Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Movie presentation is awful in and around Denver, CO

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 07-23-2009, 04:41 PM:

This is probably not news to anyone who has been in the industry for a while, but I just can't get over how mistakes continue to be made and continue to be tolerated by the companies that run these theaters. It's like they don't care about presentation at all.

I received the following information from one of my sources about the first day for Harry Potter showings:

quote:
The Regal Entertainment Group Denver West theater threw their print of Harry Potter upon their initial quality check screening and green scratched the hell out of the print. This is the same theatre that gave out tons refunds from the Transformers midnight interlock disaster!!! Their first show was bad! Apparently the guy who does trailer work wasn't working that day, so they ran their entire first day without trailers and a scratched print! AMC had scratches on their print as well. Then the Kerasotes Olde Town had a splice that apparently "came apart" and it took them a while to get the show back up. What the hell is going on around town?

And then this from a friend:

quote:
I was talked into going to the Regal Entertainment Group Continental big house on Saturday and got to see the massacre of one of Denver's destination auditoriums. WTF? How in any way is stadium seating better in this room? We sat in the front section which resembles the old style seating and that wasn't too bad other than no contrast on the screen. They started the show with 5 seconds of leader count down, sound popping through the speakers and a green band trailer scratched to hell and HUGE focus problems! It was a sold out show... They were raking in the cash but still couldn't pay a guy to do the job right? Idiots!

This combined with reports of Harry Potter prints being scratched left and right by a new theater (and one of their replacements built up backwards and shown to customers that way), scratches on prints less than a week old at other theaters around town as well as tons of other incidents, people are obviously receiving poor training everywhere. Mistakes will happen, yes. But in such a constant manner?

A lot of theaters require management to run the booth and while certain individuals may make great floor managers, that does not qualify them to be running the projection equipment in any way. That's like assuming just because a person wears a hard hat that he is qualified to operate a crane at a construction site. Granted, there are exceptions. But the companies themselves like Regal and Kerasotes (and likely AMC as well) sure seem not care about putting on a good presentation for their customers from what I am seeing and hearing about. Has any effort been made to improve the flaws? Not that I've seen. At least not in the Denver area. If you live here, you have maybe 3 theater options to see a quality presentation, otherwise just wait for the DVD.

I challenge Regal, Kerasotes and AMC (and Cinemark as well, but nobody I know ever goes there) to improve their presentations. If they can do that, I will make sure it is known by all how good they can really be. The potential is there, you just need the effort and qualified employees with proper training. Once you get a good employee, pay them to stay.

Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 07-23-2009, 05:23 PM:

I count myself lucky that both Regal and Cinemark generally (and consistently) do a good job here. I'm talking presentation basics: Show starts in frame, no "oops, countdown leader", image is bright & focused, masking & lenses correct, scratch-free prints with very minimal dirt. They meet those basic presentation standards most of the time. Why can they do it here but not in other markets? As usual it probably comes down to district & local management. Someone has to care.

Somebody at Regal is paying attention to this board because the local Regal 15 staff seems to know I post here about their theater. A while back I posted something about the sound on one of their Flashback movies starting in stereo but switching to mono (Lost Boys), and the next time I was there for a Flashback show (Jaws), a Regal employee approached me out of the clear blue and said she was sorry I didn't think Lost Boys was up to par, that they had screened it in advance and decided to play it in mono because they thought it was overall better sound quality. She also spoke to the audience before the show, pointed out that the Jaws print had good color and digital sound (unlike some of the other Flashback prints they've gotten). So anyway, here in Eugene at least, someone is paying attention.

Posted by Bill Enos (Member # 440) on 07-23-2009, 05:59 PM:

Problems are unusual at the Regals in this area too. It must be the thin high altitude air in Denver.

Posted by James Westbrook (Member # 3690) on 07-23-2009, 06:38 PM:

Is the Harkins location one of the 3 better places to see a movie in the Denver MSA? Or is this one an unknown?
I have a friend who frequents the Harkins and the Century in Aurora, but is not "presentation savvy".

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 07-23-2009, 08:12 PM:

Well, you know now who's gonna be on the priority list for full digital conversions...

Posted by Claude S. Ayakawa (Member # 1401) on 07-23-2009, 08:35 PM:

I do not frequent movie theatres anymore like I used to but when I do, I am very fortunate to have excellent theatres here in Honolulu I can count on for flawless presentation by both Reading International's Consolidated Theatres and Regal. I was once told by someone that Reading International will run Consolidated Theatres down the toilet when they take over the company from Pacific Theatres but I am very happy to say that has not happened. In fact Reading has done wonders for the company by continuing to operate the theatres in the same manner Pacific did. On top of that, Reading has installed Dolby Digital 3-D in three of their houses and plan to add more in the not too distant future. The local Regal houses are also outstanding and do a fantastic job with their film and digital presentations in both IMAX and Real D.

