Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: New TSA Mandated Security Requirements

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Posted by Justin Hamaker (Member # 2165) on 01-23-2009, 04:53 PM:

I just received this fax from Technicolor

quote:
Effective February 1, 2009, the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) will be implementing new security measures for all shipments on commercial airlines.

All next flight out (NFO) transportation providers in the United States are required to check identification prior to accepting any shipments being tendered for commercial airline transport. Acceptable forms of identification are a US Government Issued Photo ID or two other forms of identification, of which one must be a photo ID. (Driver's license with a photo or photo employee ID and a second form of identification with name only).

Technicolor utilizes Sky Courier for all of our NFO transportation. As a result, if Technicolor schedules Sky Courier to pickup a movie from you theatre, and the movie is to be shipped via commercial airline, your theatre representative releasing the print to Sky Courier must have the forms of identification outlined above.

Sky Courier will not be required to list identification numbers or anything other than the form of identification checked and the theatre representative's name.

Again, these new requirements are TSA-mandated changes in accordance with 49 Code of the Federal Regulation Part 1540-1548. Please communicate the new requirements to anyone at your theatre who might release a movie to Sky Courier.

If you have any questions regarding this matter, please feel free our Customer Service Team at 1-800-99FILMS (1-800-993-4567), option 1. They are available to assist you 24-hours a day, 365-days a year.

Thank you, in advance, for your assistance in this matter.

Technicolor Cinema Distribuition

Posted by Ky Boyd (Member # 23) on 01-24-2009, 01:44 PM:

And this is going to help airline security how???

It's a mystery to me why the TSA isn't checking the id of the Sky Courier employee or contractor delivering the film to the airline. Some of the couriers we've seen could be charitably described as sketchy or worse. What is to prevent one of them from tampering with a shipment after they've received the proper forms of identification from the theatre?

Posted by John Hawkinson (Member # 1135) on 01-24-2009, 06:45 PM:

I would imagine, Ky, that they are requiring identification from both the customer tendering the shipment, as well as the employees of the NFO carrier who handle the shipment. Of course, all this stuff is about raising the bar, you can never get to 100%, but you can get closer and closer every day (with more and more inconvenience to everybody...)

(Personally, I don't really think there's much point to any of this security stuff, and shudder to think at the inconvenience and monetary cost all this effort has caused, but that's really a philosophical question...)

Oddly enough, browsing through 49 CFR Vol. 9 Chap. XII, I don't see a discussion of identification or NFO shipping services. I suppose it'd be under Part 1544 (AIRCRAFT OPERATOR SECURITY: AIR CARRIERS AND COMMERCIAL OPERATORS), but I don't see it. (NFO service means freight on a passenger airliner most of the time...that might the wording is tricky...)

--jhawk

Posted by Bill Enos (Member # 440) on 01-24-2009, 10:19 PM:

Probably should see the pick up drivers I.D. just to make sure the real driver hasn't been killed and a terrorist isn't picking up film cans in his place.

Any committed terrorist would have valid looking I.D.s so he could carry out the plot anyway. The idiots in the govt. must think these people are stupid.

Posted by Dominic Espinosa (Member # 2122) on 01-26-2009, 01:07 PM:

Indeed.
More than half the couriers I've met at 6AM at the theater in the past usually look like cranky drug users that are always pissed off that you arrived at the agreed upon time while they had arrived earlier for some reason.

I'm not comfortable giving these guys my ID!

Golly...what a pain.

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 01-26-2009, 02:15 PM:

quote: Dominic Espinosa
More than half the couriers I've met at 6AM at the theater in the past usually look like cranky drug users that are always pissed off that you arrived at the agreed upon time while they had arrived earlier for some reason.

I remember one courier arriving at least a couple hours before we had said a print would be ready. When someone asked him why he was there so early just to sit around waiting, he said that no one on his end told him an exact time and instead simply told him "Be there in the early evening hours." So he'd be there at 8 because that seemed like early evening to him, when over the phone someone had told them the print would be ready by 10.

Granted, I haven't seen this happen in quite some time.

Posted by John Hawkinson (Member # 1135) on 01-27-2009, 01:38 AM:

Hey, much better to have the courier arrive early than late!

