Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: How far do you dim the lights and when?

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Posted by Gary Davidson (Member # 2198) on 01-30-2006, 10:20 AM:

As your theater moves through its sequence of slides, rolling stock, trailers, then feature, how far do you dim the lights and when?

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 01-30-2006, 11:49 AM:

There's at least a few threads on this topic. But as long as I'm typin' .... we go half-off during the previews, full off for the feature.

If there is a particularly important trailer that we're debuting at a blockbuster movie (like when we ran the Star Wars III preview during a Lord of the Rings movie, I think) I'll place that trailer last and turn the lights off at the beginning of that trailer for dramtic effect.

Posted by Dominic Espinosa (Member # 2122) on 01-30-2006, 12:17 PM:

We do it the same as Mike. Here's a couple more threads that might be of use:

Regarding sconce lighting and the importance of dimmer levels and cleaning crew/cleaning lights policies

Posted by Jim Ziegler (Member # 86) on 01-30-2006, 02:02 PM:

Half for trailers, almost - but not totally - off during the feature, back to half during credits.

Posted by Gary Davidson (Member # 2198) on 01-30-2006, 04:18 PM:

Do you go half-off when rolling stock hits the screen, or just trailers?

Posted by Anslem Rayburn (Member # 1267) on 01-30-2006, 05:44 PM:

Lights full during intermission (with slides). Lights half for trailers, down (not completely out, but close) during feature. Lights up during credits.

We have done lights half during credits, but received many complaints about it being too dark when exiting. Since 99.9999999999999999999999999% of our guests do not stay for credits, we erred on the side of caution with regards to injuries, etc. We do have a few guests that stay through credits, but have never had a complaint about the lights coming on.

Posted by Jesse Skeen (Member # 586) on 01-31-2006, 03:28 PM:

They don't complain, they just don't come back.

Posted by Anslem Rayburn (Member # 1267) on 01-31-2006, 04:36 PM:

And the same would be said for those that try to leave during the credits but trip or run into walls for the sake of keeping the lights down for 1 person.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 01-31-2006, 06:07 PM:

quote: Anslem Rayburn
We do have a few guests that stay through credits, but have never had a complaint about the lights coming on.

quote: Jesse Skeen
They don't complain, they just don't come back.

We put the lights half-up during the end credits. I haven't had one complaint about that in 27 years. Anyone who would "not come back" simply due to some lighting during the credits must not have a life to start with. In today's lawsuit-happy world, it just doesn't make sense to have 200 people tripping over each other trying to get out while two or three uber-fans sit and watch the credits in pitch blackness.

Posted by John Koutsoumis (Member # 1855) on 01-31-2006, 07:41 PM:

quote: Anslem Rayburn
We have done lights half during credits, but received many complaints about it being too dark when exiting.

Well that must be lighting done wrong.
Never been in a auditorium with half lights where you couldn't see clearly. No offense but maybe 99.9999999% of your patrons have bad eyesight.

I might not be the lights coming on during the credits that bother those select few but rather that they come on as soon a the last shot fades or cuts. It's too quick and obtrusive. As i've seen at one location here where during the credits the auditorium was half lit but you hardly noticed the lights come up at all. I actually had to turn to the side to see if they were actually on. That's lighting done right. And yes you could see very clearly for exiting.

In any case the aisles should be lit enough to see where you going without been intrusive. One cinema chain here, if there is any kind of image during the credits for the first minute or 2 will keep all the lights off. But the aisles are lit and nobody has problems getting out. Actually people usually stay in their seats and talk about the film etc when this is the case.
I only do screenings for critics and film societies and I judge it how it goes. If I see people start to get up I bring up the lights softly (no automation here) but on most occasions they stay and the lights stay all off until I see say, a Dolby Digital logo or something like that. Although there have been times with a very emotional or imapctful film that the lights stay off until the dowser is shut. But again I don't work in a commercial environment so it's a bit different.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 01-31-2006, 07:59 PM:

quote: Gary Davidson
Do you go half-off when rolling stock hits the screen, or just trailers?

Screw rolling stock and all ads! Lights stay FULL UP during that crap.

Posted by Dan Lyons (Member # 1454) on 01-31-2006, 08:29 PM:

No trailers or ads. ever. [thumbsup]

Dim houselights,sconces, and curtain spotlights - completely off by the time the logo hits and curtain opens. Wall neon turned off after studio logo fades out when curtains are fully open.

