Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Things That Annoy You IN A Booth

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Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 05-07-2001, 11:04 PM:

We have had what we like in a booth, The Ultimate Booth,favorite projector, etc. But I don't remember anyone ever posting what we dislike in a booth.
However if it was posted at some point in the past then please ignore this and go to Bob Marrs Joke Yack section.......
Mark @ GTS

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 05-08-2001, 12:54 AM:

Things that annoy me in the booth:

Non-projectionists wandering in.

Changing trailers and ads.

Slide projectors.

Moving prints between same-size auditoriums for no reason whatsoever other than management stupidity.

Not getting a much needed part.

People who do things the wrong way just because that's the way it was done in the "union days".

Management who keep on asking when I am going to start the Thursday night screening of any given movie.

Management who make me move prints around just so they can watch their Thursday night screening earlier in the big auditorium only to have me move it back to where it belongs after the show is done.

Management who don't care as much about the theater as I do.

People named "John Doyle".

Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 05-08-2001, 02:47 AM:

From Joe:
*********************************************
Slide projectors.

Moving prints between same-size auditoriums for no reason whatsoever other than management stupidity.
*********************************************

Joe, all I can say is AMEN!!!!!

From me:

A poorly lit dirty booth that looks and smells like a port-a-potty.

Pure junk house equipped with landfill qualified equipment where nothing works properly!

Super Glue re-enforced with bubble gum to hold the equipment together.

Posted by Aaron Mehocic (Member # 15) on 05-08-2001, 10:55 AM:

Oh, this is good - lets see:

10. Water stained ceiling tiles traded from the lobby for my good ones.

9. Promised wall paint that . . . never showed up.

8. Accumulated junk equipment the ownership believes is worth way more than it is, thus refusing to sell.

7. Parts?

6. Mud on the bottom of unwelcomed guests shoes.

5. Employee and (his) girlfriend making out behind the soundrack of #6.

4. Parts?

3. Manager and employee running through the booth throwing things at each other and slaming the firedoors between the rooms. (Believe it!)

2. Idiots who think they know how to do your job even when they ask you to "Pause the tape".

1. Six teenage girls lured upstairs by the ushers with the promise of movie posters.

Posted by Jesse Skeen (Member # 586) on 05-08-2001, 10:57 AM:

Being informed about a problem when I'm already trying to FIX it!
Being informed about things that aren't really problems (like "Why does that preview have black on the sides? Do you have the masking set right?")

Posted by Jody Southards (Member # 850) on 05-08-2001, 11:29 AM:

Patrons yelling at you through the port hole asking you to rewind the film.

Boogey men (or maniac clowns) that like to hang out in the Booth after midnight.

Technicolor wanting a print from a sneak broken down and ready to go fifteen minutes after it drops for "security reasons", but two days later returns the same print for another sneak three days early and stating that they will have it picked up the day after the showing.

Small greasy palm prints and gummy bears stuck to the portholes.

Two floors, two projection booths, five shows a day, one projectionist.

Posted by Aaron Sisemore (Member # 145) on 05-08-2001, 01:32 PM:

-Other projectionists that pursue the hobby of their choice (Model building, comic book creation, very large poster art, etc- I have seen all of these in a booth) while everything else in the booth is falling apart and not being corrected...

-Managers that believe that to save a few nickels in electricity, ALL the booth lighting should be left off, leaving the booth dangerously dark.

-Fire marshalls that decide that your sprinkler system in the booth isn't adequate and have the booth looking like a jungle gym by the time they are appeased.

-Know-it-all 'projectionists' that monkey with amp rack controls because some paton complains the subwoofer is too loud, or because their 'golden ears' say that this-or-that needed tweeking

-Union projectionist with over 40 years of projection experience who admits that he doesn't know how to remove the gate from a Simplex XL

-Senior projectionist with over 15 years experience in booths who builds up a print half-backwards and upside-down and forgets to add the last two reels that are still sitting in the can (print arrived on 6000' reels and was 8 reels long)

-Projection booth used as main thoroughfare for all the floor staff

-Booth that doubles as a stockroom

-Booths designed with sealed portglass that the only way to pass cables thru it is to remove the glass....with a hammer.