-Claude

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 07-23-2009, 09:14 PM:

I will say that I've noticed an increase in scratched/damaged used prints since we started receiving our Deluxe prints from the Denver depot. I can only assume they must be coming from local theatres there. Sad. The worst part is, usually prints are on tight circuits and we don't get them till Friday, leaving no time for a test screening or a replacement to be shipped.

Joe - is there any one company that stands out as being generally better than the rest? Or do they all uniformly suck?

Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 07-23-2009, 09:23 PM:

quote: Joe Redifer
I challenge Regal, Kerasotes and AMC (and Cinemark as well, but nobody I know ever goes there) to improve their presentations.

I can confirm, at least as of a couple of years ago, that the Cinemarks in Fort Collins and Greeley are absolute disasters, particularly when it comes to sound, presentation-wise.

The best thing about the Denver market movie-wise is that's it's halfway between Wichita and Salt Lake.

Posted by Michael McGovern (Member # 4807) on 07-23-2009, 10:34 PM:

It seems to me that before Regal consolidated nearly every chain in the country, just about every building would have at least 2 or 3 full time employees whose job was exclusively to run the projection booth. They were the ones building and tearing down prints, preforming maintenance, and doing trailer work. Once everybody everywhere came under the Regal banner however, that all changed. Regal does not have the term "Projectionist" anywhere in their corporate lingo. They have "Managers" who have a variety of different job functions, one of which includes "Booth operation". When this happened, many very skilled projectionists were essentially forced out because they didn't have the skills or the desire to preform management functions outside of the booth.

In their place Regal trains all newly hired or promoted management in the bare necessities on how to operate the projection booth, which includes threading, and splicing. I've seen buildings with scratched prints, where the person running the projection booth isn't even able to recognize the fact that the print is scratched. Regal does have a program designed to train projectionists on how to preform just about every essential projection task including threading, build ups, bulb changes, and belt changes, but from my experience working there, and still from what I hear from people working there today, the program is poorly implemented and not really enforced all that well.

The reason you will see all these scratched prints, and sound problems at Regal, AMC, Carmike, etc. is that for the most part the people operating the booths at these places are ignorant of them, and even if they are aware of them, all three companies pay so poorly that they cannot get skilled people to work there, and those that are skilled and dedicated don't stick around for long. Here in Connecticut for example, when I last worked for Regal, the average hourly wage for management was somewhere around 9.50 an hour, circus peanuts really, and certainly not enough money for anyone to seriously live on, so that's why you end up with booth monkeys operating projection, because only a college kid looking for spending cash could afford to work at these places.

Another problem is that all the companies depend on their Technical crew to take care of routine maintenance, and major repairs. Unfortunately the technicians are almost always overworked, and spread far too thin, as one technician could have anywhere from 20-40 theaters they are responsible for, so in most cases, unless you are off screen, most problems just end up lingering. Rollers don't get changed until the plastic literally erodes, speakers remain damaged until the movie can no longer be heard properly, and broken equipment remains that way until someone finally gives up and tries to figure out how to repair it themselves.

Now don't get me wrong, there are still a lot of good, hard working, skilled projectionists out there working for Regal, and the rest, but for the most part, those days are long gone.

The ultimate goal of Regal, AMC, Carmike, etc., within the next 2 years, is to completely eliminate anyone from even having to be in the projection booth at all. All digital locations are only a few years off, and once that happens, a lot of us will be changing careers.

Posted by Sam King (Member # 4029) on 07-24-2009, 01:30 AM:

There are prints of JAWS out there with digital sound?!?!?

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 07-24-2009, 01:37 AM:

quote: James Westbrook
Is the Harkins location one of the 3 better places to see a movie in the Denver MSA?

I've only been there once and I seem to recall them having issues. However that was so long ago that I can't hold it against them now. So it is "unknown" for now.

quote: Mike Blakesley
Joe - is there any one company that stands out as being generally better than the rest?

That's really hard to say. I generally like Regal better than Kerasotes on average as far as presentation (with the exception of the Kerasotes Bowles Crossing 12 which far exceeds any local Regal), although the actual physical Kerasotes buildings/auditoriums blow away those that Regal owns/builds. They are close to a tie, I think. I don't know much about Cinemark, but a projectionist that is currently bothering Regal was trained at the Cinemark Bel Mar and all he does is scratch prints and cause havoc. AMC is good... if you go to their all-digital complex. Otherwise they are simply mediocre.

