Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Security gone mad?

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Posted by Thomas Pitt (Member # 4322) on 06-05-2010, 02:21 AM:

On Tuesday, some theaters in the UK had a special advance preview screening of the new Shrek 4 movie in 3D (it's not officially released until July 2nd). When I went to see it, I was surprised by the huge security presence there! I got my bag checked twice - once by the ticket collector, and again by some muscular security guards outside the auditorium. There was even a security guard who stayed in the auditorium throughout the movie, occasionally looking for cameras using night vision goggles. I'm surprised I wasn't frisked, with all the security going on!

I also had to switch off my cellphone (an iPhone) and show the security guard that it was switched off before I could enter.

I guess they didn't think about the fact that camcorder copies of the movie would be all blurry (unless they put a 3D polariser in front of the lens). Any of you experienced security 'gone mad' at your theater?

Posted by Christopher Crouch (Member # 3784) on 06-05-2010, 06:16 AM:

That sounds like many of the advanced screenings I've been involved with. Some studios will even send someone out to sit in booth while the print is onsite. I've seen some screenings (usually Disney) where the security team utilizes metal detecting wands on patrons.

Posted by Mark J. Marshall (Member # 1409) on 06-05-2010, 08:47 AM:

Pretty soon everyone will have to watch the movie naked.

Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 06-05-2010, 08:54 AM:

Rated PG13??? Louis

Posted by Demetris Thoupis (Member # 833) on 06-05-2010, 11:37 AM:

Very advanced screenings do have this type of security measures. At least in Cine Expo that is a standard procedure.
Demetris

Posted by Mark J. Marshall (Member # 1409) on 06-05-2010, 01:24 PM:

Watching naked?

Posted by Bruce Hansen (Member # 281) on 06-05-2010, 07:20 PM:

quote: Mark J. Marshall
Pretty soon everyone will have to watch the movie naked.

But then, no one will be watching the movie.

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 06-05-2010, 08:09 PM:

Fox wanted to have their security people "wand" patrons on one of their sneaks that we were running. We accepted all the other stuff -- the security guard carrying the print up to the booth (he refused to my offer to put it on the winch so it could be motor-hoisted up the six flights -- that's right, no elevator -- I thought, "OK, it's your back; have at it if you must), then having him sit there in the booth & watching me run the show, looking at whatever it is he was supposed to be look for. Also we let the guys with night goggles in the theatre, but when it came to the wand business, I just said, no way. I refused to let them wand my patrons -- it was out of the question.

They run sneaks with us because of the college population; it's a marketing tool for them. So, either you want to market it bad enough to forego the wand crap or they find some other venue to run their movie. Sorry, we don't treat our patrons like criminals. I told them I understood their concern, so if they really wanted to search for hidden video cameras or whatever the eff they think is going to be used to "steal" their movie, then I was perfectly OK with them bringing in those walk-through detectors that they use at the airports, but nothing as intimate an invasion of personal space as wanding is. They capitulated; no wanding.

quote: Thomas Pitt
I also had to switch off my cellphone (an iPhone) and show the security guard that it was switched off before I could enter.

So I guess once he sees you turn it off, there would be no way you would be able to turn it back on in the theatre, eh?

Sheer silliness.

Posted by Jake Spell (Member # 5294) on 06-05-2010, 09:11 PM:

I was thinking the same thing Frank.

I have seen 2 early screenings, one of Borat, and the other of Dear John

The Borat screening had 2 security gaurds there to check the college kids watching(this was a deal with a local college) and they wanded everyone.

The Dear John screening was a much bigger deal. There were 2 people from Sony Pictures, on tech and the organizer of screening. And a tech from Dolby was also there. As for the security there was someone on site from the point the cans arrived till they left the building. During the show there were 2 guards in the theater with nigh vision, one in the booth, and two roaming the theater. There was no wanding because it was a charity event with very high ticket prices ($100 to $200 if I remember correctly)

Posted by Jonathan Althaus (Member # 5042) on 06-05-2010, 09:48 PM:

We held a screening of Stop Loss for all armed forces personnel and a pair of Paramount (i think it was paramount) guards watched me build, run, and teardown. I wasn't allowed to even look at the screen and was questioned about my building methods.

Posted by Mark J. Marshall (Member # 1409) on 06-05-2010, 10:05 PM:

Sorry, but if I can't look at the screen I don't think I'm running it.

