Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Assistant Projectionist Problem

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Posted by Richard Greco (Member # 2032) on 06-08-2004, 12:35 AM:

Let me explain my situation first...

I am the most experienced projectionist at my theatre and I'm responsible for training new people in the booth. I do NOT have control of the booth unfortunately but that's another story.

I trained this 17 year old in the booth and thought he got everything down as far as running machines go. I have tried to teach him how film works and how to properly do things in the booth. However, he acts like a typical 17 year old. He isn't interested in anything at all. I understand that this is just a job for him, but he needs to realize that he has to run the machines properly.

Here's what he did...

I walk in tonight at 6pm since I'm on the evening shift and what do I see? Our print of Raising Helen was running, inside the projector, Century SA, there was NO top loop! I open and shut the gate to lessen the damage and of course the show goes out of frame. I fix that and inspect the rest of the film path and sure enough, I saw a roller on the takeup side of the tree pressed HARD against the filmas it was running.

I walk over to the other machines and I see Harry Potter running. The machine is VERY loud. I open the door and the top loop is almost GONE!! I pop that gate and put it back in frame and the show is quieter. I look at the rest of the film path and again, a rooler is pressed against the film on takeup...

I checked the other machines and the other rollers were all touching the film butnot as bad. This leads me to believe that he threaded very quickly adn had other thoughts on his mind but film...

As a co-worker without any power, what should I do to correct his mistakes and let him know to not do it again.

I also need to add that the GM isn't very fond of me and really likes him. I'm not liked here because I actually care what happens upstairs and the GM doesn't trust me at all. This GM doesn't care about presentation at all. Many times when previews are being rewound (I'm not allowed to do this BTW)I see the previews ALL over the carpeted floor. Our pre-show is very scratched up BTW.

What can I tell him since telling the GM is out of the question since the 17 year old will be defended?

I'm getting really frustrated at this. Let me know by morning please. [Frown]

Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 06-08-2004, 01:03 AM:

Time to have a little "pep talk" with him. If there is no response, it would best to recommend his termination or a different jop placement to the employer, providing you have substancial proof.

I usually just fired them when I was in the position to do so - and I have fired a few.

Posted by Carl Martin (Member # 1146) on 06-08-2004, 02:45 AM:

is there anyone in the chain of command who respects you? if you can make the case to an assistant manager that presentation is important, that you care about it, and that it's vital that other projectionists care about it too, maybe (s)he can mediate between you and the boss.

if not, transfer to another theater and try again.

carl

Posted by Ron Lacheur (Member # 1126) on 06-08-2004, 02:47 AM:

That 17 year old should be not aloud to step foot in the booth.

As your troubles with your GM, go talk to another manager and state the fact the the presentation is lacking with this clown in the booth. He is being careless with the prints and the chances of Harry Pothead getting scratched is very probable.

Posted by Josh Kirkhart (Member # 1046) on 06-08-2004, 03:08 AM:

ok, my original post was a bastard and got lost, it was damn long.

1. Go in for your shift early, point out any problems and show the person the presentation. In lamens terms explain why it looks bad. Any negativity on yours or his part, nothing will get accomplished, be nice. He/she doesn't listen, leave it be.

2. Go to your GM and express your concerns in a non-complaining manner. For every concern you should have a simple solution, not 'let me do it all' but specific to that concern. So be ready. If necessary show them the problems, some GMs simply do not check their screens, crazy I know, but hey. Be nice, curtious and thank them for listening.

3. If you have a District Manager, request time to express your concerns. Keep it short, sweet and as in all cases above do not go into extreme 'film-tech' explanations unless asked. Thank them for their time.

4. DOCUMENT as of now!! You should have a boothlog! If not go spend a buck and put it on the desk in the booth, make-up table, whatever. Each shift explain what you did, what problems arose if any and actions taken. See a scratch, write it down, print auditorium, showtime etc.

5. Keep your head up! Do everything you are allowed to do the best you can. wipe stuff down, clean prints like a banshee, etc. your doing it for the people on the other side of the porthole not your colleagues.

6. Grab a empty large cup box, throw a trash bag in it, label 'FILM ONLY'. Inform them that the use is for any loose film, write it in the snazzy new boothlog!! Do not force anything, just give em the tool.

Be Positive, keep your complaints to yourself, negativity breeds negativity.

Pissed off that i had to do this over......although your welcome, cause its wwwwaaayyyy shorter... rant over. [beer]

Posted by Jack Ondracek (Member # 1466) on 06-08-2004, 03:22 AM:

Considering the pad roller position when threading a Century, how did he manage to lose the top loop in the first place????

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 06-08-2004, 03:51 AM:

I'll tell you what the guy is doing. He is not turning the motor over after he threads. So many newbies don't understand that you simply can NOT judge the size of a loop with the machine standing still. To make matters worse, he could've misframed it and had to rack the framing knob to get it in frame on screen, further shrinking the loop.

