This is topic Summer Movie Camp in forum Ground Level at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.
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Posted by Jim Leko (Member # 1287) on 07-23-2002, 09:32 PM:
Man, what a difference. The Summer Movie Camp we had last week, featured Wizard of Oz. This was a horrible print (surprised the DTS/SR-D soundtracks played without dropouts). 2 screen interlock, and both sets of PTR's were jam packed with dirt after the first run. Scratches all over the film. Horrible.This week, we played Shrek. BEAUTIFUL print. Not a spec of dirt on it, not a scratch on it. PTR's picked up nothing. I wonder if one of you filmguard people had the print last :-)
Posted by Darryl Spicer (Member # 711) on 07-23-2002, 10:33 PM:
what was the print #. if it was a very low number it may not of had very many runs put on it. maybe only a special screening or two. Maybe someone here may have the number of there print they got still on record.
Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 07-24-2002, 12:57 AM:
Funny, as normally a low print number is a bad sign in my experience. Generally the low numbers mean "screening prints" which in turn tells the projectionists "you will run this print one time and never see it again, so feel free to be sloppy with it". Then that print plays at some other theater and possibly a dollar house, whereas generally the higher numbered prints play at one theater and possibly a dollar house. I find more damage to those screening prints many times than a print that has ran for a couple of months at a regular engagement.I saw a print of Shrek a month ago and while it was not *perfect*, it was in very, very, very good condition. It ran in SRD without a dropout and of course the theater cleaned it multiple times with FilmGuard while it was in their possession.
Posted by Jesse Skeen (Member # 586) on 07-24-2002, 01:48 PM:
I got a strange thrill out of doing these last year, since most of the prints came in such horrible shape. I felt like my name should have been added to the credits for "Film Restoration". Of course the company's Booth Certifier(TM) showed me a thing or two by using one to train some new people by having them just cut off the frames that had splicing tape left on them!
Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 07-24-2002, 02:37 PM:
Jesse said: "Of course the company's Booth Certifier(TM) showed me a thing or two by using one to train some new people by having them just cut off the frames that had splicing tape left on them!"Continuity??? What's that?
Always try to minimize any lost frames when splicing or removing tape splices.
------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: +1 585 477 5325 Cell: +1 585 781 4036 Fax: +1 585 722 7243
e-mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion
Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 07-24-2002, 04:59 PM:
We do this, too. What I haven't figured out is why the prints don't usually arrive by Friday, but instead come on Monday or Tuesday. It seems terribly inefficient, both for the delivery company (since they don't bring the prints with the usual Thursday delivery) and for the theatre (since the prints can't be inspected over the weekend). Since these are all older films which are readily available at the local video store, I can't imagine that "piracy prevention" is the justification for this shipping practice, but I can't imagine what it would be.
Posted by Jesse Skeen (Member # 586) on 07-24-2002, 06:13 PM:
Where I worked last year we got the "kids' movies" at least a week in advance, a few came as much as 2 weeks before the week they actually played. Most of them were from Warner, who had a form inside to put your comments about the print, but I later heard they just got shipped right to another theater anyway!
Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 07-24-2002, 07:24 PM:
I should add that GCC (AMC) does these things on Wednesday mornings. We've never received a print more than a week in advance, but some have sat in the lobby for a month before being picked up to go to another theatre.
Posted by Jim Leko (Member # 1287) on 07-24-2002, 08:33 PM:
We show our summer movie camp movies on Tues and Wed morning. We don't get the prints until Monday. I will check the print number when I get to work tomorrow morning.
Posted by Dennis Benjamin (Member # 1137) on 07-24-2002, 09:36 PM:
We run our kids shows on Thursday mornings. Oddly enough, our print of "Wizard of Oz" was apparently switched out somewhere in Texas for an original copy - mold and all. We notified the proper authorities and hopefully the person will be caught.
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"Running through life at 24 frames per second"
Posted by Steve Scott (Member # 630) on 07-26-2002, 03:15 PM:
My print of "Fly Away Home" that I showed last year for a movie camp was horrible. The SR tracks were scratched and it was infested with dirt and emulsion scratches.
