Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: NATO Training Tapes

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Posted by Jeff Knoll (Member # 1145) on 05-15-2003, 12:08 AM:

We are interested in buying the NATO training tapes, but before we do we wanted to see if anybody else is using them and can provide a review as to their usefulness. They are VERY expensive for non-members (they charge nutso membership for Canadians - I guess they do not care about us) so I want to be sure there is some benefit. Also, does anybody have them that wants to sell?

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 05-15-2003, 12:38 AM:

I don't own them but have seen them all. They're very good.

They give the "ratings" one away free. Get that one, and if you like it, you'll like the rest.

You might be able to find one of your vendors that will loan you the set (or maybe one at a time) to show your staff.

I agree they're WAY too expensive, member or not.

Posted by Carl Martin (Member # 1146) on 05-15-2003, 04:15 AM:

they're pretty laughable. bad acting and corny jokes. they're geared towards multiplexes, so a lot of their tips don't apply to smaller theaters. you can't post an usher at every door if you only have a staff of 2 on the floor.

i'd say that if you make the policies at your theater then you should communicate them and not rely on generic videos. or at least take the time to "correct" the misinformation.

the sexual harrassmest video is priceless, though.

carl

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 05-15-2003, 08:15 AM:

Is this the series that has an entire segment on how to deal with the masses of blind people (and their seeing-eye dogs) that patronize movie theatres?

If so, then I would agree with Carl's assessment of the quality and usefulness.

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 05-15-2003, 12:31 PM:

Link to the NATO Training Tapes:

http://www.natoonline.org/trainingtapes.htm

Links to the free Film-Tech training programs: [Wink]

http://www.film-tech.com/trailers/filmtechtraining2.html

http://www.film-tech.com/trailers/filmtechtraining.html

http://www.film-tech.com/trailers/filmtechinterlock.html

Kodak ScreenCheck projection training:

http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/screencheck/

Posted by Jesse Skeen (Member # 586) on 05-15-2003, 01:44 PM:

Two for Gore Galore!

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 05-15-2003, 02:15 PM:

quote:
they're pretty laughable. bad acting and corny jokes.

I thought those were the basic ingredients of training films from ANY industry. [Wink]

Posted by Greg Pauley (Member # 503) on 05-15-2003, 03:39 PM:

We use the tapes as part of our training of new employees. Not intended to be specific to each theatre but a broad approach to basic subjects, (i.e handicap situations, sexual harassment.....) [sleep]

Posted by Tony Ratcliff (Member # 1196) on 05-15-2003, 05:02 PM:

I have them.
I think they were pretty good. But they are definitely geared to the multiplex.
They are a good primer for a new teenage employee, esp the sexual harrassment. But they need to be followed up with your specific theatre's policies.

I agree that they were very expensive, though.

Tony

Posted by Sean McKinnon (Member # 612) on 05-16-2003, 12:55 AM:

"Some lines are made to be managed like this line waiting for the latest blockbuster... other lines are made NOT to be crossed"

"...Hey maybe you and I can go out after work... I know this great little mexican place Ill call you, you dont have to give me your number ill get it off of the computer..."

I know those are botched quotes but I love that tape its a riot!

Posted by Jeff Logan (Member # 1163) on 05-24-2003, 11:04 PM:

As a member of the team that wrote the content for the NATO training tapes, let me add some background to them.
Most of the major circuits then belonging to NATO contributed their own training tapes to the committee. We were able to review company tapes from AMC, Regal, Cineplex-Odeon and UA. Other circuits were open with their systems and training materials. We were then able to take the best ideas from all those companies and include that info in the NATO tapes for you.
I was frankly amazed at how open all the circuits were in sharing anything we asked for.
The writing committee included the VP of training for AMC,
the VP of operations/training for Landmark, the Pres/CEO of Associated Theatres of KY, Mary Ann Grasso, VP of NATO, and myself, the owner of theatres in 3 small midwestern towns. VP's of operations from UA, R/C, and other circuits also contributed to several tapes. You'll see all our names in the credits.
One of our goals was to be sure we had nothing that would be "wrong" or contradict policies of any circuit or independent. We also tried to have relevant material for every size theatre, from single screens to megaplexes. I still operate a single screen and a drive-in along with two multi-plexes, so I tried to look after the interests of the "little guy."
We taped at an AMC multiplex in Kansas City. The production house who had previously done AMC's tapes, produced the NATO tapes. They took our content outlines and wrote the dialogue. Yes, some gags are corny, but we knew we had to keep an intended audience of 16 year-old new hires awake.
The male and female hosts are professional actors from Hollywood who auditioned. I think we picked well as Roger Lodge is now hosting "Elimadate." You'll probably be seeing more of Heidi Gott, the female host in the future. She's bright and witty and has a terrific sense of humor.
It took over a year write and produce the tapes. Each tape costs over $10,000 to produce. It took over $10,000 of conference calls just to write the outlines and get them approved by everyone and NATO's legal counsel.
Several of us from the writing committee were always on hand during filming to see that the actors (all the tapes "theatre staff", except the projectionists, were professional actors from KC) performed their jobs correctly and didn't stick a finger in the soda while pouring, etc.
Obviously, I'm slightly biased, but I really think you're getting a great deal in these tapes. You get the best ideas from all the national circuits rolled into one set of tapes. No independent or regional circuit could ever afford to produce these tapes.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 05-25-2003, 12:18 AM:

Yes, and next time you produce a tape you will know to call Joe Redifer so your budget won't get blown out of proportion. Give Joe a blank tape, two days, an endless supply of Diet Coke and you'll have your tape. [Wink]

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 05-25-2003, 02:14 AM:

MMmmmmm Diet Coke.

That is amazing that the cost is so high. I'll charge you $8,000 and I guarantee my tapes will be better than yours in every way possible. [Smile]

Check out the Projection Training 2 video (John posted a link above... it is the first link under the free Film-Tech videos). That was shot in two days. Edited over another two. Granted it is very short but even if we spent a half an hour on a single subject (ridiculous) it could never take a year. Just gimme money and you'll get a kick ass tape.

Posted by Thomas Procyk (Member # 1170) on 05-25-2003, 08:13 PM:

I remember one from the Regal tapes:

"Excuse me sir, that's Nacho Cheese."

"Why, yes it is my cheese, because I just bought it!"

[Roll Eyes]

=TMP=

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 05-25-2003, 11:25 PM:

Is there a "projectionist" tape in the NATO series? Is it any good? I'd think it would be hard to come up with a "generic" tape of that time given the wide variety of booth configurations and staffing arrangements in various theatres (the guy running a carbon-arc booth needs different information than the one running a gigaplex with automation). I can only imagine the horror of something that spends five minutes talking about the supposed importance of wearing white gloves when handling film, but misses many more important items.

Actually, I'm surprised that the production cost was "only" $10k per tape. Although I've never dealt with industrial video production, I thought that $1k per finished minute was pretty standard.

Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 05-26-2003, 12:00 AM:

Yesterday at work, I noticed about 5 VHS tapes parked along side the VCR/TV in the booth. I didn't check where the tapes came from, but I do know they were training tapes. We hired some new employees last week, so I presume that they were shown. So, yes, we do use them.