I know lots of people here are against the whole idea of disabling the framing mechanism, but I gotta tell ya, it really forces those kids to learn fast! It's more effort on their part to keep stopping it and reframing it in the gate than it is to just thread the thing right the first time. [Wink]

Posted by Richard Greco (Member # 2032) on 06-08-2004, 07:22 AM:

I appreciate the responses guys. I'm going to go in after class today and have a little talk with him in the booth one on one and do it professionally, not mean. Hopefully it will work.

Posted by Jeremy Fuentes (Member # 2135) on 06-08-2004, 07:29 AM:

If it doesnt work, you should really consider a different theater. Then when that 17 year old is the one running the booth, and he scratches a few prints, and breaks a few projectors, they will realize they made a mistake.

Posted by Dennis Benjamin (Member # 1137) on 06-08-2004, 11:25 AM:

Don't you have to be 18 to run a projector? In the US that is...

Actually, I have been a theatre manager in Florida myself - By law you have to be 18 to run a 35mm projector...

Posted by Richard Greco (Member # 2032) on 06-08-2004, 12:06 PM:

Jack, I think I found out the problem with the top loop on the first projector I saw. I think the pad roller wasn't closed all the way.

I went and talked with him today and basically explained to him what I found wrong. I made sure that he understood that I wasn't mad, just very concerned. I showed him what was wrong and he seemed like he understood.

I then asked him if he would please check everything twice and monitor the booth as well as making his floor rounds. I asked that if he didn't care about what he did, if he could just do it as a favor for me. He said ok, we'll see....

As a side question, I'm getting a lot of stress from my co-workers about my obsession with a good presentation. They seem to think that the booth is my "girlfriend". I tell them that although this is 5.15/hr, If I were a customer, I'd want the best presentation possible. They seem to think I'm caring too much about this job. I'm only going to do this till I graduate and then just do the booth at another theatre as a weekend thing after I get my degree.

What do you think? Am I caring too much? I try to to the best I can with the opportunities I am given.

Posted by Jeremy Fuentes (Member # 2135) on 06-08-2004, 12:12 PM:

Richard, its not that you are caring too much, they are not caring enough.

Posted by Jack Ondracek (Member # 1466) on 06-08-2004, 12:24 PM:

ditto, Jeremy.

That's like Paul telling his employer it's no big deal if their transmitters only make half-power, then saying "ok... we'll see" when told they'd really like to operate the way they should. Of course, I'd imagine Paul would be expecting his full paycheck at the end of the month... not half... you suppose?

Don't fall for the reverse phych... unless you get no backup from your employer. In that case, you should find a company that feels the way you do about giving the customers their money's worth.

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 06-08-2004, 12:37 PM:

Does this guy not understand how to do the job, or does he understand, but not care?

The former is fixable, the latter probably isn't.

If he just isn't willing to do the job properly after being given adequate training and opportunity to improve, then he should be fired. If your employer isn't going to do this, then it's time to look for a new employer. Actually, it's probably time to do this anyway (what kind of theatre doesn't allow the head operator to rewind trailers?!?). You should be able to find someone (probably an independent) who will pay better than minimum wage for someone who cares about presentation quality.

Posted by Richard Greco (Member # 2032) on 06-08-2004, 01:02 PM:

Scott, He understands....Just doesn't care.

I'd love to get into a changeover house so I can learn that aspect too. I think next week, I'm going to start looking for a better place.

Posted by Jesse Skeen (Member # 586) on 06-08-2004, 02:28 PM:

It's sad when things go so insane that the only ones who care get fed up and driven out. I swore I'd never let that happen to me, but my last job just had SO much stupidity that I felt it in the best interest of my sanity to leave. There were too many things keeping me from doing my job right, and I wouldn't have been happy if I had just stopped caring.
You ought to seek out the higher-ups at the company you work for though if your general manager is being that difficult- that's one thing I failed to do that I now wish I had. Somewhere farther up the chain there has to be SOMEONE who understands and can help you get things straightened out- if there isn't, then it's probably not a company you want to work for anyways. Sadly, if you do leave and things do go to hell, nobody will probably notice or care.
Choosing and training other people to work in the booth is usually frustrating as I've never met anyone who cared about it as much as I did- don't mean to sound cocky but I really believe it's true. Once I was forced to choose from a list of people and it was basically process of elimination. If it were up to me I would make anyone who wanted to work upstairs write an essay explaining why they want to do it. If the only thing they can say is "So I don't have to deal with the people downstairs", that should be an automatic disqualification.