The print of "Babe" that we ran the year before that was even worse. Bad splices, weak splices (all mid reel) not to mention no DTS discs and a very poor SR soundtracks. The message is to inspect these things very carefully and be ready for scratching up the wazoo.
Posted by Kyle Caudill (Member # 1252) on 07-26-2002, 09:42 PM:
Mousehunt was my Kid Show this week. I believe this was the worse print condition I had ever seen. There was no heads or tails leader on the reels indicating which reel was which. Two reels were actually spliced together. The film from one reel ran to the other reel and was spliced to that. The film form another reel was wrapped around the sides of the reel. So eventually we were able to get the reels figured out. So we thought, we had two number 3 reels and no number 4 reel. At times there was 12 vertical scratches on the print.
Posted by Thomas Procyk (Member # 1170) on 07-27-2002, 11:26 PM:
Kyle -- Sounds exactly like a print of "Baby Geniuses" I ran for a kid's show. No heads OR tails, and that same strange splicing from one reel to the next. Does the theater before think they're saving us time or something!?! To add more confusion, mid-reel splices often didn't have the same picture before & after the splice!! 
We never did figure the print out and even contemplated video projection of the DVD or something. But the manager said not to worry, that it was a free kids show and to just run the print. And we did. And no one complained or cared.=TMP=
Posted by Kyle Caudill (Member # 1252) on 07-28-2002, 11:53 AM:
Oh I forgot to mention...we had an note in it that stated:Do to high demand we are doing everything possible to make sure you receive the best possible print.
Thanks
Technicolor
We have one group that complains. Ours cost either .50 or 1.00 depending on if you buy the cheaper package. We were interlocking and had a big mess during the first show. It was off for about 20 minutes so we gave rainchecks. Big mistake, every little problem the same teacher wants rainchecks, we have since quit giving them out for kid shows. The teacher is using them herself and not giving them to her kids.
Posted by Darryl Spicer (Member # 711) on 07-28-2002, 12:29 PM:
Kyle, one thing that needs to be done to prevent the handing out of rainchecks for these type of showings. A disclaimer posted stating that due to the condition of the kid show films and the substantialy low cost in tickets for each film. No rainchecks will be given out. If you give out a raincheck for each kid you are esentialy handing out hundreds of dollars. If they complain to much I guess you could just give them a $.50 refund for each child.
Posted by Charles Everett (Member # 889) on 06-06-2003, 06:58 PM:
AMC has the Summer Movie Camp again this year. In New Jersey, NYC and Philadelphia, all the theaters that have it are the old General Cinema locations. (Summer Movie Camp was a longtime GCC promotion that continued last year after AMC took over GCC.)
Regal/UA/Edwards has a similar promotion in the Free Family Film Festival.
Posted by Mark J. Marshall (Member # 1409) on 06-09-2003, 01:06 PM:
You know, from what I understand about the Summer Movie Camp, it CAN be pretty successful depending on what movies are shown. A theater in our market is running "The Master Of Disguise" among other loser films. In the past, I understand this same theater ran Wizard of Oz, two prints, both interlocked, and it was a pretty successful engagement.
My question is, if you're going to put so much effort into something like this, why not get "The Love Bug" or "Swiss Family Robinson" or something like that in the lineup. How hard would that be? Instead of a movie like "Harriet The Spy" that every kid who'd ever want to see it probably already owns it on DVD.
Posted by Dennis Benjamin (Member # 1137) on 06-09-2003, 04:02 PM:
http://www.crowntheatres.com/promotions/childrenfilmfestival/nevada.html
Crown Neonopolis 14
FREE Children’s Film Festival!
Summer 2003!
Stay cool this summer and entertain the kids for FREE!
8 weeks of the best kid’s movies FREE – Parents & Chaperones Get In Free Too!
All shows start at 10:00 AM Sharp Thursdays
Ice Age 6/26
Spirit 7/3
Like Mike 7/10
Stuart Little 2 7/17
Crocodile Hunter 7/24
Wizard of Oz 7/31
Wild Thornberrys 8/7
Agent Cody Banks 8/14
Come early-seating subject to availability
Large groups contact theatre manager in advance
This Summer, Only At:
Crown Neonopolis 14
450 Fremont Street
Las Vegas, NV 89101
Tel: 702.383.9600
Visit www.crowntheatres.com today!