Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Slashed screen!!

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Posted by Cathal Griffin (Member # 5166) on 08-24-2009, 05:01 PM:

It's really not been my day. Look what some little decraved miscreant did to one of my screens today.

This hole is about a foot wide

This slice is about 5 inches long

Managed to patch it with duct tape but we'll have to replace it.

Why must these people exist. If I caught him doing it he wouldn't have walked out the door. [Mad]

Any of you guys come across this type of thing in your cinemas?

Cathal

Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 08-24-2009, 05:03 PM:

All the time, unfortunately.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 08-24-2009, 05:37 PM:

Yikes! That sucks, man.

When a past manager at my theater was fired (not too long before I was hired from what I was told) not too much later there was a giant stain that appeared on our silver screen. Of course it had to be replaced. There is no way to prove that it was him, but it sure was very suspicious. It was the only silver screen in the complex and I'm sure he knew that silver screens are very tough to clean. He was fired for very legitimate reasons (he also happened to be a registered sex offender which the owners didn't even know about at the time). But it also could have been some random miscreants who just like to be asshats.

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 08-24-2009, 08:58 PM:

Cathal, I have heard (not seem first hand) of screen repairs being made by cutting around the cut -- basically creating a hole larger than the existing slash, and then cutting a piece of screen material to act as a patch, cutting it slightly larger than the whole. The perfs of the patch are then matched to the perfs of the overlapped screen material. The two are carefully sewn together thru the existing perfs. Care is taken not to pull the thread very tight -- the idea is just to hold the patch on top of the screen but not to deform it in any way. Pulling the thread tight would only cause the screen to pucker. It was said to be pretty effective, but you are right, that kind of damage will require a replacement, no doubt.

As for the demented individual who perpertrated this crime, there are allot of things that I can think up as punishment should this dickless wonder get caught, and they would make Abugreb look like kindergarden. For starters, crazy glue and his gonads jump to mind....I am sure you can use your imagination.

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 08-24-2009, 09:17 PM:

How we did a quick fix on a hole like that was place a sheet of typing paper behind the screen that was sprayed with an stick-on adhesive...kinda made a 'bandage' out of that piece of paper.

After we got the back of the screen initially stuck to the paper, then "rolled" the front so it would lay flat against that paper.

But, before one would do this, at the end of the tear, we would make a small round hold there so the tear would not grow any further, esp if you got a curved screen.

Only small glitch is when the tear is in the middle like that and to use this patch trick, would be the slight reflection of the paper behind the screen since that section of the screen had the holes covered up.

We had that patch up there for months before a new screen came in.

After that was all did and done, we should have used black poster paper to eliminate any reflection ... but, live an learn.

-Monte

Posted by Jonathan Althaus (Member # 5042) on 08-24-2009, 09:18 PM:

Opening night, last show of Get Smart last year some idiot slashed the screen in our largest theatre. Luckily we had a silver screen awaiting install and it was installed a few days later. We were able to patch the screen with some silver colored tape we use on our exhaust ducts (not sure what its called). Ironic thing is that the tear was right where Steve Martin walked out of the screen during the Pink Panther 2 trailer. Must be the ghost in our theatre.

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 08-24-2009, 09:23 PM:

Instead of duct tape use white gaffer's tape or, if you don't have gaff, use white athletic tape.

First, tape on the back side to pull the damaged areas back together. Try to match the pieces back together as much as possible. It won't be easy because the screen is under tension but, if you try you can get it very close.

Once you have the pieces back together, use some more tape on the front to cover the hole(s). Finally, get somebody to put their hands against the taped area on the back of the screen while you press against them from the front so you press the tape down securely in place. (Use a white towel or something to avoid leaving marks.) If you are careful and smooth the tape out till it's very flat, you might be able to make an almost invisible repair.

I have repaired holes as big as my hand (like a "barn door" rip) with gaff tape and, from 10 feet away, you would have to squint your eyes to see it.

I had two screen slashed in one theater I worked at. The bastard cut about a 3 foot long gash along the bottom of one screen, right near the edge. It was very hard to pull back together but we were able to make a passable repair.

I suppose the reason people go for the screen is becasue it is a symbol of sorts. It represents the "power" and the "authority" of Hollywood movies. By destroying the symbol of that power, the perpetrator feels like he is more powerful than the theater.