Posted by Rob Butler (Member # 2274) on 06-08-2004, 04:06 PM:

I definitely wouldn't have stayed in a place that didn't care about presentation quality. Getting crap from ushers (particularly rookies) is normal, they don't know exactly what the projectionist's job entails and think you're just an asshole that watches movies all day and gets pissed over stuff that's not important, that's because they have their own responsibilities and things that they aren't directly responsible for aren't as important to them. But management should know just how important the presentation quality is, they should know that the entire livelihood of the theater is dependent on the quality of the product that the theater sells. Luckily, I've never worked in a place where the management didn't care about presentation quality, sure there's been managers that are more concerned about their responsibilities than mine, but their superiors usually seem to understand when I complain. If it ever got to a point that it was clear to me that I was the only person at the theater that cared at all about quality, I'd get the hell out of there and laugh my ass off when the place goes under. People think I'm obsessed with the equipment, and although this is just a job to me, it's a job which I take very seriously, and I take a lot of pride in my work, I understand that the most important thing in the theater business is the product it sells, and I will not work for anyone who sees it otherwise. People don't go to a theater to play the lobby video games and buy popcorn, they go to see movies, and as long as I'm being paid to run movies, you can bet your ass I'm gonna give it everything I've got.

Posted by John Carpenter (Member # 1488) on 06-08-2004, 05:41 PM:

This has been listed in this thread already, but I too am under the impression that to run projectors in the state of Florida (and probably others too) you must be at least 18??

Posted by Kyle Watkins (Member # 986) on 06-08-2004, 06:14 PM:

You can be 16 and 17 and run proj in the state of FL. We had to check into this about 2 years ago.

Kyle

Posted by Floyd Justin Newton (Member # 1316) on 06-08-2004, 07:53 PM:

Kyle-=

And what happens if a 16 year old kid gets his fingers smashed
by a sprocket???? [Confused]

fjn
Local 294 Ret.

Posted by Kyle Watkins (Member # 986) on 06-08-2004, 09:21 PM:

Floyd
I dont agree with it,im just stating there is now law saying that cant work the booth. In FL anyways dont have a clue about other states

Kyle

Posted by Steve Kraus (Member # 476) on 06-08-2004, 09:27 PM:

I'm sure the risks of the booth are easily outweighed by those of the typical fast food operation. Dangers of the booth are hardly a good reason to limit employment.

Posted by Darryl Spicer (Member # 711) on 06-08-2004, 10:15 PM:

hey there are some fast food restraunts in our area that will not let you do anything related to the fryers or grills unless you are 18 years old. You can run the registers but not the grills or fryers. You have to be 18 to opperate a compactor. We don't train anyone in the booth under the age of 18.

Posted by Dennis Benjamin (Member # 1137) on 06-08-2004, 10:36 PM:

I am sure OSHA has an opinion on the 18 year old thing....

Posted by Chris Hipp (Member # 1788) on 06-08-2004, 11:51 PM:

Back to the original issue.

Just talk to him as a co-worker and not try to act like his boss. If you seem too authoritative then he will not listen to you jsut because of that.

Also, if you are doing your best and still aren't appreciated then you would most likely be more happy somewhere else. Even if you dont make as much somewhere else.

Posted by Richard Greco (Member # 2032) on 06-09-2004, 12:04 AM:

Chris, I can't make any less than I am now. Florida minimum wage is $5.15/hr

Get this...The employees that work in the movie grill get paid $5.50/hr. I have even had an usher tell me, "Dude, you deserve to get paid more." I took him up in the booth one day and I just saw it in his eyes...He was gleaming when he saw the equipment. Too bad he's only 16 though.

I'm kinda concerned now because my GM comes back from vacation tomorrow and I know I'll get blamed for what he did. I am going to try somewhere else really soon.

Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 06-09-2004, 12:21 AM:

Chris, I don't WTF you're smokin' over there, but ANYONE, no matter their age, that has a "I-don't-care" attitude needs to have their sorry ass FIRED! And that goes ALL the way to the top! End of story!

>>> Phil

Posted by John Hegel (Member # 628) on 06-09-2004, 01:01 AM:

This is just my opinion, but any business that is paying there staff $5.15 isn't to worried about quality. I would move on and make some money while I'm at it.

Posted by Katie Smith (Member # 1594) on 06-09-2004, 01:15 AM:

I don't think a company that is only willing to pay $5.15/hr would like the idea of paying for the film to be replaced when it gets ruined by this 17 year old.

But, Richard, I do agree you should move on. A better theatre deserves you and they will appreciate you.

Posted by Chris Hipp (Member # 1788) on 06-09-2004, 01:29 AM:

well, in that case, just go somewhere else and make more. [Smile]

Posted by Aaron Garman (Member # 1653) on 06-09-2004, 03:27 AM:

I feel for you Richard. I too work at a theater that seems to care less and less about quality of presentation everyday. Sure, I've help to keep things up the best I know how, but sometimes I just can't do it all. I agree with Phil too in that people who just don't care need to get the !#$! out. Apathy in any job, let alone the booth, is a dangerous thing. I've seen it first hand and it sucks. I'd like to move on too, as I get paid only $6.50 an hour and I've been with the company for three years. I want to go somewhere that cares a little more about presentation than how much popcorn we're selling. We at Film-Tech should just get a very wealthy investor and start our own chain. That'd be the day, huh! Question is, who would we want to be our boss? [Big Grin]

