Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: 3D Glasses Rental

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Posted by Alex Shultz (Member # 5027) on 05-22-2010, 11:58 PM:

I have the Dolby 3D system. I currently rent glasses for $3. I don't require customers to rent they glasses. Some own their own (I sell them). Others don't want glasses for the little kids (poor kids!).

Fox and Paramount want part of any 3D upcharge. Since this is an optional rental they said that it is not something they need. I'm very happy about that!

Disney is saying that they consider the optional rental the same as an upcharge so they want part of it. I'm not very happy about that.

I'm taking the full risk of losing glasses or getting damaged glasses back; they aren't cheap. I have to clean them all each time I get them back and that takes money to buy the cleaning equipment or to have staff do it by hand. It seems like the studios should carry some of that burden if they want part of the take.

Is there anything I can do to convince Disney, and any other studios that want part of the rental, that they shouldn't get part of the rental? Is there some way of doing things so it wouldn't be something they can get?

Posted by Demetris Thoupis (Member # 833) on 05-23-2010, 06:53 AM:

Unfortunately you are in the same situation as everywhere. Disney actually WON a lawsuit at a country regarding this (don't remember the details). Their claim is that they want a percentage of the whole ticket and the glass rental is considered a whole ticket addition. Unfortunately I don't think you can win this.
Demetris

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 05-23-2010, 10:02 PM:

quote: Alex Shultz
Is there anything I can do to convince Disney, and any other studios

Nope!

Dude, just do it the same way everyone else does!!! Why try to be so different about it...

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 05-24-2010, 09:31 AM:

The key is where you sell them/rent them. Don't do it at the boxoffice...make it a concession stand item.

Furthermore, break up the upcharge. There should be a 3D upcharge, period...it costs more to show 3D (higher lamp costs and higher infrastructure costs). So make it a $1 upcharge for 3D charged at the box and shared with the studio. Then have your rental/sell plan at the stand for $2.00. It is the same money and the studios get their cut (as do you). The truth of the matter is, with the current glasses price beinging $17.00...you only need to get 8.5 rentals to break even on a pair. Whereas you can reasonably get closer to 250 before they are stolen/damaged, you should be making a tidy profit on them...just like all of the other concession items.

Steve

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 05-24-2010, 11:27 AM:

quote: Alex Shultz
Fox and Paramount want part of any 3D upcharge. Since this is an optional rental they said that it is not something they need. I'm very happy about that!

Disney is saying that they consider the optional rental the same as an upcharge so they want part of it. I'm not very happy about that.

Disney said that....really? Who would have guessed it?!

Posted by Barry Floyd (Member # 385) on 06-02-2010, 11:52 AM:

Do you already upcharge for 3D? If so, why aren't the glasses included in that upcharged price? If you're going to sell me a ticket to a "3D movie", and charge me extra for it because it's in 3D, I would expect as a paying customer that the glasses that are required to be able to see the 3D effects are included in that up charged price. To charge me extra because it's in 3D, then forcing me to pay more for special glasses to see the 3d effects is kind of like "double dipping" if you ask me... and yes, any surcharged amount would be subject to studio film rental.
If you're worried about carrying the full risk of losing the glasses, going thru the trouble of cleaning the glasses, and having to pay employees to clean the glasses... you're not charging enough for the 3D surcharge to start with. The money for the cleaning equipment, or for paying the employees to clean them is just a cost of doing business in the 3D world. In my opinion, if you're going to be in the 3D business, make sure you charge enough to cover your related costs.

For the customers who already have their own glasses... they pay the same as everyone else, you assume less risk and liability for them, and make a little extra on the top.

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 06-02-2010, 01:55 PM:

quote: Barry Floyd
To charge me extra because it's in 3D, then forcing me to pay more for special glasses to see the 3d effects is kind of like "double dipping" if you ask me... and yes, any surcharged amount would be subject to studio film rental.

I believe his idea is this:
Theater A charges $5 surcharge that includes the glasses.
Theater B charges $2.50 surcharge and $2.50 for the glasses.