If I was a disgruntled ex-employee of a movie theater I wouldn't go for the screen. I'd do something much more diabolical.
I'd go to the bait store and buy 1,000 live crickets then release them in the theater! [evil]

Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 08-24-2009, 10:03 PM:

Clear fishing line, lace it up like you would a shoe. Works so well you won't need to replace the screen. Louis

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 08-25-2009, 03:29 PM:

We have never had our screen cut (knocking on wood) but years ago before I worked there, a flag pole that was stored behind the screen fell over and made a nice rip dead-center. I still remember the white patch that could be seen during bright scenes. I'm guessing the repair was made with athletic tape.

Posted by Dennis Benjamin (Member # 1137) on 08-25-2009, 04:21 PM:

quote:
I'd go to the bait store and buy 1,000 live crickets then release them in the theater!

I spent part of my day searching for a cricket in one of my auditoriums yesterday. What a pain in the ass!

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 08-26-2009, 10:14 AM:

It wasn't me!

Posted by Kenneth Wuepper (Member # 1174) on 08-26-2009, 10:30 AM:

We once had a cricket behind the pipe organ console. It was loudly singing during a performance of "Gone With The Wind". It literally drowned out some of the dialog.

Our concession manager was very knowledgeable about such things and she told us to make a paper towel wet and place it like a tent near where the cricket was. The insect soon found the moist area and crawled into it and also stopped chirping. Stepping on the paper towel then terminated the cricket and the chirping permanently.

KEN

Posted by Andy Bajew (Member # 5330) on 08-26-2009, 10:53 AM:

quote: Randy Stankey
Instead of duct tape use white gaffer's tape

I don't know about y'all, but gaffer's tape seems to be one of the hardest things to find in the Katy/Houston area. Does anyone else have trouble finding this stuff? We had a wedding at our theater and I spent nearly two weeks searching for this stuff around town and wound up going to Academy to buy athletic tape.

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 08-26-2009, 11:09 AM:

BMI Supply: http://bmisupply.com/index.htm

About $12.00 per roll in single rolls. $11.00 if you buy it by the case.

Posted by Jim Cassedy (Member # 4115) on 08-26-2009, 11:30 AM:

Condolences to you on your screen damage.
I can only imagine how you feel.

Several people have replied with posts about crickets.
Not to get too far off topic, but the only thing worse
and more annoying than crickets is a Skunk!

I once had a skunk get behind the screen & 'let loose'.
Needless to say, this made the entire auditorium quite
unpleasent! Fortunately, it did not actually spray and
ruin the screen. Just some stuff stored backstage.

We had to have a 'professional' skunk odor removal
service come in to de-odorize the place. It wasn't
cheap, but we had little alternative.

We also tried to plug up the places we thought the
skunk might have gotten in through, but this was one
of those huge, old theaters with dozens of potential
places a skunk or other small animal could get inside
through, so we weren't sure we closed up all the holes.
We haven't had any problem since though.

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 08-26-2009, 11:32 PM:

How about a large guage syringe, such as one of those "turkey injectors", and a bottle of skunk musk? (Often used by hunters as a cover scent.)

Inject a couple-few squirts of that down into about a half dozen seat cushions and the theater would be uninhabitable for weeks! [evil]

Posted by Jim Cassedy (Member # 4115) on 08-27-2009, 09:06 AM:

Back to the screen slashing for a moment-
Any chance this damge would be covered by
some sort of insurance carried by the
theater owner/operator?

Posted by Andy Bajew (Member # 5330) on 08-27-2009, 09:52 AM:

I am sure the better question would be how bad does the management team want to avoid letting corporate know one of their screens got slashed by an incompetent person who was hired to do a competent persons job.

I am sure the filing of an insurance claim won't slip passed corporate.

Lesson learned why you don't let anyone but projection heads touch one of the most delicate and important parts of a theater.

Posted by Cathal Griffin (Member # 5166) on 08-27-2009, 09:59 AM:

We had no "incompetent person" hired to do a "compenent persons job". We had a little insignificant turd come in to watch a movie get bored and commit an act of vandalism!!!

It'll be covered by the insurance alright, just have to see what that wil do to our premium.

A replacement sheet has been ordered anyway and installed in 2 weeks. Caught a break with the delivery actually, could have been waiting 14 weeks for a sheet!!

I might do some experimenting with the old screen before they take it down though, I'm intirgued by the fishing line solution and want to see what it looks like.

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 08-27-2009, 10:07 AM:

I have tried tying the screen back together with fishing line. I didn't have much luck with it.