AJG

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 06-09-2004, 04:08 AM:

Richard, you might want to resort to physical violence. I have not found any problem that physical violence cannot quickly and efficeintly resolve. From crappy coworkers, sassy children, budget problems, papercuts, wrong show taped on your VCR/Tivo, stoplights not turning green fast enough, hay fever and not being able to find a parking space, physical violence is the right solution all of the time.[av=v]

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 06-09-2004, 08:44 AM:

Don't confuse AGE with MATURITY. [Roll Eyes]

When someone new makes a mistake, how they take responsibility is a good indication of whether they are suited to the job. Do they learn from the experience, or do they just make excuses?

Posted by Thomas Procyk (Member # 1170) on 06-09-2004, 09:44 AM:

quote: Dennis Benjamin
Actually, I have been a theatre manager in Florida myself - By law you have to be 18 to run a 35mm projector...

Not true at all. Well, at least not 10 years ago. I ran projectors for Regal (by myself!) for two years before I turned 18. Unless it was just because I was so awesome, they left me alone [Smile]

Richard, I don't think Plant City is too far. You should email me some info on your theater and I'll pay a visit. Maybe when your "too cocky for my own pants" GM gets a raging, screaming customer complaining about the scratched presentation, they'll wake up.

I had the same situation at my theater just a couple weeks ago. There's a kid in the booth that is just this short of assramming the manager, so there's NOTHING he can do wrong. So, when I saw that he broke down ROTK without leaders, left the makeup table at the platter, and decorated the floor with 20 frames (two from each reel end) I called the OWNER and had him look at the booth. Problem solved. [Smile]

Sometimes you need to go over someone's head to get things done. Then if they try to retaliate, it strengthens your case to bring it to the hire ups. "So and So fired me because I brought this problem to your attention. Their justification was that it made them look bad. I'm concerned that the COMPANY looks bad under their management for THESE reasons." [Smile]

But yeah, physical violence is the best as Joe said. I'd just throw a xenon at his head and call it a warning. [Big Grin]

=TMP=

Posted by Jeremy Fuentes (Member # 2135) on 06-09-2004, 10:09 AM:

Richard you should really try the physical violence method at whatever theater you end up at. Do it the first day, that way you dont end up in the same situation, with no respect given to you at all. [thumbsup]

Posted by Dustin Mitchell (Member # 372) on 06-11-2004, 02:27 AM:

Just because they let you run projectors when you were under 18 doesn't necessarilly make it legal. Movie theatres, or more accurately movie theatre managers, violate labor laws knowingly and unkowningly all the time.

Whether or not there is a state law in Florida there is still the issue of federal laws and OSHA regulations. I'm not really sure what the legallities are. In any event, 18 to run projectors is a pretty good policy regardless of the law.

Posted by Dennis Benjamin (Member # 1137) on 06-11-2004, 03:01 AM:

Thanks Dustin for the back-up and good points.
An excerpt from a website with pertinant info:

http://studentservices.pasco.k12.fl.us/sspages/sschildlaborlaw.html

PROHIBITED OCCUPATIONS

The Child Labor Law and the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act identify many jobs as dangerous to the health and safety of minors. Minors are not permitted to work in such occupations as excavations, electrical work, roofing, mining, operating heavy machinery or moving vehicles, or around explosives or dangerous equipment. Minors 14 and 15 are prohibited from working in the construction industry. Minors 16 and 17 are allowed to be employed in light construction occupations; however, the use of equipment prohibited by State and Federal Regulations would still apply. For an extensive list of prohibited occupations, please refer to Child Labor Bulletins 101 and 102, which are published by the U.S. Department of Labor, and Section 450.061 of the Florida Statutes.

FEDERAL INFORMATION

Employment of minors is also regulated by Federal Law. Following the provisions in this poster does not necessarily mean compliance with the Federal Child Labor Law. For more information, contact the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, listed in your phone book under U.S. Government. For more information about Florida's Child Labor Law or to report violations, contact the Child Labor Office at:

Florida Department of Labor and Employment Security
Bureau of Compliance/Child Labor Section
P.O. Box 5436·Tallahassee, Florida 32314-5436
Telephone: (904) 487-2536
(800) 226-2536
Fax: (904) 487-4928

Also, if you look at the following PDF file you will see specific information on what jobs someone under cannot do. On page 11 of the handbook - projectors fall under two catagories:
"Moving Machinery" and "Electrical Apparatus and Wiring".

http://www.state.fl.us/dbpr/pro/childlabor/forms/child_handbook.pdf

Posted by Dean Kollet (Member # 1789) on 06-11-2004, 11:41 AM:

My .2cents:

The kid who's eyes were "gleaming" when he saw the equipment should be given a chance. As far as my experience, if you have passion and the drive to do it...plus you are very interested in it...you tend to pay a lot more attention to it. Hence a better presentation. What's the difference if he is 16 or 17...if he mature enough, and you think he could do it, maybe it's time to train another [Big Grin]

Posted by Robert L. Fischer (Member # 2424) on 06-11-2004, 03:48 PM:

I started running a projector at the age of 16 and the worst thing I've ever done is break a take-up rod. I actually enjoy and respect my job though, so that counts for something...

