock@sonybpe.com
Website www.sdds.com
I also have a problem with people who go berzerk over the log. Hey, sometimes one of the projectionists may have been overly busy with other work than to note "had to turn up volume in #5 at customer request". Get over it! Logging things like that is just annoying anyway. Do I really need to know the status of a fader or focus setting on a show by show basis? NO!
That being said a simple routine of leaving a warning note of anything not working right or any info that the other oprators need to know on the desk has always worked well in booths I have operated. Once the warning of "move this print to this auditorium for the screening today" has passed, the note is simply thrown away. Equipment associated notes are taked to a corkboard and once the problem is fixed, the notes are tossed. Trying to read through pages and pages of a journal is a huge pain when I am trying to research the problems someone has had with a particular piece of equipment. I much prefer coming into a booth and having a board of notes pinned up to check.
I know people will disagree with that way of communicating, but I'm sick of the drama queens writing novels in a log and throwing hissy fits because they are reading into someone's daily diary submission too far and manipulating it into a personal insult. Notes are pretty restrictive with how much can be written and force people to be brief and get to the point.
I also have an occurence report that must be filled in if there is a problem that the public would have been aware of. It has a check box for equipment failure or human error. God help anyone who make's a report blaming equipment and I spend hours trying to find a non existant fault....
The report has to be handed into the office no later than the end of that day. The duty manager should also be informed immediatly of any such problem by house phone so they don't look foolish when they get complaints..... Let's not get into how foolish some of them are anyway!!
Unfortunatly any reporting system relies on honesty and consistency... can anyone tell me how to achieve that!
A print log sent along with a print, documenting its' complete projection history would be ideal, since each projectionist would honestly tell of any problems they caused or encountered with the print. (We can dream, can't we?)
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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
In the Cameo, Edinburgh many years ago we were clearing out and found the booth diaries dating way back to the late 'forties. These were fascinating reading, with notes of carbon amps, how much milk was in the projectionists fridge, how many drops of oil the Nº2 intermittent had need to bring it back to level, and so on. Those are now in the posession of the National Museum of Scotland, if my memory serves me rightly. I think the were donated along with old ushers and concierge uniforms we found in some long abandoned lockers in the spooky old boiler house.
From time-to-time, there has also been a print log. There also used to be a show log...that is, how many shows each print had. We could easily calculate how many feet of MAG film had run over each head. We must have been one of the few theatres that wore out Teccon mag heads!
Steve
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"Old projectionists never die, they just changeover!"
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"The greatest thing you will ever learn, is just love and be loved in return."
Barry C. Martin
IATSE Local 182
In other places, communication is normally done with notes left on the rewind bench. If some particularly important piece of equipment (for example, one deck on a platter) is having problems, someone will usually leave a big "do not use" sign on it as well.
I've never seen any theatre that kept a print shipping log; it seems almost redundant, though, since playdates can be determined by looking at old schedules. For rep houses or anyone else who often plays used prints, inspection reports can be useful, however. At the very least, information like "starts with...", "ends with...", type of cue marks (if changeover house), and picture sound/format information can be invaluable.
Green for projector problems and blue for sound problems. It makes it easier to quickly flip through the book and track problems.
When you show up for your shift, you are required to read the log book all the way back to your last shift.
In addition to the log book, there is a daily log sheet to keep track of instrument readings and showtimes and print passes, and a print log to detail the history of the print while it's at the theater. The print log gets copied and shipped out with the print when it leaves. I'm not sure I'd do a print log in a 20-plex, but it's great for large format.
I also think its valuble when you make changes to something, or learn how to fix something that you know the other projectionist don't know. You explain exactly what you did to fix the problem, so when they have the same trouble they'll know what to do.
I found an old log book in the booth while cleaning the closest one day thats dated as far back as 1995-1997 long before I arrived in 1999. And while most of it was just doodles and rants about why someone had to close on Sunday etc, there were a few valuable things I learned from it that I never knew before.
For example in 1996 there were problems with the sound going out in our #4, the projectionist noted that he found a work around by switching to a Bypass mode. If I had not read that in 2001 when I had the same sound problem in the same projector, I would not have known what to do, and would have wasted time calling the head projectionist. And probably canceling the show....
Point is, noting all of your experiences in the booth in a log, can help every other progectionist, even ones years later after you're long gone, gain more knowlege and better themselves. In a way its better than a manual if done right, because the log book talks about things specifically in that booth the projectionist works in.
what you've discovered is shared experience.... you can't buy it, you can't teach it. It grow's each and every day you turn up for work. Thats the value of logs and diary's.
The fact that you found it whilst in the closet... is best glossed over 
All comments made now , in the past or in the future are to be taken with a VERY big pinch of salt!!!!
There isn't too awful much in that third log, and it's been the running log for nearly three years. 
We also maintain a make-up sheet for each film, containing things like splice/edge damage tallys for each reel. This, combined with the Securicor pick-up book, covers our backs in case a distributor has a problem.