It's been quite a while since we've had a courier pick up the night-of for a sneak preview, but somehow it's always feels nice when they have time kill so they just stay and watch the movie from the audience.

And of course, running changeover, there's really nothing like handing the two latched cans to the courier 30 seconds after the credits end. They're always pleasantly surprised when you can get them the film that fast. [Smile]

--jhawk

Posted by Justin Hamaker (Member # 2165) on 01-27-2009, 01:52 AM:

I've never seen it done and I would never try it myself, but my boss used to have a projectionist who would breakdown plattered films directly to 2K reels as the film was running.

I could maybe see trying this if I had a a large interlock collector, but I would never go directly from the projector to the breakdown table.

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 01-27-2009, 01:55 AM:

quote:
Hey, much better to have the courier arrive early than late!

Oh I concur. It's just annoying when we'd give them a time, they'd show up early, then them ask "Why isn't it ready? It's supposed to be ready now." And when it happened, the guy would generally be annoyed because he'd have to sit there waiting.

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 01-27-2009, 03:24 AM:

If I read that right...because Technicolor is shipping the print out, the theatre must provide identification? No efffin way! It is Tech's responsibility to provide its identification. If need be, Tech should courier the print to a depot then have Sky Courier pick up from there with the necessary identification, period.

Posted by John Hawkinson (Member # 1135) on 01-27-2009, 09:36 AM:

Do you really think it's asking a lot for a carrier to ask for ID when someone ships something?

To me, it seems a small burden, and not an unreasonable one. After all, these items are going on a passenger airline that has a similar level of security for passenger bags.

I expect couriering it to a depot would not be practical. After all, Technicolor doesn't have local depots. So they could contract with a local shipping company who would courier it to their own depot, provide ID, and then sky courier would pick it up? Well, umm, but Sky Courier isn't really a national company, they just contract it out to local shipping companies. So it would very likely be the Local Courier ZZZ who picks it up, takes it to his depot, presents his own ID to himself, and then delivers it to the Delta Dash counter at the nearest airport? It might not even pass regulatory muster, since the TSA reg [evidently] is binding on couriers and shipping companies who deliver consignments to airlines.

Besides, would you really want somebody who knows nothing about film opening up your films cans and "inspecting" the movie? Granted this probably happens anyhow, but at least minimize it.

If anyone finds what the regulation actually is, I'd be curious.

--jhawk

Posted by Bill Enos (Member # 440) on 01-27-2009, 10:42 AM:

The local rep. for Sky Courier checks my I.D., at the airport security checks that drivers I.D., then at the airline freight terminal he gets checked again? Is the shipment physically inspected, X-Rayed? All the I.D. checks mean nothing if the article isn't actually inspected at some point.

Posted by Scott D. Neff (Member # 185) on 01-27-2009, 11:38 AM:

Not to mention if they're just LOOKING at your I.D. and not actually documenting it.

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 01-27-2009, 12:02 PM:

John,

The problem is...the theatre isn't actually shipping anything...Technicolor is...as such it is their ID that should be associated with the print. It isn't the theatre's print and the theatre isn't the entity that is shipping it...their ID should not what is issued. If the ID is not documented, then it is even sillier since in the event of something stupid, there is no paper trail to find out whom is responsible.

Steve

Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 01-28-2009, 12:03 AM:

quote: Bill Enos
Probably should see the pick up drivers I.D. just to make sure the real driver hasn't been killed and a terrorist isn't picking up film cans in his place.

Bill I have to admit that made me laugh out loud.

Posted by Justin Hamaker (Member # 2165) on 01-28-2009, 12:18 AM:

What I find a bit troublesome is the idea that a film shipment might not be accepted if the theatre rep can't produce two forms of ID. Drivers license should be no problem. But not everyone walks around with an ATM card, credit card, or some other form of ID.

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 01-28-2009, 08:10 AM:

Does anyone really believe that this improves airline security in any way? Most TSA-mandated procedures seem to be designed mostly to give the appearance of improving security, without actually doing so.

Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 01-28-2009, 08:49 AM:

There are many forms of "show business." Louis

Posted by Wayne Keyser (Member # 2420) on 02-02-2009, 09:05 PM:

Al Quaeda wants a print of Benjamin Button BAD.