Posted by Thomas Procyk (Member # 1170) on 06-12-2004, 12:29 PM:

Dennis, I'm going to have to disagree. I read that PDF, and given where "moving machinery" is classified, (with other tractor/farm equipment) I would have to interpret that as machines that physically change location, such as those large electric carpet-cutters they have at Home Depot.

As for "Electrical Apparatus and Wiring", I have never had to re-wire anything in the booth, or touch any exposed wiring, nor would I want to. I am not paid enough nor do I choose to take the risk of working with anything electrical or any sort of wiring. I'm not an electrician, I'm a projectionist. Electricians make double or triple my wage. [Smile]

That said, is Motion Picture Equipment listed in "an extensive list of prohibited occupations"? I'm not trying to call you a liar or anything, I'm just curious about the interpretation of the law.

=TMP=

Posted by Richard Greco (Member # 2032) on 06-13-2004, 09:35 AM:

I have an update. Regarding my previous post about the problems that happened while the GM was away. I just found out that the 19 y/o manager, the person that took the [bs]

in the auditorium got fired. His friend also quit. This should be an interesting day today.

Posted by Richard Greco (Member # 2032) on 06-13-2004, 09:56 PM:

On this topic, for reasons unbeknownst to me, this 17 y/ has been removed from the booth. My GM called me in today and gave me his hours during the week. Surprisingly, no physical violence was needed [Big Grin]

Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 06-13-2004, 10:20 PM:

This guy was not only a 19 y/o, but a MANAGER? JFC! How sad. I'm REALLY glad that he is NOT indicative of the 19 y/o's that I know! YUK! He should wallow in his own sh!t! Ya know, sorta like when a dog "slips" up in the house...you rub his nose in it... That would be too good for that low life guy.

>>> Phil

Posted by Richard Greco (Member # 2032) on 06-13-2004, 10:33 PM:

Well, from what I heard. Yesterday, he, and two cooks came in. about 2 hours later, He came out gave in his keys and left. The two cooks took their shirts off and threw them at the GM behind concession and ran around the lobby for a bit then left..shirtless.

Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 06-13-2004, 10:42 PM:

quote: Richard Greco
...ran around the lobby for a bit then left..shirtless.

Whew...sounds hot! Where they cute? Hubba Hubba!

>>> Phil

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 06-13-2004, 11:44 PM:

I don't know if you're looking for another job or not but If I was you, I'd keep my head down for a while. It sounds like the shit is going to hit the fan! (If it hasn't begun already.)

I would be at my post, punched in with uniform on and ready to work 5 minutes before my shift started and I would be in my car, headed for home 5 minutes after. While I was on duty, I would do everything by the book.

It seems like the boss is going to do a little house cleaning and you want to make damn sure you don't get put out with the trash!

Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 06-13-2004, 11:49 PM:

Good advice, Randy...

>>> Phil

Posted by Aaron Garman (Member # 1653) on 06-14-2004, 03:37 AM:

quote:
Whew...sounds hot! Where they cute? Hubba Hubba!

Only you Phil...only you. It would seem like the heads are starting to roll over there and it's probably about time.

AJG

Posted by Dominic Espinosa (Member # 2122) on 06-14-2004, 09:38 PM:

Word. I had a projectionist just like that recently. He was smart, he could do it, he understood it, but he didn't care about it.
His favorite excuses were "I forgot..." and "I was doing my homework...".
He had the worst attitude of any projectionist I've ever worked with. Cocky enough that he'd try to tell me what I should or shouldn't write in the log book that I started for the booth.
But most of all he just didn't pay attention to any detail. He scratched prints regularly and when I could actually get him to run media it was rare he rewound it.
I finally told our GM that I wanted him out of the booth, we'd been training another person from the floor staff and I was tired of his poor performance and the fact that talking to him hadn't helped for over a month and a half. She agreed and gave him a week off. The day before his time off was up he came in and left a note threatening illegal actions involving my home. He was fired the next day.

It really is sad how little presentation means to a lot of people. It's just a job to so many employees. I wont say it's the employees fault, but the management.
The best place to watch a movie I've ever seen was a place where the staff was nice and cared about their jobs and the work they did. The pride of the management staff really showed through.
You'd always be able to find a manager because they'd usually be out on the floor greeting guests, tearing tickets, or helping out in the box or candy counter.

I'd really like to see showmanship return to the theater industry, so many chains now don't believe in ushers and professionalism.

Thankfully I work for a chain that cares about it's presentation. They pay their projectionists a good wage and they actually don't balk over the ordering of media, filmguard, and parts. Hooray!

