Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Tap People Let go.....

This is topic Tap People Let go..... in forum Film Handlers' Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

To visit this topic, use this URL:
https://ft-forum.com/ft/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=004449

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 01-16-2003, 09:46 PM:

I heard today from reliable sources that the majority of the TAP personel(between 15 and 20) were let go. Don't know what this may mean other than the folks at Creative Labs are getting more creative....
Mark

Posted by Richard Fowler (Member # 893) on 01-16-2003, 09:57 PM:

K-mart is not the only one with problems....

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 01-16-2003, 10:35 PM:

Well, its been a long time since they did any TAPPING in Utah! Kind of sad though...film will only go downhill quicker without them......
Mark

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 01-16-2003, 10:42 PM:

No surprise. We all know that TAP hasn`t been exactly on of Lucasfilms major areas of focus for a long time. Maybe they think with the advent of digital cinema (remember they think it is about to happen, or should), the program is no longer needed? Although, if I wanted to push a new presentation form, I would retain these experienced people to see to it that it gets introduced properly. After all, the whole sound alignment doesn`t really change. Somehow it all doesn`t make sense to me, but then, I am not a genius...

Posted by Evans A Criswell (Member # 381) on 01-16-2003, 10:48 PM:

It's funny. Just yesterday I thought to myself, "I haven't heard anything about THX in a while". I wonder if THX-certified auditoriums will soon be a thing of the past (or at least the trailers that are often played in such auditoriums).

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 01-16-2003, 11:37 PM:

That's very sad news, both for the TAP people and for the general film-going public. Hopefully some other organization will attempt to offer quality-control services to an industry which desperately needs them.

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 01-16-2003, 11:57 PM:

On the other hand, maybe Lucas Video Ltd. is AFRAID of TAP. I mean, how humiliating would that be.....having your own tappers telling you that your digital presentations suck? Better to just let them drift quietly off into the sunset rather than screaming in your ear: "Your STAR WARS III - REVENGE OF THE CLONES that you insisted only play in DLP theatres, looks like crap." Ole George will have none of THAT.

[Smile]

Frank

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 01-17-2003, 02:26 AM:

If this rumor is true, then this is truly sad news. Lucasfilm had a quality team working for the TAP division.

Posted by Lionel Fouillen (Member # 1475) on 01-17-2003, 03:33 AM:

And have you seen how the THX website front page now focuses on non-professional applications?

Posted by Ron Lacheur (Member # 1126) on 01-17-2003, 08:46 AM:

who needs a THX certified system in their car?

Posted by Chase Taylor (Member # 778) on 01-17-2003, 09:09 AM:

From what I've heard this past tuesday (January 14) THX had a huge downsizing and let go most or all of their field techs go also. They are going to hire those techs out as IC from now on? [Confused]

Posted by Evans A Criswell (Member # 381) on 01-17-2003, 10:09 AM:

The THX WWW site only displays a blank white page after loading using Opera. With IE, it works. It looks like their WWW design team is as diligent as their THX theatre auditorium certification program. I dont' think they ever revisit a theatre after initial certification to be sure things are maintained, do they? It's funny that THX of all entities would have a WWW page that is only designed to work with IE.

Posted by Lionel Fouillen (Member # 1475) on 01-17-2003, 10:26 AM:

quote:
Ron Lacheur said: who needs a THX certified system in their car?

If only Tex could fix your engine when it doesn't start [Roll Eyes]

Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 01-17-2003, 11:21 AM:

Say what you want about George and his misguided DLP crusade. The fact remains that THX made an enormous contribution to improvements in commercial cinema presentation quality and sound technology in particular. The downsizing of THX is a direct result of failure of exhibitors to support them. That's somewhat understandable, given the overall improvement in sound quality that digital provides -- Who needs the expense of THX certification if you have a well-designed digital audio system? Or so the bean counters probably think anyway.

Thank you THX. [Cool]

[ 01-17-2003, 01:57 PM: Message edited by: David Stambaugh ]

Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 01-17-2003, 01:05 PM:

I agree, David, although I don't think George Lucas's digital projection aspirations are misguided. He's always been very progressive. Thanks to his foresight, we had the explosive growth of Dolby Stereo in the 70s - everybody wanted to play Star Wars in stereo, and every filmmaker wanted their project to sound as good. He also broke ground with Sprocket Systems, bringing digital audio to movie production. He's the underwriter of THX and the TAP program (the latter of which, I am proud to have been one of the first group of).

And let's not forget the creation of ILM, which raised the bar for visual effects in the 70s, and brought digital effects into large-scale use in the 90s.

No, I cannot fault George Lucas for constantly pushing the envelope, consistently topping himself, and advancing the state of the art in movies; often in spite of the industry at large.

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 01-17-2003, 02:36 PM:

Some of the people from THX have already found a new home elsewhere (e.g., Ted Costas of Dolby). Others may follow.