-Booths designed where two projectors are literally back-to-back, making getting inbetween the two consoles a reeeally tight squeeze.

I can go on...

Aaron

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 05-08-2001, 01:37 PM:

People who, if I'm fixing a problem, barge in and say "WHAT'S THE PROBLEM?" and offer to help.

People who come into the booth when I'm making up a last-minute-delivered print and start to ask questions about how the equipment works.

Just people in general, come to think of it. It's my booth...get outta here!

Posted by George Roher (Member # 91) on 05-08-2001, 05:48 PM:

-Customers who try to communicate with the projectionist through the port glass.

-Managers who can't decide whether or not they want to interlock a movie and change their minds every 30 seconds until show time.

-"Projectionists" who are allergic to leader and rarely put enough on films they make up.

-"Projectionists" who throw leader all over the floor when they thread.

-Shoepolish

-Slides

-Slide projectors mounted on the viewing port, instead of having a separate port.

-Technicolor ads

-Technicolor reels

-"Projectionists" who have working curtains at their theatre but can't be bothered to use them.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 05-08-2001, 05:53 PM:

DLP Need I say more?

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 05-08-2001, 05:56 PM:

Many annoyances listed here by others that I neglected to put in my post! So therefore I must update:

-Shoepolish (What the hell... really! Are you really that blind? Can't you feel the splice as you break down?)

-Projectionists who thread with the leader hitting the floor (again, what the hell? I used to do this, but I changed my ways. I never could quite get the hang of "threading up" which would be the quickest and easiest method possible. But I still don't let the leader hit the floor.)

-People continuously calling up informing me of a problem I am already working on. They keep asking when it will be fixed even though I tell them "a few minutes". I also tell them that the more they call up, the longer it takes to fix since I have to answer the damn walkie!

-Changeovers

-Managers who know absolutely nothing about projection, but think the job MUST be easy.

-Projectionists set in their ways.

Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 05-08-2001, 08:02 PM:

Lets see what anoys me when I come in on a service call

1 dirty floors( doesn't anyone know anymore what a brooom is for)
2Unlibricated equipment
3Over lubricated equipment
can't anyone find the right medium
4 Sound racks that the equipment vents are plugged with dust
5 Port glass covered with dirt and a service call booked for (the picture is out of focus all the time da)
and it goes on and on (yes it has been a bad day)

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 05-08-2001, 10:19 PM:

Aw, Common Gord....I waited all day here in Nampa for a load of QSC's...yea really, not BGW's this time. They didn't show up but QSC they told me that they definately would tommrrow. I don't think the port glass in this place has been cleaned since opening! Ya could scrape the gunk off with a putty knife. The floor is at least clean though. This was the ultimate oil all over the bottom plate of the console place till I replaced all the seals. Oil mixed with film dust, mixed with dust balls, etc is pretty disgusting. I ripped all the stupid never work right linear feed switches off all the payouts and put in micros. Man if a Strong/Potts platter could hold timming for more than 24 hours these might actually work. But when platters are 10 plus years old it ain't going to happen...so on went the micros which are more forgiving of timming. At least now if they have any wraps its their fault for not threading correctly!
And you think you had a bad day.......
Mark @ GTS

Posted by Scott D. Neff (Member # 185) on 05-08-2001, 10:41 PM:

Hmmmm --- things that annoy me.

1. People who don't clean their projectors or platters. Whether they're MY projectors, or their own... just drives me batty.

2. People who do things 'the way I've always done it.' - Of course I do things the way I've always done it -- so I'm bound to have a double-standard on this one.

3. Having to turn the fader down 3 notches because the tech is half-deaf and can't hear when he EQ's the house. (Thank goodness for Equalization software.)

4. Union Projectionists who only know how to cue a Xetron Maxi-8 even after you've shown him twice, made a diagram, a sample piece of cued film of how to cue for a Component Engineering FM-35 failsafe.

5. Anybody who can manage to brain-wrap an AW3

6. Managers or Projectionists who are too afraid of the equipment to figure out how to reattach the center roller of an AW3 cluster if it falls off.