Good luck to ya, Richard.

Posted by Richard Greco (Member # 2032) on 06-14-2004, 11:47 PM:

Can I work at your place Dominic [Smile]

Posted by Dominic Espinosa (Member # 2122) on 06-15-2004, 12:38 PM:

Sure, but you'd have to move to California...I don't know what the companies plans are to move out of CA.
However, moving or not, you'll find your own projection oasis.
Keep the faith, bruva!

Posted by Aaron Sisemore (Member # 145) on 06-16-2004, 12:49 AM:

Here you go, Richard!

Just remember that a move to CA will be necessary (at least for now) [Wink]

-Aaron

Posted by Dominique Replogle (Member # 2387) on 06-16-2004, 12:39 PM:

Richard, you are running into the same problem so many do in our industry. Your overlords want no problems, known nothing about the opperation and maintenance of the equipment and when something does go wrong all they are interested in is who they can point the finger at. Good luck.

Posted by Pravin Ratnam (Member # 1417) on 06-16-2004, 02:27 PM:

Bail out as fast as you can, dude. Find another job first though.

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 06-18-2004, 06:42 PM:

I agree with John in that commitment is a more important criterion than age. I was aged 15 when I ran my first paid projectionist shift: that was possibly one of the most scary experiences of my life, as the chief had explained very clearly all the things that could go wrong and was rather keen that none of them did!

The next chief I worked for had a rule, which I applied when I started to help train new projectionists. This was simply that a trainee is allowed to make any 'mission critical' mistake, without fear of a bollocking, once. That first time is supposed to convince you that there shouldn't be a second time, and if you don't receive that message loud and clear, you shouldn't be in the booth. You only become experienced by getting experience, and therefore I have a big problem with the attitude that people who are inexperienced should be kept out of the deep end (and that doesn't just go for projection; I can think of a lot of professions in which that attitude seems to rule). The crucial thing is whether you've got what it takes to learn from that experience and move on.

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 06-18-2004, 08:40 PM:

I drove through Merced recently. If you decide to move, you should rather move to the area where Aaron lives - it is much nicer!

Posted by Richard Greco (Member # 2032) on 06-18-2004, 09:40 PM:

If I go to CA, maybe I can sleep with.....I mean at Phil's [Eek!]

Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 06-18-2004, 10:48 PM:

Well Richard, I hate to bust your bubble, but I live in SoCal...not Northern California.

Also, I will not be here for the next 6 weeks as I will be in Texas filming my next adult film entitled "Flying Solo". Since most of it has been cast already, there is only LIMITED room on the couch... [Wink]

Perhaps a Motel 6 would be a better option for you? I'll tell them to leave a light on for you... [Razz]

>>> Phil

Posted by Alan Plester (Member # 852) on 06-20-2004, 03:47 AM:

When I started in the film biz, the chief made me thread, thread, thread, and perhaps thread again, just 2 make sure I could do it, day after day. I honestly cannot remember ever starting a show out of rack in 15 years. Customers expect a flawless presentation evry time. I was told in no uncertain terms, without patrons we do not get paid. This kid is telling his mates his job is the best thing since sliced bread and its so easy, money 4 old rope. Hold back until something goes wrong and then watch him squirm. In the meantime look quietly 4 something better and they will soon find out just what they lost.

Posted by Floyd Justin Newton (Member # 1316) on 06-20-2004, 09:34 AM:

Richard--

"The solution to any problem lies within the problem itself."

fjn
Local 294 Ret. [Smile]

Posted by Dominic Espinosa (Member # 2122) on 06-20-2004, 12:13 PM:

quote: Alan Plester
Hold back until something goes wrong and then watch him squirm.

I tried that once...He just left the mess for me to fix the next day. When I worked at the 2 house there was the most insanely lame assistant projectionist they stuck me with. He would brainwrap something by not setting the platter to payout or he'd fuck up threading and they'd cancel the show because he would refuse to walk through fixing it with me over the phone if I couldn't come down.

Posted by Stephen Furley (Member # 1277) on 06-20-2004, 06:13 PM:

Leo, I've just made a big mistake; Whether I get another chance, or they never let me near the projection room again I should find out tomorrow. I've just e-maiiled the chief to explain what happened, and apologise.

I've made minor mistakes in the past of course, especially when running an unfamilar place, where I'm not used to the controls being where they are. Maybe I've been a bit late down with the house lights, or brought the sound up a bit too early, and caught a click. A couple of weeks ago I was a bit late with a changeover, and unfortunately, it happened to be one of these prints with 'LFOA' in large white letters, rather than just whowiing a couple of frames of black. A couple of times I've had a troublesome acop trip as I was starting the show, had to reset, show started about fifteen seconds late. These are the sort of mistakes I make from time to time; I'd rather not do it, but it's not a disaster. However, my big disaster was at a place where I've run lots of shows recently.

