Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Multifloor schedules?

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Posted by Dominic Espinosa (Member # 2122) on 09-14-2007, 02:53 PM:

Howdy all.
I'm looking at optimizing a location...
We have a ground floor booth with 6 machines, and second & third floors with 2 booths and 3 screens each.

Currently we utilize 3 projectionists each day.
After running booth myself on a Friday night I've come to the conclusion that it is possible for 1 projectionist to handle all starts if each floor is 10 minutes apart with first and third having 20 minutes different.

Does anyone else have experience with this sort of monstrosity? I'd like to see how everyone else copes...

Cheers! [beer]

Posted by John Walsh (Member # 168) on 09-14-2007, 03:22 PM:

Yes, with timers and remote starting. Not that I really approve, but the cost savings make it necessary. I'd rather pay one really good operator, really well, than pay three people who run poor shows.

Posted by Chad M Calpito (Member # 3736) on 09-14-2007, 04:52 PM:

I did some shifts at the Gaslamp Stadium 15 in Downtown & the booth is a monstor, very poorly designed. I had to run all 15 projectors by myself. What made it bad was all of these different booths between two floors and having to find my way around. What I had to do was consider a number of things and prioritize, one of which was to work on a group of projectors that let out and work my way around, etc. It wasn't easy, but, I managed without a single problem, barely starting the movies on time. It's all about having a competent projectionist doing things right the first time while coming up with a game plan that will ultimately bring about positive results. I don't know if this will help you, but, I hope it does.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 09-14-2007, 04:53 PM:

Absolutely agreed with John. A few of us on here ran a 16 plex that had 4 different booths. Sure we relied almost totally on the start timers, but then again we also had locked down the framing controls and such. It was exceedingly rare that anything needed adjustment, because the trick is that anytime you are walking to a projector to thread it, you would look at every machine you passed along the way, coupled with routine 15-20 minute "walks" of the booth to check every screen. The presentation was excellent and one person ran the entire building. Compare that with two typical teenagers and their pay rate, and having one GOOD projectionist was cheaper and yielded a better presentation.

I also know there are a few here (Chris Hipp) who have ran 30 screens in multiple booths by themselves without a problem. Sure they have to "cheat" with timers, but again if they know what they are doing it won't be a problem.

Posted by Mike Olpin (Member # 1115) on 09-14-2007, 07:12 PM:

quote: Chad M Calpito
I did some shifts at the Gaslamp Stadium 15

That theatre is one heck of a clusterf**k floorplan. You can get lost in the fire escape for hours. It's also the only theatre I can think of where you enter the theatre from under the screen, where most fire exits usually are. I've heared that going to the breakroom involves several hallways, sets of stairs and an elevator. [Smile]

Posted by Jeremy Jorgenson (Member # 2989) on 09-14-2007, 07:32 PM:

I worked at a 16-plex which had 3 levels and 7 locked booths. I ran it alone every shift, and they gave no consideration about which auditorium started before/after which auditorium... at times it was up, down, up, down 4 or 5 times in a row. Also, there seemed to invariably be a print swap at some point in the shift... which could easily be to a different locked booth (and at times, level) all moved on my own.

I also worked a 21-plex, but that wasn't nearly as bad, all the same level, just far from one end to the other.

In neither case did we use timers.

quote: Dominic Espinosa
I'd like to see how everyone else copes...

I worked at the 21-plex on three separate occasions, it wasn't too bad. I was at that 16-plex for about 3 months, but I probably would've stuck around longer had they given some consideration to which screens started when ... and/or paid better, I was earning barely over minimum wage there.

Posted by Dominic Espinosa (Member # 2122) on 09-14-2007, 08:18 PM:

Those are precisely the horror stories I'm trying to put an end to over here...

I did some more tinkering and found if we dump the 6th show (around 2PM hour) on our slower films in the smaller houses we could run the first 3 sets with 1 projectionist...Now to solve the last 3 sets...

EDIT: What does anyone think about spreading the showtimes such that there's no such thing as a "set" or "rush"?

Posted by James Westbrook (Member # 3690) on 09-14-2007, 09:16 PM:

Dominic,
The "no rush" way of scheduling movies will work if there is a way one can make up for the recovery time, which is when most of us restock the concessions, empty the lobby trash cans and give employees breaks. Recovery periods also allow for shift changes. I am sure this can be worked out in your scheme.
The no rush method will also guarantee that your parking lot does not overfill, as cars are constantly leaving, and thus spots are open for customers arriving.
One drawback is sometimes, even in moderate business, we may get a run on a candy item and sell it out downstairs IF we didn't have time to restock between rushes. (However, having some surplus stock downstairs can alleviate that...)
Give it a shot.