That's mainly all we have here. Harkins only has one theater. Landmark is dogshit on a stick, but I'd never watch the types of movies that they show. But the prints we sometimes get from them aren't very pretty. Regency has one theater in the Denver area (mine) that is about as good as that location can get, considering when it was built (it is a 70's mall theater). Nobody in town has cleaner prints than we do and that is a guarantee unless we get a used one that is crazy-dirty like we did once from Kerasotes (I rejected it). There are a couple of dinner theaters that I don't really know too much about as well.

quote: Michael McGovern
Here in Connecticut for example, when I last worked for Regal, the average hourly wage for management was somewhere around 9.50 an hour, circus peanuts really

That's what it seems to be around here as well, though 9.50 is the high end. We pay more than any Regal (even for floorstaff), and our ticket prices are a bit lower as well.

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 07-24-2009, 02:19 AM:

quote: Joe Redifer
and our ticket prices are a bit lower as well.

I.E., your company has some great marketing/community skills that can bring the masses in to where the increase of wages isn't a large factor in the operation's budget.

Sounds like your company should be an icon for the whole community to appreciate and to take example from...

-monte

Posted by Jesse Skeen (Member # 586) on 07-24-2009, 05:25 AM:

quote: David Stambaugh
that they had screened it in advance and decided to play it in mono because they thought it was overall better sound quality

That should be the stupidest thing I've ever heard in my life, but I've probably heard even stupider.

Film is bad because it gets scratched- that's why digital is better [Razz]

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 07-24-2009, 06:17 AM:

Possible cause for the Regal sound issue mentioned above:

Lost Boys should be Dolby A (there might also be mono prints). I can imagine that someone might have tried to play it in Dolby SR, (correctly) determined that it sounded bad, and then switched to mono and (correctly) determined that it sounded better. Obviously, the operator should have known that a film of that vintage would not be SR, but at least he listened to the sound and tried to make things better.

I have occasionally attended these sorts of repertory screenings at multiplexes, and it seems to be quite common to play mono or Dolby A prints in the wrong sound format, at least until I complain.

Joe--do you not have any good independent houses near you? In my market, I can tell you that there are a few very good people in the exhibition business, but that few (still) work for the major chains.

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 07-24-2009, 09:28 AM:

It's very sad and has been very self destructive for the commercial movie theater business to eliminate full time projectionist positions. Overall the commercial movie theater business just doesn't seem to care very much about presentation quality even though it is central to the product they are selling. I think the corporate dudes calling the shots have the belief the only thing that matters is the concessions sales in the lobby.

We've been lucky here with our Carmike location only because the manager knows how to work on a lot of mechanical things and isn't afraid or resistant to learning new things. He's worked in radio broadcasting and is pretty good with electronics work. Those talents have also come in handy overcoming some of the kinks in getting the digital systems running properly. Someone at the theater has to be observant enough to notice problems and then be insistent enough to get them fixed, whether a tech comes there to get it done or if the manager has to fix it himself. The sad thing is more theaters than not just live with a certain technical issue and accept that as the new "normal."

quote: Joe Redifer
I've only been there once and I seem to recall them having issues. However that was so long ago that I can't hold it against them now. So it is "unknown" for now.

You haven't been back to that particular "Cine Capris" since watching the beginning of The Wicker Man?

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 07-24-2009, 10:05 AM:

quote: Scott Norwood
Joe--do you not have any good independent houses near you?

Yeah, I work for 'em. We are half mainstream, half artsy-fartsy. The other independents are the dinner theaters. I did check out one in Aurora before it opened (Movie Tavern I think it is called), but I was less than impressed for their plans in the booth. They were to have 7+ projectionists all getting paid very little. I didn't figure that would work out so well. There is also a dinner theater in Thornton who I guess is some sort of subsidiary of Regal or something very odd. They are almost always hunting for a projectionist on Craigslist.

quote: Bobby Henderson
You haven't been back to that particular "Cine Capris" since watching the beginning of The Wicker Man?

Is that what it was? And nope, I haven't. It is not very conveniently located, and I doubt they' let me call in passes.

Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 07-24-2009, 10:15 AM:

quote:
There are prints of JAWS out there with digital sound?!?!?

Absolutely. The Regal person said the print they received was struck around 2000 or 2001 (I can't remember exactly, sometime around then). It was in pretty good condition except for the extreme ends of the reels, which were pretty rough, missing frames, missing dialog. Definitely played in digital (mostly).