Yesterday, I asked about the troublesome Japaneese print which I'd made up last Saturday, much to my relief it had run without breaking; in places there was more splicing tape than film, and all the parts were in the right order, there were no readable, i.e. non-Japaneese, markings printed on any of the leaders, and I didn't know the film. Just two reels had numbers wriitten on in ink, and both said Reel 7. I had to trust the labels on the cans, and hope for the best.

When I got up to the box there was just one print to make up, for a first show on Sunday. I left it until the afternoon, and when I unpacked it, it was a real mess. All the things that people here complain about, leaders masking taped on or loose, leaders on the wrong reels, badly made splices, ends that didn't match up, film roughly cut with scissors, white correction fluid on just one reel end, but completely covering both digital and analogue tracks, and even reaching into the picture area. The whole print was filthy. Some parts were head out, some tail out, some emulsion in some emulsion out. It took much longer to make up onto 6ks than I'd expected, and I'd only just finished it by the end of the day. The second spool was emulsion out, not standard here, but not a problem, the machines will quite happily feed either way. I left a note on it to remind me of this.

This morning when I ran it, it didn't look too bad, except for a few feet at the reel ends. comming up to the end of part four I watched the splice go through, and to my horror, I'd spliced part five in upside down. I've never seen this done anywhere; if I had done, I would have said 'How on Earth can they be so stupid'. All I can say now is 'How on Earth can I have been so stupid' It's totally my fault of course, I was in a hurry, and I was careless. I'm normally very careful checking everything, but this time I messed up. I don't live in a world where there's tome to screen prints before the audience sees them.

I shut the show down tidily within a few seconds, got the non-sync back up, 'phoned downstairs to explain what had happened, and the manager came up to see me. Her attitude was 'Don't worry, these things happen.' Well they shouldn't happen of course. As the print was made up on 6ks, it wasn't just a question of rewinding a reel, the start of part five, which was what I needed, was somewhere in the middle of the spool. To put it right would mean winding this part through three times, and I would have to put the leaders back on to protect the ends while I did this. It would obviiously be quicker to just extract part five into another spool where it would then be head out, put the leader back on, and then get this running while I put the leader back on part six, and got it laced up. However, by the time I'd fetched the cans, got the leaders out, checked the cues on part five, which wouldn't normally have been a changeover point for us, and so weren't checked when I made up, wound the reel through to the next splice, put the leaders on, got the film set up and the picture back on screen it still took almost fifteen minutes to sort ot. I'm still saying to myself 'How on Earth can I have been so stupid', but of course, it's too late now. The audience, there were only a few of them, were given a free drink in the bar.

If I'm ever allowed to project again after this, I swear that I will never make the same mistake again.

Posted by Carl Martin (Member # 1146) on 06-21-2004, 01:40 AM:

buck up, stephen. you dealt with the situation. no print damage, and the show went on.

i was at a show with a backwards reel once. unfortunately, though they mostly run one-night engagements, they're platter only. show cancelled.

a relief projectionist once put on a backwards trailer at my theater. another time, 2' of film i'd attached to a trailer for protection was left on, backwards (and wrong format, iirc). at least it was in frame!

i did scratch a print of harry potter 3 last week. well, it happened on my watch anyways. i've been unable to figure out how it happened, or how it got its distinctive feature. it's to the right, emulsion side, and varies in intensity 4 times per frame, the stronger bits lining up with the perforations. it's pretty inconceivable that i misthreaded a sprocket, as i check that religiously.

the good news is, 95% of the time, the scratch is all but invisible onscreen. still, i was beating myself up over that one the rest of the day.

carl

Posted by William Hooper (Member # 71) on 06-21-2004, 02:17 AM:

Worries me too that you fear that you might be replaced, especially since there's a possibility that it may be by someone who doesn't give a damn.

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 06-21-2004, 08:12 AM:

Don't worry Stephen, we've all done it (and those of us who haven't almost certainly will do, eventually). For a long time I was paranoid that I'd do it to a full-gate silent print to which a sound leader had been attached incorrectly. In the event, I never did. My mistake was actually a lot worse than yours - splicing a reel back-to-front (i.e. tail to tail) on a platter roll. Again, it was a knackered old print with missing and incorrectly joined heads and tails. The film was Blade Runner, most of which is so dark that the film just looks like black spacing. Thank goodness, my boss rehearsed the print the morning before the show and so managed to catch the mistake. If he hadn't we'd have been completely and utterly buggered, because the time taken to unpick the platter roll would have disrupted the timetable and caused at least one cancelled screening, possibly more.

Posted by Stephen Furley (Member # 1277) on 06-21-2004, 09:14 AM:

William, it's not really a question of being replaced, it's not a regular job, I've just got my name on the relief list at various places, and if they need somebody to fill in for some reason, they give me a call. Since April I've been doing several days per month, but before that I didn't do anything for about ten months. They might just decide that next time they need somebody to cover, they'll find somebody more reliable.