Posted by John Walsh (Member # 168) on 09-14-2007, 09:41 PM:

Agree with James, but to put it a different way; the projectionist's job is to start shows at almost any time and or sequence. The show times 'priority' should be what works best for customers/traffic flow/getting people through the candy stand and in their show, etc., etc. not for what is convenient for operators. For example, you want your 'big' show to start first, followed by the others. That way, when the big show sells out, customers who didn't get in may opt to buy for another show. These are the kind of priorities for show time scheduling. There should be no dumping of shows; that's money lost both in ticket and concession. If you do it at random time, it pisses off the customers who came to see that show - however few, and they will talk about it to friends.

Posted by David Zylstra (Member # 4230) on 09-14-2007, 10:00 PM:

quote: Dominic Espinosa
EDIT: What does anyone think about spreading the showtimes such that there's no such thing as a "set" or "rush"?

My former employer started doing this in the late '80s and it worked out well both for business and running the booth. Our typical building's booth was 10 screens set up as 4 on one side and 6 on the other (and you had to walk downstairs through the lobby to get between them) - we still ended up with 1 or 2 30-45 minute "breaks" in the schedule (we were anal about presentations so we actually ran 2 projectionists on Fri/Sat nights - every reel got checked from downstairs on every show for any issues) . . . . once my building went to 16 screens and 3 booths it was still possible for 1 person to run it all but you were very busy (we didn't run with 1 very often - and we had no timers).

We had definite floor labor savings since the cycle of cashiers being almost overwhelmed for an hour and then not having anything to do was replaced my a steady flow of customers that could be handled by less employees (not to mention higher percaps and better customer service) - the restocking was done by a support employee or when the less popular movies started that didn't need all hands on deck (employee breaks were also staggered during the slower movie start times).

Eventually managers learn what types of movies do better at what showtimes, then they work the schedule out from the best times forward/backward.

Posted by Chad M Calpito (Member # 3736) on 09-14-2007, 10:34 PM:

Yeah, I agree that it is one hell of a floor plan, Mike. The bad part is, that if the elevator goes out of service, it is worse since the projectionist has to make use of all of those staircases and fire exits just to get to the separate booths and booth #1. That happened to me once and that was terrible. I was offered to transfer there, but, I'm glad I didn't accept the transfer. Two auditoriums had their own booths in which I had to go through the auditorium via the Fire Exits just to get to the projectors, which were auditoriums #3 & #4. Doing print moves there is a chore in itself. Thank goodness for print pockets. In essence, a projectionist can definately get a good cardio workout in an 8-hour shift as well.

Posted by Scott D. Neff (Member # 185) on 09-15-2007, 12:24 PM:

Dom,

You should be able to run that booth without any problem. If Cinema West can run Sebastopol's zany 9-screens with one projectionist, you can certainly make it work where you're at.

There should be no real need to cut any shows, and as far as spreading out the shows, even if the owners don't go for that, you can still make it work. It just means prioritizing and planning your shifts. If you're dealing with those projectionists that wait until 2 minutes before the show's start time to clean and thread, then obviously you're going to have problems. If you get the kind that cleans and threads shortly after the film gets out you should be golden.

Posted by Mike Croaro (Member # 3123) on 09-15-2007, 01:37 PM:

Re: Theatres with 14-20 screens

Granted I have not worked in the theatre business for 9 years and the largest theatre I worked at had 6 screens. But I feel it is ridiculas to expect one person to run a 14-16-20 screen projection booth. I would never do it. Two good empoloyees should be on staff.

I never liked timers and the such. I always like to start the projector there on the spot and make sure everything was correct. I typically stayed with the unit into the feature. Sometimes minor flaws don't jump out right away and you only spot them after watching the program a bit.

Dominmic - why not trim down to two projectionists. One for the six screens on the ground floor and one for the five units on the second and third? Just a thought.

Having said all this, I do agree that ONE GOOD QUALIFIED projectionst is better than two or three clowns from high
School.

Mike

Posted by Dominic Espinosa (Member # 2122) on 09-15-2007, 03:47 PM:

So good suggestions so far.

The first problem we need to eliminate is the simultaneous starts.
The way we've been scheduling is with a 10-6, 2-10, and 6-close projectionist schedule.

If we can eliminate the mid-shift projectionist I'll be happy but simultaneous starts and starts on the first and third floor 5 minutes apart won't work.

Posted by David Graves (Member # 4069) on 09-15-2007, 09:29 PM:

Dominic-

One important factor you didn't mention- are there concession stands on each floor or just one big one at the bottom? If each floor has its own stand, then its sort of like each floor is its own theater- and having the stand (and workers) sit around on one floor while another floor is slammed because three movies are starting within 20 minutes of each other would be silly, and bad for business.