Why do the most outrageous security protocols get put in place for the movies that practically no one gives a shit about?

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 06-05-2010, 10:30 PM:

quote: Jake Spell
There was no wanding because it was a charity event with very high ticket prices ($100 to $200 if I remember correctly)

Ahh....and the assumption here is that rich people and the hoity-toity crowd don't steal things, eh? Eat me.

Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 06-06-2010, 05:36 AM:

quote: Jonathan Althaus
I wasn't allowed to even look at the screen

Sorry...but how fucking stupid. You're the projectionist for goodness sake. What...do you have an HDMI or USB outlet somewhere on you?

I did an advance screening of AUSTRALIA a few weeks before it was released. Security was rampant...Cell phones had to be checked in and there were security guards with night goggles looking at our guests. Not once...not ONCE did they say a WORD about the camera mounted on the front of the booth for my monitoring purposes observing the entire movie.

Movie security is an entire industry created by executives who want to be seen to be doing something, but in reality couldn't give a shit. They know it'll be on DVD in three months anyway and copied from a screener before it's even released to the theatres.

Posted by Dominic Espinosa (Member # 2122) on 06-06-2010, 10:51 AM:

I see the pattern too...Crappy movies, excessive security. Weird.

Before a screening of LETTERS TO JULIET this spring I had to check my bag (because I have a laptop) and my cell phone with security personnel who had no sense of personal space. It was quite frustrating. The funny thing was the laptop is what they told me the bag had to be checked in for -- never mind the camera in the side pocket of the bag!

I guess cellphone-to-laptop-to-3g piracy straight from the auditorium has become a problem, eh?

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 06-06-2010, 11:29 AM:

quote: Jonathan Althaus
We held a screening of Stop Loss for all armed forces personnel and a pair of Paramount (i think it was paramount) guards watched me build, run, and teardown. I wasn't allowed to even look at the screen and was questioned about my building methods.

I don't mind if the guy comes upstairs and sits in a designated chair next to the rewind bench while the movie is being built up and sits in a designated chair by the projector, but the minute he starts telling me how to assemble the print or run the booth (or interferes with other screens because he is wandering around bored), he is escorted out of the building or I cut the film...his choice.

Seriously, I have had these morons jump on me because I was using a frame counter on a dark reel change. Even if that frame counter DID have bootlegging capability, I only ran a few feet of the 12,000 foot movie through it! I have also had a guy freak out on me because I was rewinding a reel that came in backwards. These goons need to learn to use their tiny little brains and think about things before they speak and prove how little they know about the job they were hired to do.

The latest thing with digital screenings is for the security guy to "watch us delete the content". There are SOOOOO many ways around this if someone wanted to.

*Delete the playlist.
*Delete a trailer for the movie.
*Delete the feature content from the library (its still on the servers).
*Delete the feature content from the server (its still on the library).
*Delete the feature content from the server AND the library (its still on every other screen if I so wanted it to be).
*Offload the content to a personal USB drive (which can be done through the network, via a laptop, remote FTP...lots of ways dipshit security goon would have no way of knowing.
*Create a fake DCP with the proper title and delete over and over and over again.

Seriously any of these would work. We had one friendly security guy once and I kept screwing with him when the movie was over showing him how that aspect of his job was stupid. He didn't realize I was deleting a playlist, then he didn't know the difference between trailer and feature content, then he really thought I had deleted it after I deleted the feature content, only to show him the content on another server. Point proven. Next time I get a "we have to watch you delete this" I think I might delete the content on the physical DCP hard drive too before we give it back to him. After all that guy could be mugged by evildoers on his way back to the airport!!!

I'm sure there's more ways, but still its stupid. If the DCPs are encrypted and impossible to crack, there is no concern...and anyone who is smart enough to figure out HOW to crack it, will be WAY smarter than anyone the studio would send in to try and prevent it.

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 06-06-2010, 11:43 AM:

Oh no...I had an even stupider one than that...

This was a pre-pre-pre screening of a very rough cut...high time for security...right?

I had a reasonably nice guy with me in the booth. I was representing the studio and have had a long relationship with them so I was probably given much more slack than if I was treated as the local tech/operator but...

Okay so after the screening I had to delete the file...fine...so I asked what to do with the drive itself...the response "Leave it at the theatre, it will be picked up tomorrow!!!!!!!