The Maintenance log was strictly that -- a place to keep clear and concise records of what maitenance was done, when, why, etc. I ket this in a notebook, one per cinema or one per booth, depending on the size of the complex, that included a full equipment list, a Maintenance Schedule, troubleshooting guide and so on.
The Projectionists log was where people could get literary with movie reviews and such. I would NEVER combine such a log with maintenance record -- too hard to backtrack service information with the other stuff you'd encounter. Still, as long as it was written down and was conctructive, it could be a useful tool.
I think the white board is a great idea and would encourage that as well.
If you're curious, these maintenance schedules and logs are available on the strong-cinema website.
Pat
Bill
quote:
We also maintain a make-up sheet for each film, containing things like splice/edge damage tallys for each reel. This, combined with the Securicor pick-up book, covers our backs in case a distributor has a problem.
Towards the end of my time in cinemas, I found that a lot of films for crossover were not being picked up by Securicor, possibly because people were waking up to the fact that they were so useless. After a couple of occasions on which a print was left downstairs and handed over by a duty manager to a courier who did not leave any form of receipt or paperwork whatsoever, I introduced a crossover slip. This recorded the film title, print no., name of distributor, name of shipping company collecting the print, name and full address of destination, contact 'phone number, name of driver (legibly printed), date and time of pickup and driver's signature. After completion this would be photocopied and the copy given to the driver. I gave instructions that this paperwork had to be completed whenever a film was leaving the building that was not in the Perivale book or covered by a Securicor crossover slip. With arthouse and foreign prints this became increasingly common.
One or two drivers were reluctant to sign it, citing their company's rules and procedures, but I made it very clear that if they don't sign it, we keep the film until someone turns up who will. I'm very glad I did start this system, because a courier did manage to lose a print which had come to us from the Sheffield documentary festival and which was then going out to the NFT. The driver who collected it had no paperwork, and would happily have taken the film with no record of the collection having happened. By sending a copy of our slip to Metrodome I was able to prove beyond doubt that the film had been collected from us and that the couriers had lost it.
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Jan Hackett
Theater Operations Manager
Extreme Screen Dynatheater
NM Museum of Natural History Foundation
If a show goes down, a show interruption report is inserted in the log book on the day that it occurred. Reporting problems has helped us numerous times in dealing with complaints, both real and bogus. If something was our fault, we want to make good. If not, we don't want to get taken to the cleaners, either.
Additionally. we keep a maintenance log and a print log. That way, I know who did what, when, and how. There is simply too much to trust to memory.
I have an understanding with my people that personal comments are off limits. If there is a screw-up, I alone will determine who is to blame.
Good communication keeps everyone on the same page and prevents nasty surprises. I'm not a fan of leaving notes for the next guy. They can easily be misplaced, or might not have been written at all. If it's in the log, there are no questions.
Yes, people on rare occasions get busy and forget to make an entry, but for the most part, if you make reasonable demands, this will never be a problem.
Lastly, as I tell my people: "If I don't know there's a problem, I can't fix it."
Oh, and yes, our chief techie keeps maintainance logs.
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Posted from the box.
Basically, everyone wrote in the book as if it was their own personal diary and nobody outside the "circle" would read it. Well, when it came time where there was a legitimate problem, the DM and Tech looked through the log book to see if there was a chronic equipment problem. The next day, the log was gone and a note for "all booth employees to see the GM immediately." 
I found that "Daily chores" lists don't work too well, either. The "chores" were to be divided among both shifts, but nobody ever indicated what had already been done on the previous shift. Others would make the list a top priority and other things would suffer (like starting a film 10 minutes late because they were on the other side of the booth mopping.) or use the list as an excuse for not doing other things. "Well, I WOULD HAVE broken down the print if I didn't have to clean the port glass..."
We tried a print log for a little while, but nobody ever wrote in it to document dirt, scratches, digital sound dropping out, etc. because they didn't want to be blamed for it.
A booth log for ONLY equipment problems, print problems, things the next shift's person should be careful of, etc. is a good idea. But just a general log can lead to problems.
=TMP=
. Most of my colleagues write in the present one; it's fun to know what's happened and a good place to pass notes. Some of them are new in the booth, but it's surprising how fast they've gotten into the habit.Besides, ten years from now, they make a very enjoyable read!
P.S. It's been a long time since I posted, or even read the forum. It's good to be back!
Sorry gang, couldn't resist the urge to tease. Actually we do call each other and leave notes in the booth on the bulletin board which is over the projectionist's desk and is easy to see. Whatever works, eh?
Mr. Bell was a Canadian , if only for a brief time:
http://web.mit.edu/invent/www/inventorsA-H/graham_bell.html
http://www.thocp.net/biographies/bell_alexander.html
http://www.pbs.org/transistor/album1/addlbios/bellag.html
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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