7. Managers who refuse to even TOUCH a projector, yet still feel as though they can manage the entire theatre well.

8. Projectionists who refuse to even TOUCH a cash drawer, handle a customer complaint, or make a deposit, yet still feel as though they can manage the theatre themselves.

9. Mis-matched equipment.

10. And I'm probably alone on this one -- but I hate it when people 'customize' equipment and change it from the way it was designed. A: Super Platter build-up tables CAN build to the top and bottom platter IF you leave the arm on them; why limit yourself to the middle platter all the time? B: A Super Platter was meant to have Super Platter rings - NOT Christie rings and vice-versa - DO NOT DRILL CUSTOM HOLES it's annoying.

I think I'm done -- if I think of anything else that Aaron does to annoy me... I'll be sure to post it... (just kidding of course)

------------------
Scott D. Neff
"Biding My Time"

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 05-08-2001, 11:47 PM:

I get cheezed off when I spend a whole week at a theatre ensuring that everything is working as well as I know how to make it, only to come back and find everything all messed up again.

I will show people people that cleaning a (Christie) projector every show only takes 90 seconds and tell them to do it every show. As soon as I turn my back they are threading without cleaning. The next week I get calls from them telling me that the projector is noisy and "doesn't work right".

I spend all this time to use RP-40 and make the turrets "just right" so the picture doesn't go off the screen. I turn around and find kids slamming the turrets open or changing lenses by grabbing the lens barrel instead of the turret frame. Then they call me and tell me that the picture is going off the masking.

I get a call because the projector is "making loud noises". When I ask them if there is oil in it they can't tell me when the last time they checked it was.

I spend all morning doing PMs and set all the framing knobs to the exactly correct posisions using RP-40. I go to lunch and come back to find EVERY STINKIN' framing knob cranked every which way. To add insult to injury, the kid in the booth DENIES that it was him who turned them. I point out to him that I had just set them and he's the only one in the booth. He denies that anybody showed him how to thread in frame. (That's a bunch of because it's POLICY that I KNOW they have been taught.)

Walking into the booth unnanounced (as is my habit) and finding some obvious problem like an impending brain wrap only to find the Usher-B sitting at the work bench at the other end of the booth drinking a Coke and making doodles in the Log Book.

Asking a simple question such as, "What's the VERY FIRST thing you should do when you start a projector and you don't hear any sound?", and having the kid answer back, "Turn all these knobs over here until something happens."
(Correct answer: Check to see of your exciter/LED came on.)

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 05-09-2001, 01:24 AM:

Do not, I repeat DO NOT use RP-40 to set framing. It does not match real world conditions. I can't remember exactly, but it makes your framing too high or too low (I believe too low, I set them once with a good green band and locked the framing mechanisms so I never had to do it again). Also, if the projector physically permits it, be absolutely sure to lock the framing mechanisms as tight as you can. Real projectionists don't use the framing knob.

Sure, I got complaints from a couple of my projectionists when I did this. But you know what? They learned to thread in frame every single time. It never really was an issue. It is a good teacher as well. If someone threads out of frame, they will have to stop the projector to fix it. They won't make that mistake again. Plus, having the framing knobs locked into place guarantees that it is perfectly in frame... not slightly too high or too low. Perfect. Every time. Some projectionists think it is "in frame" if they simply do not see any (or much) black lines.

This adds to my list of annoyances:

-Projectionists who cannot thread (or build a print) in frame every time no exceptions.

-Projectors that do not allow for the locking of the framing mechanism.

Posted by William Hooper (Member # 71) on 05-09-2001, 03:51 AM:

1. Squirrels
2. Lizards
3. Follow spot operators cutting gel on the platters (even if they have to pull back the platter covers to do it)
4. Bus 'n' truck people piling stuff on platters beneath the big sign "DO NOT PLACE ANYTHING ON THESE PLATTERS!"
5. Outside windows popping open during thunderstorms
6. People pretending to know what they're doing fooling with stuff they know nothing about

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 05-09-2001, 05:13 AM:

Yes by all means use that RP40/PA35 test loop to align your lenses...but do not adjust your framing to it! Do as Joe mentioned above and get a known good green band loop to set your framing with (I prefer to splice a flat "scope matted" green band spliced directly to a flat "1.85 matted" green band so as to achieve as close as humanly possible to ideal framing). The SMPTE loop may be "perfect", but if it is there is no need to use it because EVERY lab in the world seems to have agreed upon their own centerline. Use a green band or a quad track "THX Broadway" logo.