Posted by Aaron Garman (Member # 1653) on 07-24-2009, 10:42 AM:

quote: Bobby Henderson
It's very sad and has been very self destructive for the commercial movie theater business to eliminate full time projectionist positions. Overall the commercial movie theater business just doesn't seem to care very much about presentation quality even though it is central to the product they are selling. I think the corporate dudes calling the shots have the belief the only thing that matters is the concessions sales in the lobby.

I agree totally, but in a way the blame goes the the studios and distributors that charge an arm and a leg to even get the films, and then don't share in the profits. This totally screws up the business model and forces any cinema to make money only on food, and thus more care is given to this because it is literally their bread and butter. Sad, yes, but I blame the chains too for not being tougher in negotiating with the studios for sharing of those ticket sales, or just not showing their crappy films.

DCinema is set to change that model slightly by reducing film rental costs, and for the average movie goer and chain, a better presentation. Of course, it didn't have to be this way but in the end, more money could be made. DCinema for a megaplex just makes sense, even if it doesn't look as good as 35mm or 70mm. The average auditorium, with a moderately well run theatre with a mildly competent staff can pull off a respectable theatre going experience for the average movie goer easier with DCinema than any film based system. This is what the chains want: automation, simplicity, and to some extent quality. I'm sure a lot of the "suits" would not like the piss poor presentation some of their theatres put out, but the problem is none of them have probably even seen what it's like on the front lines. That is, they have no clue how bad some places have gotten.

Solution? As much as I love film, it just isn't as economically or logistically feasible for a megaplex run on a small, basically trained staff with film based systems compared to DCinema. I think film still has a place in cinemas, but only cinemas that are going to take the care to present it right. It's a disgrace to the medium to present film poorly when DCinema can achieve "similar" results in the average multiplex.

Don't get me wrong though, I love film and would gladly choose film done right over DCinema done right anyday.

AJG

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 07-24-2009, 06:47 PM:

quote: Aaron Garman
DCinema is set to change that model slightly by reducing film rental costs

That's not true. From what I hear, "film" rent is the same with a digital print or a film print. DC is not saving the theatre owner anything that I can see, except maybe a small amount of labor.

Posted by Geoff Jones (Member # 3668) on 07-24-2009, 09:34 PM:

In years past, this thread would have really upset me. Fortunately they have stopped making movies worth seeing, so it really doesn't matter anymore, does it?

Since moving back to the Denver area a year ago (after living in NorCal for 14 years), I've seen a few movies at the Continental and a few at the newer AMC plexes up in the NE side of town. I loved that they kept the large screen at the Continental, but I agree that the stadium retrofit was a waste of money. There were a few small problems with the presentations, but nothing worse than the theatres in Northern California.

I saw two films at the Harkins. Quantum of Solace was on the big Cine-Capri screen (which IS NOT was big as the Continental, despite their daily ads proclaiming otherwise) and the presentation was a touch soft, but otherwise without problem. Monsters vs. Aliens was on a smaller screen, which had a mar on it near the middle. It was unpleasantly dark, but I assume that was because of the 3D.

The two movies I was most looking forward to this year (Bruno & Up) were both only ok. The only other films I have much interest in are Avatar, Toy Story, & Toy Story 2. Unfortunately, it looks like I'll be stuck watching the TS films in 3D. [Frown]

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 07-25-2009, 01:39 AM:

quote: Mike Blakesley
That's not true. From what I hear, "film" rent is the same with a digital print or a film print. DC is not saving the theatre owner anything that I can see, except maybe a small amount of labor.

There's the TRUE MOTIVE behind digital cinema: saving the movie distributors lots of money by getting rid of film prints. They charge the same "rent" to show the movie, but without the $1000-$3000 cost for the print.

Senior management at major theater chains are also turned on big time by the idea of having the projection booth of a multiplex run remotely via automation. The chiefs in the board room shout, "we could have some guys in, um, the freaking Philippines run our 2000 projectors from just one outsourced control room! Our stock price will roar to new highs over all the employees we can cut! Downsizing? More like fucking right sizing!"

The big problem with that hands off scenario is stuff is going to break and fail regardless of whether the booth is running film or "digital." The theater's in person staff must be populated with at least a few people who are technically competent to notice projection and sound problems and be able to deal with major problems. Such capability will be lost in a totally automated environment.

Posted by Aaron Garman (Member # 1653) on 07-25-2009, 02:49 AM:

quote:
The chiefs in the board room shout, "we could have some guys in, um, the freaking Philippines run our 2000 projectors from just one outsourced control room!

Gosh they do this already with temperature control. I know when I was at a certain Texas based chain, they put in digital thermostats and also took control away from us on climate controls. Try telling a sweet old lady that you can't make it warmer because the controls aren't even local! We were trained to just tell them we'd fix it.

