Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Disabled/missing douser?

This is topic Disabled/missing douser? in forum Film Handlers' Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Thomas Pitt (Member # 4322) on 09-18-2007, 05:57 PM:

I have now visited the Bradford Cineworld 3 times, and seen 3 movies in 3 different screens. Each time, I noticed the projector change-over douser seems to be either missing, or disabled. The result is that upon changeover, you see the flat image area 'fall off' the screen, then the FACT warning card 'fly up' the floor onto the screen as the turret rotates to scope.
In addition, without a working douser, you always see the film tail out at the very end after the turret has rotated back to flat.

The automation is working as it should - the final cue puts the house lights up to full brightness and switches on the pre-show slide projector, while the film is still tailing out (and projecting)!

Is there any reason for removing or disabling the changeover douser in this way? If the projector was faulty, surely it wouldn't affect 3 different projectors in the same way!

I considered posting this in the 'you suck' thread, but it's not exactly the film handler's fault. On the contrary, the actual presentation at this cinema is some of the best I've seen - perfect focus and framing, no bob or weave etc.
I also don't know what projector they use there. Unlike Cineworld Sheffield, there's no poster outside each auditorium giving the information.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 09-18-2007, 08:26 PM:

I'd bet it's more likely that the projectionist doesn't know how (or is too lazy) to place the cues on the film to make the automation close and reopen the changeovers at the appropriate times.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 09-18-2007, 08:41 PM:

I've seen some automation/turret combinations that simply did not close and reopen the turret upon rotation too.

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 09-19-2007, 01:11 AM:

To me the "projecting the tail of the final reel" isn't a big deal as the only people likely to be there at that moment are staff members cleaning the room.

But with the issue of their changeover from slides to ads/trailers:
They could "fix" the issue by simply adding black leader to the end of the head leader. Just add a lens change worth of black leader (or maybe some extra due to variations in where, in the head leader, your various booth people thread). Nothing important displayed on the floor anymore.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 09-19-2007, 09:23 AM:

C;early, the only cure for this booth is to replace all that archaic film gear with a nice new digital system....

Mark

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 09-19-2007, 01:42 PM:

quote: Chris Slycord
To me the "projecting the tail of the final reel" isn't a big deal as the only people likely to be there at that moment are staff members cleaning the room

signs of laziness...and poor showmanship.. There are some patrons that still sit throughout the entire credits and rating tag....what a show to give them afterwards..... [Eek!]

That'll earn ya a "you suck" award if anyone from here witness that in the theatre that you work at ...

(shouldn't expose yourself like this with your little "skeletons in the closet" mentioned above.. [Big Grin]

)

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 09-19-2007, 04:23 PM:

quote:
. [Eek!] signs of laziness...and poor showmanship.. There are some patrons that still sit throughout the entire credits and rating tag....what a show to give them afterwards..... [Eek!]

That'll earn ya a "you suck" award if anyone from here witness that in the theatre that you work at ...

(shouldn't expose yourself like this with your little "skeletons in the closet" mentioned above.. [Big Grin] )

It's more to me that out of the 2 problems he mentioned, the bigger one is displaying having the beginning displayed on the floor then have it fly up the screen. In that case, you're pretty much maximizing the effect since a lot of people are there at show time.

BTW, the only theater I've worked at has always used their dowsers so the stuff he mentioned was never a problem.

I'm really not sure why, since the original poster said the slide show projector comes on when the intermission cue goes through, they don't just have the cue shut off the film's bulb. The black film at the header plus that would fix their entire problem... and would avoid the need for the dowser.

[edit]So what I was trying to say is that I was focusing on the "beginning of feature" issue because that one seemed to be the "most egregious" of them and if there was no easy way to fix the dowser it'd still be extremely simple to fix that issue regardless.

[ 09-19-2007, 09:31 PM: Message edited by: Chris Slycord ]