Since the total with glasses is the same for both, it's not really "double-dipping" imo. And for the person who already happens to have a pair of the glasses, they save a little to boot over if they'd gone to the competition.

Posted by Alex Shultz (Member # 5027) on 06-02-2010, 02:23 PM:

Barry,

I see how that would be frustrating to have a 3D upcharge on your ticket and then be expected to rent glasses, too. I don't do any kind of upcharge for a 3D ticket. If you don't want glasses, for whatever reason, you don't have to pay any more for a 3D movie that you do for a 2D movie.

I have a group of seven people (grandma, mom, a teen, and four little kids) in for a matinee right now and they decided that only the teenager needed glasses. The mom has just come through the lobby on another potty training trip with the little one so I can understand why she didn't want glasses for herself.

I figured the cost of the glasses rental so that I could afford to replace stolen and damaged glasses as well as have extra help here to clean them and to collect them back after the shows.

The projection equipment is paid for by the on-screen advertising. Luckily, Disney has not asked for part of that, too.

Posted by Barry Floyd (Member # 385) on 06-02-2010, 03:37 PM:

Having "Fly Me to the Moon" at the Huntsville Space & Rocket Center in Alabama and the "Jonas Brothers 3D Concert Experience" as the only 3D movies I've ever seen, What does a 3D movie look like without 3D glasses? Is it just like a normal 2D presentation or is there some weird picture overlapping stuff going on that would mess with your head after awhile?

All of the multiplexes around here that show 3D do have a 3D surcharge.. I just assumed you did too.

Posted by Alex Shultz (Member # 5027) on 06-02-2010, 04:56 PM:

The part of the image that is in the plane you are supposed to focus on is nice and sharp. The parts of the image very near, but not quite in, the focus plane have that not-quite-in-focus look because of the slight overlapping of the images. As the image recedes in to the screen or comes out the screen you begin to see overlapping images and it become more extreme as the parts of the image get further from the plane of focus.

If you hold your finger up at arms length and look past it to the wall you will see one image of the the wall but your finger will be doubled. That is what the 3D looks like when it comes to the extreme close or far parts of the image.

I would not want to watch a 3D movie without the glasses because I would get really annoyed with trying to focus on the things that are just slightly overlapping and look fuzzy. I've had 20/20 vision all of my life, some time without correction and some time with correction. It really, really bothers me to have my prescription start to get "stale" and things not be as sharp as they could be. I have a guy working here that has a terrible time with vision because of diabetes and he seems to feel kind of ambivalent about whether he wears the glasses or not for most of the film. He takes them in so he can watch the cool show-off-the-3D stuff but he seems to be able to watch the rest of the film with or without the glasses.

I wish I could get some glasses with the same lens in both sides. There are some people who do not want to watch the 3D. They say it makes them feel ill. If one of the two images could be given to both eyes then it should be just a regular 2D movie. Even better than that I would like to be able to play a matinee showing or something like that in just 2D for people that don't want to bother with the 3D at all. Right now I have to book a 3D and a 2D print to play a 2D. That means I'd have to give over a second of my three screens for the 2D for a very small audience.

I don't know how many places don't do an upcharge. From what I understand about RealD and Technicolor 3D, they both require a percentage of the 3D upcharge with a guaranteed minimum for each ticket as well as a cap on the amount they would get from each ticket. I don't suppose many theatres are willing to absorb the cost of that 3D charge.

Posted by Mike Frese (Member # 4361) on 06-02-2010, 07:10 PM:

As of today, people are willing to pay the extra. All of the systems require a decent additional cost to have a movie in 3d so why not charge them more.

In the case of Real3d & Tech 3d, the studios pay for the glasses so it makes sense to report the additional 3d charge for film rental purposes. It is very nice not to have to worry about glasses getting damaged and having them cleaned by staff. Plus it can allow for smaller theaters to climb the totem pole of print allocations.

Do the Dolby glasses have hard lenses to keep from getting scratched so easily?

Posted by Alex Shultz (Member # 5027) on 06-02-2010, 09:32 PM:

Mike,

It always amazes me what amount people are willing to pay for things. I grew up in a very frugal family and that is probably why it surprises me.