Albeit the new thermostats worked better, when it did become a problem, we were screwed.

I think that there always has to be someone technically inclined and competent in a booth, even a digital one, to fix any random things that could arise. Totally automating a booth from thousands of miles away would just lead to catastrophic failure.

AJG

Posted by Darryl Spicer (Member # 711) on 07-25-2009, 12:34 PM:

quote:
I know when I was at a certain Texas based chain they put in digital thermostats and also took control away from us on climate controls.

Not anymore...we have access codes to enter the system and change the temp. It is a temporary change that resets after a period of time. I guess they got tired of us calling them all the time to ask them to reset the temperture.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 07-25-2009, 01:36 PM:

Local temperature control is a must, but you have to look at this from varying standpoints. First, it has been proven repeatedly that most of the time when you give a manager direct control that the electric bill will increase noticeably. This is because few managers actually understand how to program them and they end up running the units all night. Second, by giving the managers local control for a "temporary override", you are giving them the power to immediately make a change to satisfy a customer, but you are preventing that change from becoming a permanent issue...again jacking up the electric bill. Third, if a manager has to constantly adjust a certain auditorium all of a sudden, that should be an alert to them that there is most probably something wrong and whoever is monitoring their HVAC systems should inspect and possibly call out a serviceman (assuming whoever is in charge of remote monitoring isn't already keeping track of this).

This isn't saying there aren't spectacular and fully knowledgeable managers out there, just that it isn't the norm...just like how most projectionists these days suck at their job. In a chain environment though, removing HVAC control up to the point of only giving a 3 hour override of +/- 5 degrees is the smartest thing a corporate office can do in this area of the building.

And as far as remotely running digital theaters, since Film-Tech Cinema Systems is the only company that is TRULY doing this at present, you guys should get your facts straight before you start making false statements. We have had zero problems and we can quite literally control EVERYTHING remotely...MUCH more than the Access IT/Christie NOC...and we are constantly working to improve the product even further each month. The manager's only responsibility is to plug in the hard drives received from the studios once a week and dust the place for cobwebs. The entire second floor, as well as building lighting, HVAC and energy management run off of our systems that works off of whatever the manager has entered into the ticketing system. The manager can even move movies around between the auditoriums in his POS system and our system will follow whatever the auditorium/movie/start time assignments are with a mere 8 minute warning time.

Now some other company is bound to come along and try to replicate what we have already achieved. Maybe they will be successful or maybe their efforts will end in downtime and problem after problem, but to date the only system out there that can do this is ours. As such your statements that a completely automated booth monitored remotely is or will be a disaster, well you are flat out wrong.

Posted by Lyle Romer (Member # 1266) on 07-25-2009, 02:32 PM:

On the temperature control issue, GCC had remote temp control in the early 90's. Everything was controlled from some central office somewhere and we would have a temporary override that could go up or down a limited amount. Any further adjustment, we'd have to call the central office.

When temperature is locally controlled completely you tend to get ice cold auditoriums because that's how the staff likes it when they are working hard and cleaning.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 07-25-2009, 02:41 PM:

I wonder how theaters made any kind of profit when they actually had, y'know, employees? Did no theater ever make money up until now? No matter what kind of profit anyone makes, it is never, ever enough. More more MOAR!

That's the attitude of most chains these days, I feel.

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 07-25-2009, 03:18 PM:

I'm sure there's already plans on the drawing board for theaters with little to no employees. Not too difficult to dream up such a plan.

The box office could be a credit/debit card system that spits out tickets to customers. The customers then use the tickets to get through turn stiles or computer controlled gates. The snack counter is all self serve via a grandiose automated vending machine system. No one is upstairs in the booth since it is running all by itself.

But then what does one do about cleaning auditoriums between shows? Maybe someone could invent an industrial version of the Roomba vacuum, perhaps one that can suck up sticky soda as well as spilled popcorn. I don't know what can be done about picking up drink cups left behind in cup holders or other trash left behind in the seats. Ultimately the dream is having subcontractors visit the theater once a night to collect the accumulated garbage.

What about security? With video camera technology improving while costs continue to fall one could equip a theater with lots of cameras throughout the complex, even infrared cameras in the auditoriums. Anything from disruptions to outright crimes gets recorded.

Posted by Aaron Garman (Member # 1653) on 07-26-2009, 02:59 AM:

Great news Darryl! I also agree about auditoriums that used to get cooled to suit the cleaning crew. I tried to stop that as much as I could.

As for remote control, I believe that it can work, and that it can work fairly flawlessly. But I still feel that there has to be a human element to presenting film. Maybe it's me clinging onto that idea of the showman, unwilling to give up the art of presenting film to machines. Woa, am I becoming old fashioned?

