Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Scheduling

This is topic Scheduling 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=011800

Posted by Umberto Parla Greco (Member # 8789) on 03-21-2015, 02:48 AM:

Hi all [Smile]

I know that this is an argument discussed in other topics, but yet i can't find something that help me to programming my movie theater.
Probably an excel spreadsheet would be fine.
Can anyone help me?
Thanks [Smile]

PS sorry for my english [Razz]

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 03-21-2015, 12:44 PM:

Do you use ticket software? It might have a scheduler built in. How many screens?

P. s. Your English is fine!

Posted by Umberto Parla Greco (Member # 8789) on 03-21-2015, 02:03 PM:

I have 5 screens and my ticketing software doesn't make what i want.
It's something simple, i'd like to visualize my screens every day of the week, and visualize when movie starts (with spot and trailer) and when movie finishes.
I read the forum and someone in the past had my same request, but i can't find any solution.
Thanks for answering [Smile]

Posted by Frank Cox (Member # 6258) on 03-21-2015, 04:44 PM:

To get what you want without using scheduling software that pulls data directly from your servers, you would have to build your playlist for each feature twice -- once on your server as usual, and a second time on your "visualization" program. You would need to create a database of the runtimes for each pre-show, trailer and feature that you have, then create each playlist and set a start time for each show just like you do on your cinema servers. After that it would be easy to generate a chart showing start and end times for each show on any day that you have the data available for.

I suppose you could get the titles and runtime data off of distribution drives but that would require you to plug each drive into your computer so its contents could be read. Otherwise you would have to enter all of that data manually as needed.

None of the above would be particularly difficult to do, but ultimately,you'll be just about exactly doubling your workload for getting a digital playlist set up since you'll be doing the same work twice.

Posted by Justin Hamaker (Member # 2165) on 03-21-2015, 08:28 PM:

I'm assuming you want something like a bar graph which has a bar for each showing along a timeline.

Something you might consider is seeing if you can build the report you want from your web site database - assuming you have one. If you don't have the knowledge yourself, then you could ask your web designer to do it for you. It may not be exactly the report you're looking for, but it will get you close.

In a situation like mine, I build the schedule in the theatre management software, then it is exported to the digital cinema management software and our web server. I have to actively import the times to the web database, but that only takes a few second. Then I can run any variety of reports I have created.