On the other hand, if it's just one stand at the bottom, then you can most certainly do the starts floor-by-floor- the only thing to watch out for is to make sure your break times are spread apart a bit, so as to avoid having multiple breaks at once on an upper floor. The last thing you want (or that you want the fire marshal to see) is people crowded around the top of the staircase/escalator/elevators waiting to get out.

When it's peak season- the no-rush thing is an absolute boon for both concession sales and patron happiness. You just need a smart employee schedule, a smarter performance schedule, and tons of workers rotating to where they're needed. This way you can keep lines to a bare minimum, which your patrons will love. You can always have another staff member doing nothing but restocking the stand in the back while others are selling- he/she will pay for himself in 6 minutes of candy sales due to fast-moving lines.

Of course off peak, what's the point?

Posted by Dominic Espinosa (Member # 2122) on 09-15-2007, 10:33 PM:

Each level has it's own stand which is open a limited number of hours with the ground floor open the whole day.
The place is so big that off-season lines aren't really an issue with the multiple stands.
What I'd like to see though is people coming and going constantly instead of in far flung sets.
I think as an added bonus the place will appear busier, and more "happenin"...

Posted by David Graves (Member # 4069) on 09-16-2007, 01:11 AM:

Well if that's the case, then it seems that you have your answer already, and I think you've got the right one. 3 projectionists a day seems about right for a place like that on a weekend or busy week, unless you're planning on using timers (which I'm always dead set against). An opener who can thread and clean everything before opening and start the first round, a mid shift so you have two for the busiest rounds who leaves after starting the last, and a closer to clean and power down everything, plus do moves. Manipulating the performance schedule so that two people can run the building is going to wind up killing your per cap, and causing crowding.

Dumping shows is also a waste of time. It'll irritate your walk-up customers, and besides, you won't save much. Let's say you have three 2pm shows you can dump. If you're paying 75% rental with a $2 per cap, and are paying your projectionists $15 an hour, all you need to do is 9 people per show to pay for the extra 8 projection hours, which will benefit your whole operation. You should never have a dark house if you don't have to, that defeats the whole purpose of a multiplex.

In the end a smart performance schedule is truly the key to any theater. I used to work (ops manager) at a 20+ screen theater with auditoriums spread over 5 different levels. There were 17 booths on six different floors! After listening to the projectionists complain, and seeing the lines forming at the stands, I sat down one day and did a new performance schedule from scratch. Took it to my boss and said "look, I'm really good with this stuff, and I don't mind you putting your name on this when you send it to corporate". He took a look and ate it up, and I did the schedule for the next two years (with my name, thankfully). Saved him 3 hours a week and the place ran like a champ. Per head went up 45% in the next 6 months, and we were able to cut our APSH buy 20%. If you don't do the schedule, why not take a crack at it and make it serve EVERYONE'S needs?

Posted by Sean McKinnon (Member # 612) on 10-03-2007, 12:59 PM:

Dominic,

Not only will spreading out your shows constantly throughout the day enable you to save on payroll in almost every position (Conceccsion, Box, Ushers) it will make your concession lines shorter which will raise your percap because people often do not want to wait in a long line and thats why they dont purchase concession. I think this is a very effective way to lower labor costs and raise your revenue and per capita sales.

The key to operating in this manner is to use less Concession workers but add a "concession supervisor" who is responsible for keeping the stand constantly stocked with stock and change, as well as covering breaks. This person should not be primarily used to serve customers only when covering breaks but to keep the stand stocked. Instead of 3 ushers running around like crazy for 30 minutes you can use one or two who are consistently working at a slower pace able to take more time and better clean your houses. It also translates the same to the box where you can use fewer cashiers and still have shorter lines. I gaurantee if you implement this your bosses will think your a genius!

As far as the operators I would schedule 1 to work from open to the middle of the day, one to work from right before the second set of shows to right after the last shows start and another from mid day to close. This was the first operator can take thier time to clean and thread the first shows before the theatre opens. When the first machine drops you can have the second operator come on. You can have one operator "clean and thread" and the other one "Start shows, and Check Presentations". They can switch off as they want but with the consistent show schedule this will enable them to take thier time do a quality job and double check themselves instead of running around like a chicken with its head cut off!

Good Luck!

Posted by Dominic Espinosa (Member # 2122) on 10-03-2007, 04:31 PM:

Well, we ran ahead with Demo week and were able to run the whole live-long day without multiple projectionists.

In this particular theater we tend to under-utilize our managers as we have:
Surveillance Agent (read bored kid doing nothing all day) who is to monitor auditoriums, hallways, and emergency exits (I'm revising this one soon and enforcing the job description)

Shift Leader (runs stock between stands and stock room, breaks folks, etc.)

The lines we have problems with are the box office, which is why our concession lines are short...Folks just breeze right by the stand cause they're pissed from standing at the b/o...

Revisions are coming but thus far we've rolled all the slower films onto odd-ball sets and always have somethings tarting...Every hour.