Brad, that system sounds wicked awesome though.

AJG

Posted by Frank Bruno (Member # 1871) on 07-26-2009, 04:39 AM:

D-cinema argument aside, weren't the Jerry Lewis Theatres designed to be run by one or two employees, down to vending machines in lieu of concession stands? I've heard of them, but not much.

Posted by Richard P. May (Member # 3598) on 07-26-2009, 11:27 AM:

The Jerry Lewis Theaters were set up to run 16mm. Prints were not made available until much later than 35mm release, and the unattended operation didn't accomplish anything.

DM

Posted by Mitchell Dvoskin (Member # 751) on 07-26-2009, 02:49 PM:

The Jerry Lewis Theaters were set up to run 16mm

No. At least here in northern NJ, all the Jerry Lewis Cinemas were set up for 35mm, some with 6000' reels and automated changeovers, others with EPRAD SABRE systems. Somewhere or other I have some Jerry Lewis operation and projection manuals, which contain no reference to 16mm.

The Jerry Lewis Cinemas were designed to run with very little staff, automated projectors and combined concession and ticketing.

There are two separate threads here at Film-Tech dedicated to the Jerry Lewis Cinemas. For those who are interested, use the search feature.

Posted by Claude S. Ayakawa (Member # 1401) on 07-26-2009, 02:56 PM:

Honolulu had one or two Jerry Lewis Cinemas but they were not in business too long in my area. I recall going to the one in Kailua on the windward side of Oahu once and as far as I remember the film presentation was not great but decent and I believe they had first run showings.

-Claude

Posted by Kenneth Wuepper (Member # 1174) on 07-26-2009, 06:14 PM:

I believe that the theatres that used 16mm were Trans-Lux In-flight. We had one of those here in Saginaw. They had a Norelco Projector. It was moved from the booth to the stage when the theatre became an improv comedy club.

That property is now closed and listed for sale.

KEN

Posted by Bill Enos (Member # 440) on 07-26-2009, 06:49 PM:

There was a J.L. Cinema here, it ran 16mm. I never saw it but some people I know lived only a couple blocks from it said the place was a dump as was the presentation. It was open for about two months in a storefront in an older strip mall.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 07-26-2009, 08:30 PM:

quote: Brad Miller
As such your statements that a completely automated booth monitored remotely is or will be a disaster, well you are flat out wrong.

Pretty hard to predict that "will be" part though.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 07-27-2009, 01:41 AM:

I don't give a shit about Jerry Lewis. What has he ever done for Denver? Nothing (yes, I can hear you all out there searching Google for something positive that JL has done for Denver so you can post a link here to prove me wrong. Forget it. Nobody cares). But I bet his theaters had a better presentation and far more professionalism than many theaters in Denver do.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 07-27-2009, 01:43 AM:

Mike, I took that as anyone who would try to do it would be a disaster. Obviously only Joe has the ability to predict the future, but with these DLP projectors if something breaks on them that costs shows, it is pretty much a tech call anyway since it isn't going to be a mechanical failure that many gearheads in the building could diagnose and repair.

Posted by Darryl Spicer (Member # 711) on 07-27-2009, 12:01 PM:

Only issues I have had on our one Christie unit is a blower fan in the back go out but we were able to keep the show going by tying down the paddle to allow the bulb to strike. The exhaust is strong enough on this one to pull the heat out. New fan came in the next day and I installed it and everything was fine.

The Doremi had an issue with one of it's power stick fans that was causing the picture to stutter on the screen. Solution was to unplug the faulty power stick and run off the other one. (there are two power sticks) Replaced the faulty power stick when it arrived. Pretty simple repairs for me.

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 07-28-2009, 03:21 AM:

quote: Darryl Spicer
Pretty simple repairs for me

You're lucky so far .. pretty simple mechanical repairs - like changing a spark plug with a cracked porcelain tower - still can work broke, but needs to be fixed.

Wait until the light engine and/or mo-board starts to have hiccups. Then, we'll have to call up the "Geek Squad" to help us out (maybe we can look over their shoulders and learn what they do..like we used to do when RCA techs would come around on their quarterly visits to tune/balance an old exciter setup and change out exciter bulbs...), - learn from them so we can be smart as them an fix our own problems and leave them 'white shirts' at home.

-Monte

Posted by Michael McGovern (Member # 4807) on 07-28-2009, 11:51 AM:

Have you ever been around when they need to call Sony or Christie techs to come repair digital projectors? Those guys are so secretive they don't even want people in the same room with them while they're doing repairs, let alone looking over their shoulder.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 07-28-2009, 12:19 PM:

That's probably because

A. they don't want people watching and then "thinking" they know how to service the machines, thus causing more service work for them.