At credits, sconces brought up to full, wall neon on, house lights to half.

For roadshow films, I follow the the guidelines from The American Widescreen Museum

Posted by Anslem Rayburn (Member # 1267) on 01-31-2006, 11:57 PM:

quote: John Koutsoumis
Never been in a auditorium with half lights where you couldn't see clearly. No offense but maybe 99.9999999% of your patrons have bad eyesight.

Probably, but my patrons are the only one I'm concerned with. They don't like the lighting down when exiting during the credits, they outnumber the credit watchers by 200 to 1, their request does no harm to anybody, they get their way.

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 02-01-2006, 04:09 AM:

A well designed auditorium should have lighting that even when the main house is at "show" level during the movie, isles and crossover rows, step lights, etc. should all be lit well enough that patrons can move about the theatre safely. This is done with a variety of long-proven lighting techniques such as well-aimed down lights on the isle areas, LED tubes in the isles and on the step edges, etc., none of which impact the screen.

If this kind of proper lighting design is used, then even if no house lights are brought up during the credits, people should still be able to exit the room without any trip-and-fall issues (primary concern of the insurance companies and how sleezeball lawyers get their own home theatres).

Ideally, where houselights are brought up during credits, they should only be raised to a glow (and very gradually as John said) and never so high as to negatively impact image contrast. In addition, well designed house lights should be well focused so that they do not directly shine on the screen.

In lesser designed houses, patron safety should be the primary concern, and next a protocol of lighting changes before and after the show that interfers least with the screen contrast.

Posted by John Koutsoumis (Member # 1855) on 02-01-2006, 08:08 AM:

Keep in mind that your eyes adjust to the darkness of the Auditorium by the time the films over, but since most end credits are black your eyes then adjust to that resulting in not seeing very well ahead of you, well I think that's how it works. Hence some people having a hard time removing themselves.

Just keep those damn cleaners lights off till everyone has exited.
I've had them turned on me a few times and one time the cleaners laughed and ran away, after turning them back off. I saw one of them after in the lobby and was going to suggest to him that he should change the name on his name tag to "dickhead" but I just kept walking and have not been back there.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 02-01-2006, 11:36 AM:

I used to cue the houselights to come up to half as soon as the credits began to roll, but someone on here suggested that if the director's name comes first in the end-credits, to leave the lights off until that name has faded, out of respect for the director. And in any case, to leave the lights off until the credits have actually taken over the screen. So that's what I do here.

Posted by Anslem Rayburn (Member # 1267) on 02-01-2006, 12:47 PM:

We bring the lights up after the credits are on screen, slowly fading up over a 7 second span.

The other theater in town has started doing this now, too. Before, they went from off to full blast in a fraction of a second. Very startling to your vision, to say the least.

Cleaning lights are not used during business hours, unless we are looking for something lost, and only then in between shows.

Lighting is just one of the reasons I would love to have 20 minutes in a windowless room with the yahoo who designed this building. It's nice to look at, but it's functionality is lacking in many ways with regards to customer flow, etc.

Posted by Phil Blake (Member # 2012) on 02-05-2006, 04:01 AM:

Normal setting are all lights start at 80%
dim to 60% for ads dim to 30% trailers full down for feature

lights up settings at end credits , wall lights up 30% pause house lights to 30% pause wall lights to 60% pause house lights to 60% pause all lights to 80%

However there are times when I find myself varying lighting setting on accordance with the show.
for instance with narnia , the show ended , credits roll , then stop last scene of the film plays thenthe credits roll again.
my first setting was to bring lights up 30% at the start of credits , customers complained they wanted lights down for than last scene of the film.
my second setting was to keep lights down until the final part of the credits rolled, this resulted in customers falling over in the dark while trying to exit.my third setting was the bring up the side wall lights to 30% only at the start of the firtst credits then bring all house lights up to 60% at the start of the second credits. this worked all parties were happy.

Posted by Dieter Depypere (Member # 3184) on 02-05-2006, 09:59 AM:

During the slideshow, trailers and credits 50%, in the pause full and during the feature dark. Light is dimmed manually with a big potentiometer.

Posted by Anslem Rayburn (Member # 1267) on 02-08-2006, 05:08 AM:

Was reading on another forum about privacy, and decided to put my name in Google. This thread came up as first :

Google search for 'Anslem Rayburn'

Just thought it was funny, and it directly links to this thread...