If you trust the whole KDM thing...what is the deal with deleting the file anyway (other than you prevent a last minute screening/steal after the official screening is over. But if you leave the drive in the theatre...what is the point of deleting the file?

As for security gone mad...at one venue here...it isn't sufficient to turn off your cell phone...either leave it in your car or check it with the security officer...it will NOT be going in the theatre, period! Again, this venue normally done early pre-screenings.

Steve

Posted by Thomas Pitt (Member # 4322) on 06-06-2010, 03:36 PM:

More than once, at the Bradford Cineworld, I have had to 'check in' my bag and coat at the box office before I could go in, just for normal release movies!
They say it's mainly to stop people taking cameras in without having to security wand everyone or install a walk-through detector, but I think it's also to enforce their strict no outside food policy. You could easily hide your own food or drink in a bag or coat pocket.

The box office, while staffed at all times, just kept the bag and coat towards the back of the booth. The ticket seller was sitting with their back to it, and anyone could have sneaked in and taken it while they were serving a customer!

The pre-screening of Shrek 4 was the first time I've ever seen a big security presence at a local cinema, rather than the national premieres where movie stars are often present.

Posted by Tony Bandiera Jr (Member # 2365) on 06-08-2010, 02:29 PM:

Just ran a preview of "Cyrus" at UCI, it was a security screening. Luckily the crew realized what a cluster [sex]

it would be to take phones from everyone so we simply had a strict no-phones on policy with the threat of stopping the show. It worked quite well. They did wand everyone coming in though and I had a guy in the booth with the print the whole time.

One screening I did some time ago security even took MY phone from me during the show. (It did not have a camera.)

I do think the studios are incredibly stupid as all the "security screenings" do is piss off the customers who ultimately pay the bills.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 06-08-2010, 08:16 PM:

What's with the "guy in the booth with the print?" I can see having a guy to watch the film be broken down, since an unscrupulous projectionist could conceivably swap in some reels of old trailers for the print; but while the movie is playing right there on the screen, what possibly could happen?

This is almost as stupid as airport security. (Almost)

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 06-09-2010, 12:08 AM:

Mike, the first security screening I ever ran was for the Rocketeer. All I can figure is that they must have brainwashed the poor guy into thinking his family would be killed if he let that print out of his sight for 2 seconds. He was literally in a panic the entire evening and about halfway through the picture he was about to burst...literally. He had to pee incredibly bad, but he wouldn't leave the print. I had to point to him that there was a bathroom 10 FEET from the platter with the film and that there was no way anyone could steal the print or camcorder it mid-show. He stood there cringing and did not use the bathroom. I then told him I would go to the entry door of the booth and keep anyone coming up out so he could use the bathroom with the door open and watch the platter spin. He still refused.

I then went and grabbed our mop and walked over and handed it to him a few minutes later and said "mop up your own mess when you're done". With that he went into the bathroom and relieved himself.

The film was not pirated.

Idiots.

Posted by Ian Parfrey (Member # 5122) on 06-09-2010, 02:46 AM:

And all of this "security" does what? Absolutely nothing, thats what. All it does is make the studios publicly seen to be doing something, no matter how stupidly useless it is.

It's the Screeners. Maybe one day the studio suits will get the hint...IDIOTS!!!!

..and it hasn't even hit the cinemas yet.

Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 06-09-2010, 06:38 AM:

They know. . . . they are part of it.

Day/date release to home is the goal. Louis

Posted by Christopher Crouch (Member # 3784) on 06-09-2010, 07:49 AM:

One particular theatre I worked at, in the mid 90's, regularly hosted advanced and test screenings. On those occassions when a security guard or studio rep was required to stay in booth, it was somewhat rare that they actually payed attention to what was going on. In particular, I recall one guy that fell asleep for a good two hours and another that spent more time watching other movies from near bye port windows than supervising the film he was being paid to watch.

Posted by Ian Parfrey (Member # 5122) on 06-09-2010, 04:06 PM:

Louis.

Exactly.

Posted by Joshua Waaland (Member # 287) on 06-11-2010, 02:55 PM:

quote: Jonathan Althaus
I wasn't allowed to even look at the screen and was questioned about my building methods.

So you were not allowed to watch it, but the two hundred people in the theater were permitted to? [Roll Eyes]