B. it is annoying to have people standing over you while you are trying to concentrate on your work.

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 07-28-2009, 12:41 PM:

can I add "C." ? Simply called "job security" - you know something that someone don't.

Someone learning their trade so they'll begin to lose customers..and eventually their job.

Posted by Brian Guckian (Member # 1678) on 08-03-2009, 11:31 AM:

Job security even for these guys? Don't count on it!

quote: Bobby Henderson
It's very sad and has been very self destructive for the commercial movie theater business to eliminate full time projectionist positions.

quote:
I wonder how theaters made any kind of profit when they actually had, y'know, employees? Did no theater ever make money up until now? No matter what kind of profit anyone makes, it is never, ever enough. More more MOAR!

Having almost eliminated labour, the next cost item is going to be energy consumption, as oil supplies start to dwindle and costs start to climb. Hard to see how to overcome that one, so waves of theatre closures could occur in the future simply because the buildings become much too expensive to run.

Posted by Martin McCaffery (Member # 37) on 08-03-2009, 12:04 PM:

quote:
Did no theater ever make money up until now? No matter what kind of profit anyone makes, it is never, ever enough. More more MOAR!

At least a good part of it is the difference between a privately held company and a public corporation. When you are answering to investors who are always willing to move their money somewhere it is going to make .05% more return, you always have to be growing--until you collapse. Look at all the behemoth chains that have disappeared or gone into bankruptcy protection since the mid-80's.

Back in the vertical integration days, profits were fungible within the company. Single screen cinemas in regional chains were able to compete without a winner take all mentality. Now, with megaplexes, everything in your path must be crushed in order for you to survive.

It's kinda fun to watch, as long as you can stay out of the way;>

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 08-03-2009, 12:52 PM:

quote: Brian Guckian
Having almost eliminated labour, the next cost item is going to be energy consumption, as oil supplies start to dwindle and costs start to climb. Hard to see how to overcome that one, so waves of theatre closures could occur in the future simply because the buildings become much too expensive to run.

That is precisely why our automations have energy-management built right into them. [Cool]

Posted by Chris Hipp (Member # 1788) on 08-03-2009, 05:01 PM:

I can only think of a couple people in this world that have TRUE job security...one is named Warren Buffet, and I won't mention the other one.

Posted by Cameron Glendinning (Member # 3516) on 08-03-2009, 07:15 PM:

I have heard that Warren Buffet puts on a good show.

I wonder if he would invest in cinemas with his down to earth investment strategy?

Posted by Geoff Jones (Member # 3668) on 08-14-2009, 11:31 PM:

I saw District 9 on the Giant Screen at the Continental tonight at 7pm. The 35mm presentation was sharp, focused, bright and decently framed. Audio was excellent.

After several visits, I have to agree that the stadium retrofit made seating and sight angles less comfortable than before.

The really bad news: According to staff, the Flasthback series won't be returning to the Continental. Instead, it'll be at the new Regal River Point STADIUM 14.

Reportedly, the manager who was responsible for the series moved to that theatre, and took it with him. Regal thinks it will bring more attention to their new cinema, and that Denver isn't big enough for two Flashback Series.

I would think they could save a fair amount on shipping costs by sharing it between cinemas (Tuesday night at one and Wednesday at another), and I'm fairly confident they wouldn't cannibalize on each other's ticket sales because Regal does such a piss-poor job of advertising the series.

The only films I've seen in the theatre in 2009 that I would pay to see again were part of that Flashback Series. It sucks that they won't be on the Giant Screen any more. [Frown]

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 08-25-2009, 03:12 AM:

Wow, the Regal Riverpoint 14 in Sheridan, CO is full of incompetence. They scratch prints left and right. Their audio is always very painful, even after asking them to turn it down (assuming they actually do it). Tons of lab splices in their prints (counted 6 in Inglourious Basterds). The employees of this theater seemingly cannot handle running a movie theater properly.

They scratched more prints of Harry Potter than can be counted, constantly scratching their replacement prints as well and even building them up "backwards" causing many refunds to be issued until it could be fixed. How embarrassing for them.

Tonight, two minutes after the advertised start time of the show I watched, the masking comes down for scope, but the movie doesn't start. I turn around and watch the button pusher (can't call them "projectionists", for sure) is bumbling around with the projector. He was rethreading it for whatever reason. A few minutes later he restarts it and of course it is out of frame. The audio was ear-bleeding and naturally the print was scratched (though on this one it was only the last hour or so that was scratched).