Also, locking those framing controls is definitely the best trick I've found to get the projectionists to "wake up" and thread the damn thing right in the first place. Sure there will be alarms a plenty those first 3 days after locking things down (from the projectionists stopping and restarting all of the machines), but after a few stops and re-starts they WILL LEARN and they WILL DO IT RIGHT from that point on.

Posted by Jesse Skeen (Member # 586) on 05-09-2001, 09:12 AM:

People who depend on the automation to do EVERYTHING for them after they hit "Start".
People who hit "Start", leave and don't so much as lay eyes on it the entire show.

Posted by Evans A Criswell (Member # 381) on 05-09-2001, 09:24 AM:

quote:
People who depend on the automation to do EVERYTHING for them after they hit "Start".
People who hit "Start", leave and don't so much as lay eyes on it the entire show.

I have attended several problematic showings in which it was obvious that the operator hit "start" and never once looked at the image. In several cases, the image was misframed to the point that frame lines or black was visible from the start and not adjusted. A slight glance at the screen by the operator would have led to the problem being fixed. This really irks me. Always look at the image on the screen to be sure it is properly framed and to be sure something obvious isn't wrong. Duh.

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 05-09-2001, 03:56 PM:

"Film Done Wrong"

(When it's so easy to do it right!)

------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Eastman Kodak Company
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7419
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 716-477-5325 Cell: 716-781-4036 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 05-09-2001, 08:29 PM:

I just got done doing some major upgrades and retrofits at a location in Idaho that has had the same manager for 8 plus years. On my way out today I noticed that "The Mexican" was running for a good 40 min and that it was out of frame by 2 perfs! I called it to the attention of tha manager who promptly ignored it. I also noticed that another show had started and the making was set wrong. Its a shame that this keeps happennig at this location. Its a 2.00 2nd run house but ya would think that after 8 years he'd know what he's doing. I guess he doesn't have a clue as to putting on a good show is or how to run one properly. I can guarantee the owners will get an earfull from me about this guy! There's no reason that with the top notch equipment thats at this location that he can't put on a good show. I hope he departs soon! Time for a house cleaning as the saying goes.
Mark @ GTS

Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 05-09-2001, 08:30 PM:

When I worked a Regal booth, It really jacked my jaws when the Regal People brought in WD-40 for the booth. It was promptly thrown into the trash.

I thought they knew better than that.

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 05-09-2001, 10:59 PM:

I understand about how you say RP-40 isn't good for setting framing.

The specific incident I was thinking about was when I had finished my work then started the show. (I like to do that so that I have "proof" that the projector is working before I leave.) The faming was centered, the picture was good when I started it and I KNOW it was still at the same setting when the movie was over because I checked. This kid had cranked the framing knob almost all the way to the end of its travel. It wasn't just a hair off.

I told him that I noticed that he didn't thread it in frame. He tried to lie to me and tell me that he did thread in frame. I told him that I was "checking" on him and I had set the framing knob just minutes before.

I then quitely followed him around the booth while he started movies. His hand went directly from the start button to the framing knob like it was a reflex action... before the picture even hit the screen.

I have thought about locking the framing knobs. I have been told that I am not allowed to do it. Lemme' tell you I have given serious thought to doing it on just ONE projector and not telling anybody. When they call me to complain to me that they can't move the knob I'll tell them that I'll come fix it next time I come to do PMs.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 05-10-2001, 01:19 AM:

Tell them that if they don't thread in frame every time, the framing knob "wears down" and cannot move. Ever. It cannot be replaced because the new parts are .0000001mm bigger and won't fit.

They'll buy it.

Posted by Robert Golding (Member # 746) on 05-10-2001, 02:37 AM:

I like this thread.