I can see why it makes sense for the studios to get part of the 3D charge if they are paying for the glasses.

The Dolby glasses lenses are a hard plastic with a mirror-like finish on both sides. The right lens has a very slight green tinge and the left lens a pink tinge but that is difficult to see unless you get the light to shine through them just right. The lenses are about an inch high and almost 2 inches wide. The frames of the glasses are good, thick, black plastic. The earpieces do not fold. The earpieces also are very tall near the lenses to help block side light. Any light that gets in behind the lens causes a bit of reflection of the eye and the surrounding skin on the inside of the lens. I think it is annoying so I'm looking for a way to makes sure we don't have any lighting that would cause problems with that during the show.

The lenses have that mirror-like surface and that makes fingerprints really stand out when you look at them. It's pretty easy to see if they are clean or not. I get some of the glasses back that I wonder how anyone got them that dirty (buttery) and how come they didn't come out to ask me to clean them. We tell everyone, when we give out the glasses, that if they get smudges on the lenses to please bring them out so we can clean them. We let them know that we have a special cloth that won't scratch the lenses and that we are happy to make sure they have clean lenses so they can enjoy the movie. I get some that come out for me to clean the lenses and I usually just give them a different pair so they can get back in the show right away.

I've had one pair of the Dolby glasses get many scratches on it. I think someone tried to clean the glasses with a shirt or napkin; the scratches are all very tiny and parallel on both sides of the lens.

It is definitely a tedious task to clean the glasses. I don't yet have a washer for them but I'm looking to see if there is one that would work for me.

When we clean the glasses we wipe the frames with an alcohol wipe, clean the lenses with a damp (water) microfiber cloth to loosen/remove oil/grime, and then wipe the lenses with a dry microfiber cloth. During the drying wipe we look for scratches or other damage to the glasses.

We've had five go bad so far, always on the left lens for some reason - one of the employees suggested little (right-handed) kids are swinging them around and banging the lenses. Four of the bad one had a scratch or ding right in the middle of the lens on the front. We use those pairs now for the really little kids that the parents want to try glasses for; we don't charge the rental on the damaged ones. We've had two pair walk out with some drunk people who buzzed on out before we realized they were leaving - but they had to come back later for the kids they left behind. They didn't even remember they had glasses but the lobby camera showed the glasses in their hands as they walked out so no problem getting paid for those.

We've been rotating through about 120 pair regularly and have rented glasses out about 1600 times so each pair has been rented an average of 13 times.

I'm starting to see some little signs of wear on the some of the lenses; things like tiny little pits that you can only see if you get the light just right on them. Really close inspection shows that they are no longer brand new glasses. The pits are pretty evenly spread over the lenses on the glasses that have them and I'm kind of baffled about what could be causing it.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 06-02-2010, 10:20 PM:

quote: Chris Slycord
Since the total with glasses is the same for both, it's not really "double-dipping" imo.

Eehhhhh, I think a lot of customers would think it was, but who knows. It's all in what people get used to.

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 06-02-2010, 11:02 PM:

I guess I'm just going under the assumption that most people don't care about the surcharge price as long as the total fee was on-par with the competitor.

Posted by Mike Frese (Member # 4361) on 06-15-2010, 09:24 PM:

Being almost done with my first 4 weeks of 3d (technicolor), I am very pleased that I do not have to worry about the glasses being stolen & broken. Just today I had a senior citizen women and her husband come to watch Shrek 4. We normally tell customers we will collect the glasses after the show to be recycled.

This lady was a .......I am not sure of the word. I told her she could give the glasses to me and she said "Oh we are getting a 3d TV at home and will use them there". Of course I explained that they would not work. She then said she will give them to her grandchildren as they like sunglasses. Again I explained and showed her the warning on the package. She was not going to give those up.

Thank god those were not $15-20 glasses.

For thw life of me I do not understand why so many people want to keep these things.

Posted by John T. Hendrickson, Jr (Member # 849) on 06-16-2010, 04:53 PM:

Mike- Did you think moviegoers were intelligent? [Razz]