Carl, it could have been worse, if I'd been a brain surgeon or something and made a mistake; at least nobody got hurt, but I feel pretty bad about it. Also, it was me that was running it, it would have been even worse if I had made it up wrong, and one of the other projectionists had run it. It's got a couple more shows this week, Tuesday and Wednesday, and I've made very sure that I got it right when I made it up again afterwards.

Because I work there mainly at weekends, I've not made up many prints for them. Most of the films are in the middle of their run, one-off shows are either made up on the Friday, or if they're not made up I just run them without making up for a single show. I've probably done about six or seven make-ups there, and one of those was the Lord of the Rings print, where we were sent a wrong part. They'll think I'm jinxed. They didn't blame me for Lord of the Rings, by the time I found the problem there was just now way we could do anything about it.

Posted by Dominic Espinosa (Member # 2122) on 06-22-2004, 12:42 AM:

Gah, that wasn't too bad at all!

I once heard of a projectionist from UA who THOUGHT he was splicing out the attatched trailer to place it before the courtesy trailer when he had actually cut off part of the movie.
They ran it like that until someone noticed.
Very impressive I'd say [Wink]

My first ever shift building up one of the assistant managers came up to "help" me by rewinding some film. I asked him what he'd rewound and he told me, I built it up without checking the frames cause I was in a hurry of course, we didn't screen, and Drumline started in a packed house with the 3rd reel on backwards...fun!
Believe me, I got a ripping for that, but went on to do many flawless shows. It's all good, buddy!

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 06-23-2004, 02:29 AM:

...then there was the infamous trailer cock-up. In that house we had two alternating features on platter rolls (i.e. one film at 2pm and 6pm, the other at 4 and 8), so the ads and trailers were on a 2k spool running on the other projector.

The previous evening my colleague had made up another 2k spool containing 'family viewing' ads and trailers for the kids' matinee on Saturday morning. Sadly, he'd labelled them up wrong. So, in I came on Saturday morning, laced up the kiddie ads, started them and made a beeline for the coffee machine. When I came back, the trailer for Crash was in progress (and they'd just seen one for L'Ennui), and that had come after an advert reel that had included a grisly anti-drink drive commercial and one for condoms. The poor manager practically got lynched by a mob of angry parents.

Posted by Stephen Furley (Member # 1277) on 06-23-2004, 04:19 AM:

I was lucky, I've just had a message from the Chief, and he does still want me to work there.

Posted by Jeremy Fuentes (Member # 2135) on 06-23-2004, 06:15 AM:

Thats great!! [thumbsup]

Posted by William Hooper (Member # 71) on 06-23-2004, 07:12 AM:

Congratulations! Have fun! Stop screwing up & you'll enjoy it more!

Posted by Jim Spohn (Member # 1547) on 06-23-2004, 10:26 AM:

Stephen... At my theatre I have a policy, we are all well trained professionals that care about showmanship, if we make a mistake, its just that, a mistake. No one gets an ass chewing, because the person that made the mistake will chew his own ass better than I ever could. Besides I might make the next mistake (we all do)!! It sounds like you have done your chewing now get on with the show. I'm glad to hear that you will still be operating, there are just not that many that care the way you do anymore. ... Jim Spohn

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 06-24-2004, 09:17 AM:

Ever since I started running movies, the policy I worked under was: If you screw up and come clean about it, the worst you'll get is a lecture or maybe a semi-good-natured, "You asshole!" IF you screw up and try to cover your tracks you are in trouble twice... Once for the fuck up and again for lying about it.

Obvious exceptions would be a mistake that you should have known better which causes damage OR if you were horsing around.

I try to keep the same policy in the booth(s) that I run. It seems to work well for me because the worst mistakes I have seen so far only rise to the level of the occasional misframe or poor focus. In other words, people need to feel confident that they can make the occasional mistake without being in serious trouble. If operators (especially new ones) have to walk around all day fearing for their lives if they make the least little mistake you will (A) have more mistakes and (B) have fewer operators around for the long-term.

There is one overriding exception to all of this. That is the person (or persons) who make small mistakes all the time but don't seem to learn from them. Fortunately, most of those people wash out early in the game.

Posted by Jeremy Fuentes (Member # 2135) on 06-24-2004, 09:30 AM:

I'm in a different position compared to others here. I am the only one that is hard on myself for mistakes that I make. My manager and the owner do care about the presentation, but they never get mad when I make mistakes. Since I started coming to Film-Tech, I have improved tremendously. I still make minor mistakes from time to time, but my bosses tell me not to beat myself up about it.

Posted by Matt Hefright (Member # 2470) on 06-28-2004, 11:07 AM:

have you thought about writing a procedure manual that would explain the why of things and the concequences of things not done right? seems to work here. once your employee has a better understanding of the reason of what should be done his "how" should improve. of course if he has no respect at all for the equipment or for you his mentor, this will not change things in the least.