Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Survey of how you receive your preshow content

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Posted by Gary Davidson (Member # 2198) on 02-22-2008, 01:05 PM:

I’m conducting an informal survey of the ways various theatres receive their preshow content.

Posted by Aaron Sisemore (Member # 145) on 02-22-2008, 01:27 PM:

DVD-ROM from AccessIT.

Posted by Darryl Spicer (Member # 711) on 02-22-2008, 02:59 PM:

NCM over Satellite feed to a central computer that then distributes it to a computer for each individual pre-show LCD projector dependent on the rating of the movie in that auditorium. All of the info for the show times and rating is picked up off of the point of sale system.

Posted by Thomas Pitt (Member # 4322) on 02-22-2008, 03:15 PM:

When you say 'preshow', do you mean the slides that show on the screen prior to the main projector starting up? Or do you mean the commercials and policy snipes that often show before the trailers?

Many cinemas in the UK run their preshow slides on a simple 35mm slide carousel projector. In this case, the slides are usually just sent to the cinemas in the mail, and the projectionists load them into the carousel themselves.

Posted by David Zylstra (Member # 4230) on 02-22-2008, 03:16 PM:

DVD from AccessIT (formerly Unique Screen Media) - Note that this is a playable DVD looped between shows on a separate video projector (they have not switched us over to using the big digital projectors for their preshow yet).

I know Screenvision delivers via satellite to most sites (I know some sites without satellite get content delivered on DVD-Rom)

I know a few locations that get content delivered via Internet to their playback server (it is a looped show and the software can be managed through a 3rd party website).

Posted by Gary Davidson (Member # 2198) on 02-22-2008, 05:00 PM:

quote: Thomas Pitt
When you say 'preshow', do you mean the slides that show on the screen prior to the main projector starting up? Or do you mean the commercials and policy snipes that often show before the trailers?

Commercials.

Posted by James Westbrook (Member # 3690) on 02-22-2008, 07:28 PM:

NCM, over satellite, just as Darryl described.

Posted by Damien Taylor (Member # 4255) on 02-22-2008, 09:27 PM:

35mm from Val Morgan

Posted by Jesse Skeen (Member # 586) on 02-23-2008, 03:20 PM:

In the garbage!! [evil]

Posted by Michael Brown (Member # 890) on 02-23-2008, 03:48 PM:

quote: Thomas Pitt
When you say 'preshow', do you mean the slides that show on the screen prior to the main projector starting up? Or do you mean the commercials and policy snipes that often show before the trailers?

Many cinemas in the UK run their preshow slides on a simple 35mm slide carousel projector. In this case, the slides are usually just sent to the cinemas in the mail, and the projectionists load them into the carousel themselves.

We have had commercial advertising in front of films for years in the UK. Generally all cinemas still run 35mm advertising; either from Pearl & Dean or Carlton Screen Advertising. In terms of pure pre-show (i.e stuff that runs in the auditorium before the advertised start time; many sites run slide advertising, alot run nothing just normal non-sync music. I'm not sure of any sites that run any digital pre-show, most just go into the 35mm advertising at show time.

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 02-23-2008, 03:58 PM:

Our local Carmike theater is in the process of getting switched over to a new pre-show system. For now, the theater is still showing Screenvision 35mm slides. Most of the hardware for the new system has been installed. Just a few more tweaks here and there and it will be up and running, and using the Christie CP2000 DLP projectors.

I don't know if the pre-show will be running at the same brightness levels as the main feature and trailer pack. Hopefully it won't be the dim "video by Braille" I've seen at certain Cinemark theaters.

Posted by Ron Curran (Member # 3631) on 02-23-2008, 08:09 PM:

My wife Karen has an independent graphic design business. She prepares our pre-show (at reasonable cost) on Premier Pro and we transfer files on a 1GB stick via USB ports to our server at the cinema. then I assemble the files into a play list for showing on our dlp projector. We used to run glass slides on a carbon arc machine, using the butts from the film projectors. Then we ran 35mm slides on a Kodak Carousel, until we changed to the current system which looks great.

Karen has also worked for other cinemas, creating on-screen and in-foyer presentations. These can be static, dynamic or full motion. At our cinema, we do not play sound commercials. Our pre-show is mainly for in-house promotion with limited local advertising (maximum 2 minutes).

Most trailers are 35mm, very few trailers are yet available on hi-rez files that can be difficult to splice into a show.

Posted by Peter David Bruce (Member # 4447) on 02-24-2008, 07:21 AM:

over in the UK we used to have slides provided (35mm photo slides for a carousel projector) BUT since the dawn of the new year this has ceased. Pre-show content like adverts are sent to us by Carlton Advertising (UK company) as 35mm reels which we attach to the front of the feature films. New sets of adverts arrive every thursday and are changed during the day in prep for the new week on friday.

all of the ads are made up by hand by carlton, rather loosely onto the reel, and delivered in film cans by a nationwide company, NFT (national film transfer).

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 02-27-2008, 06:15 PM:

Preshow? We don't run no stinkin preshow!