I started at one end of the rip and laced it up like a pair of shoes but, because the vinyl was under so much tension, the fishing line wanted to pull through the holes and rip the vinyl more. In order to get enough "pull" on the fabric we had to tape it from the back.

By the time we were done there was a noticeable pucker in the screen. We gave up and went to gaff tape.

Posted by Andy Bajew (Member # 5330) on 08-30-2009, 04:38 PM:

I love how this topic of screens ripping comes up, and a few days later one of the screens at my theater winds up getting a hole in it.

Posted by James Westbrook (Member # 3690) on 08-31-2009, 01:53 AM:

Ripped screens is a problem that never goes away, it just moves around.

Posted by System Notices (Member # 2357) on 03-25-2011, 02:39 PM:

It has been 571 days since the last post.

Posted by Julius Alan Vichinsky (Member # 3081) on 03-25-2011, 02:39 PM:

Pardon me, Seems to be an older topic but new to me. I ordered gaffer tape from bmisupply and should have it this week. I chose this route do to the gash being only 6" long or so and seems to be the overall preferred method. I ordered black and white tape. I thought black for the back and white for the front.. Which leads me to this question. Do i put the tape on the front or only apply from the back? Should I unhook any of the tension springs? Any other suggestions?

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 03-25-2011, 03:49 PM:

Only tape from the back...from the front, it will look worse than the gash.

Posted by Ian Parfrey (Member # 5122) on 03-25-2011, 04:34 PM:

If you find after the gaffa tape fix that there are reflection issues, then grab a block of styrofoam and get someone to lightly hold it against the gaffed section on the rear of the screen and with a carpet needle, punch holes through the screen holes and into the gaff and styrofoam block. This will lessen the reflection of the patch.

As an aside, I just read Randy's diabolical ideas for payback and haven't stopped laughing for hours. [thumbsup]

Posted by Jack Theakston (Member # 4484) on 03-25-2011, 05:48 PM:

Also, for those of you taping it from behind, as mentioned, the tautness of the screen is going to be an issue. A tip for this—place the tape on one side of the tear first, and then pull it to line up with the other side. Another person on the front side of the screen can then apply the pressure to complete the taping as close as possible.

(And wash your hands before you do this, natch.)

Posted by Bruce McGee (Member # 131) on 03-26-2011, 02:50 PM:

A few years back, we did a temporary repair on a screen with me doing the taping from the back of the screen, and an usher holding a clip board against the screen for even tape pressure in the front. The hole looked OK for the week we used it, before the new silver screen was installed.

Posted by Claude S. Ayakawa (Member # 1401) on 03-26-2011, 03:41 PM:

Out of curiosity, how much does it cost to replace an average size screen (Seating capacity of about 250 people)? How much more for a silver screen? What about a much lager screen for an auditorium that seats about 800 people.?

-Claude

Posted by Phil Ranucci (Member # 3820) on 03-26-2011, 11:40 PM:

I was just quoted about $9 a sq/ft for a silver screen.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 03-27-2011, 12:50 AM:

Phil, what BRAND was that??? Check the quality before you get too excited about that number.

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 03-27-2011, 03:11 PM:

I'm going to have to do some serious digging through notes to find the actual references, but I found several pieces in the trade mags from the mid '80s to the early '90s suggesting that one of the big motivators behind banning smoking from cinemas was not so much concern for customers' health, but that a smoke-free auditorium means not having to replace the screen as often (due to tar contamination on the surface - basically, turning the screen yellow). I've got a couple of 35mm snipes somewhere instructing patrons who smoke to occupy the back 10 rows of the auditorium only! [puke]

Posted by Manny Knowles (Member # 1171) on 03-27-2011, 05:35 PM:

The theatre I grew up attending allowed smoking in the balcony only -- last 1/3 of a very large room.

Posted by Claude S. Ayakawa (Member # 1401) on 03-27-2011, 06:32 PM:

As far as I can remember even when I was little, there was this message projected on the screen before the movie started "No Smoking in This Theater by Order of The Fire Marshall" at the Waipahu Theatre. I am sure this policy was in effect at all theatres in the Territory of Hawaii at the time. It was only when I started to travel to the mainland that I had discovered smoking was allowed in theatres. I recall almost suffocating when I sat next to a chain smoker at the Royal theatre in San Francisco during a sold out showing of a movie. It used to be just as bad when smoking was permitted on airplanes. Yes, I can see how accumulation of residue from tobacco can settle on the surface of a movie screen during a period of time.

-Claude