What is even more embarrassing about this location is that the district offices are in the building. You think that would make them want to put on a better show just in case, you know, the DM happens to be around. And I imagine that he always is. Maybe he doesn't care about doing the job right, either. The theater manager sure doesn't seem to. The button pushers definitely don't. I get so frustrated when I see movies at this theater because of the shitty job that they do. It is embarrassing for them to be outclassed by a crappy old mall theater built in 1977 (and sometimes substantially outgrossed on like titles, too).

Do not visit the Regal Riverpoint 14. Go elsewhere (you don't have many good choices around this town) or wait for the DVD. They do not want your business or otherwise they would put on a better show! They really, honestly do not care here.

Posted by Geoff Jones (Member # 3668) on 08-25-2009, 08:50 AM:

C'mon, Joe, haven't you figured it out yet? The fact that the district office is right there is WHY the presentation sucks so much.

[Smile]

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 08-25-2009, 03:44 PM:

Ha ha yeah, but no.

Greenwood's presentation (where the district office used to be) is still pretty good considering. Not great, but definitely good. And this was before the offices were moved entirely. Also, I worked at Greenwood when the district was there. But back then they had projectionists instead of managers.

Posted by Geoff Jones (Member # 3668) on 08-30-2009, 02:50 PM:

Saw Inglourious Basterds at the Westminster Promenade at 6:50 in #20.

Screen was decent sized, but not huge. It was constant height, and nice to see the masking open up on the sides at the end of the pre-show crap [puke]

We sat in the lower, front section, and the slope/ sight lines were inadequate. The person in the row in front of us blocked our view.

35mm presentation was remarkably stable, as noted in the IB thread. However, the bottom 8th or so of the screen was quite dim (right around where the subtitles were). It was very obvious in the end credits, when the text scrolled up and became brighter.

Otherwise, projection and sound were very satisfactory.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 08-30-2009, 04:20 PM:

On the IB I saw most reels except for one were stable. One bobbed and weaved all over the place. Maybe about the same bob and weave as a typical non-Technicolor print these days.

And yes, reel 2 had the weird video glitch.

Do you work at a theater, Geoff?

Posted by Geoff Jones (Member # 3668) on 08-30-2009, 07:41 PM:

Nope, I work in video game design.

I worked at a theatre in TN in high school, back in 89.

Posted by Dylan Houdeshell (Member # 5415) on 09-02-2009, 08:21 PM:

Hey Joe, I know how you feel.

My theater is just a 30 minute drive from Denver. I have visited most of the theaters in the area and I too agree with you. My theater is owned by Kerasotes Theaters and we only have 3 people that work up in our booth. Me and 2 other guys who know what we are doing. It is very rare that we scratch a print, and our presentation is good for what we have (we have the oh so loved Christie projectors). We have had in the past, newbies screwing up our prints, which they should have never stepped thier foot in the booth alone in the first place. I feel that we run an excellent presentation here.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 09-02-2009, 10:47 PM:

Actually, I love the vintage of Christie equipment that you have. They may seem like a pain sometimes, but with a few tweaks and some TLC they are just awesome. Just be thankful you have what you do instead of what the Parker theater does. Both your theater and that one were built by Colorado Cinemas and the Parker got the shaft with all used projecton equipment of maybe 1970 vintage or so. Yuck!

Also, I find it hard to believe that only 3 people work in the booth. I thought everyone was supposed to run at least one set a week? If not, feel lucky. The more people in booth, the greater the chance for error. Also, do you have to thread into a basket and twist your film so that only the base side touches the rollers? I think Kerasote's bizarre booth policies are hurting it more than anything.

Posted by Dylan Houdeshell (Member # 5415) on 09-03-2009, 05:57 PM:

I did exagerate a little bit. There are 2 other people that have only one booth shift a week, but other than that it is just us 3.

As far as threading goes. They do make us use baskets, and no matter how rediculous we tell them it is, they still make us use them. We did used to have to twist the film so that only the base side of the film touched the rollers. There would be a total of 5 twists to do so. But thankfully we do not have to do that anymore. There was also some bad communication going on because everytime the head haunchos would come in we were always threading the wrong way or doing something wrong.

You sure know your stuff Joe. Have you been here before?

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 09-03-2009, 07:02 PM:

I haven't visited there myself yet, no. Saw pictures on Cinematour, though. And I know that if Kerasotes employees don't thread into the baskets, the GM of the theater gets written up and/or fired. No joke!

Posted by Dylan Houdeshell (Member # 5415) on 09-03-2009, 07:41 PM:

Yep. They have threatened many times. Which is why we dont really have a choice