People with tinkeritis.

FLOODS, what a pain in the a__ and messy.

People putting their hands in front of the port, my projection room is at ground level, drive in theatre.

Posted by Pete Naples (Member # 761) on 05-10-2001, 09:30 AM:

Agree 100% you can't use RP40 to set the framing, different labs seem to print to different centres, so it's down to the eye and judgement of the projy. However, why do you guys lock the framing knobs?? Ok I get the point about forcing the projy to lace in rack, but what if there is a badly made join or some other film damage that causes the racking to jump?? Also what happens when you are screening something that is not printed on centre?? It does happen, and the only way top get the picture right is to adjust the racking control to get it back on target, with the knob locked you surely face the prospect of the whole show running out of rack, even just slightly. I used to find that this was especially true of sub titled prints. Some theatres answer is to show it in the wrong ratio, I've seen 1.85:1 with sub titles presented in 1.66:1 with black lines top and bottom! Yuch.

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 05-10-2001, 11:24 AM:

The likely reason for the slight vertical offset between the SMPTE 35-PA (RP 40) test film and "real prints" is that the 35-PA film is produced on a pin-registered printer, whereas release prints are usually made on continuous contact printers. Since the height of the BH-1866 perforation used on a negative film is 0.073 inches, and the KS-1870 perforation used on print film is 0.078 inches, there can be a 0.005 inch offset in vertical position in a continuous contact printer, where a sprocket tooth positions the films along the perforation edge, rather than a full-fitting registration pin being used.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 05-10-2001, 03:28 PM:

Pete, I have never had that problem. Of course I don't run art houses and second run theaters, which may be more prone to those circumstances.

Posted by Pete Naples (Member # 761) on 05-10-2001, 05:01 PM:

I guess that makes sense. The bulk of my work is art house theatres, showing every ratio you've heard of, and some that most people haven't!. Also a couple of my theatres show a huge amount of repertory material and a lot of archive stuff, silent films and so on. On the other side of the coin, I have noticed that my multpiplex theatres very rarely need to move the racking handle, which is just as well with this latest batch of Simplex Millenium, you need to be Hercules to move the thing!

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 05-10-2001, 05:37 PM:

I agree about the Simplex Millenium. If only there were a way to tighten it down more....

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 05-10-2001, 10:02 PM:

Hey! Guess which theatre I just got the go ahead to hold a week long projector "boot camp" at?

I think I'm going to lock one of the projectors down and make the kids thread up repeatedly until they get it right.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 05-11-2001, 01:10 AM:

Christie Epic!?!

Norelco AA2!?!

Brenkert with a Jaxlight!?!

Posted by Bob Minge (Member # 574) on 05-11-2001, 01:22 AM:

Help. How do you "lock down" a framing knob on a Simplex 35?? The assistant that I trained in is in frame every time, like me...(except when am in hurry and forget to turn motor...DUH) but the assistant that was not trained by the former manager cannot (or won't) get it in frame consistantly even when I showed her. Summer is comming up and she will be getting more assistant hours then, so need some advice.

Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 05-11-2001, 01:47 AM:

Bob, Stand over her with a club until she consistantly does it right. There should be no excuse for her not threading in frame - especially on a Simplex 35.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 05-11-2001, 01:54 AM:

Paul, same for those "projectionists" who make out of frame splices necessitating the use of the framing control too.

Pete, Joe already said what I was going to. Running first run product in only one of two aspect ratios, I've never had the need for a framing adjustment in those booths. However, a repertory/arthouse booth is a completely different story.

Posted by Dwayne Caldwell (Member # 417) on 05-11-2001, 02:45 AM:

Getting back to the annoying things in a booth:

Replacement intermittents that are extremely loud and can even be heard in the office across the booth.

Seeing cups or other concession objects obstructing the projector port glass (this of course, only pertains to those ports glass windows that are set low enough {or from another point of view, back rows that are too close to the port window} for a person in the back row to reach the recess.)

Dumb ass customers that feel the need to put their hand, with middle finger extended, in the path of the projector's light beam (also only pertaining to low set port glass windows).

Port glass windows set too close to the back row.

Transmissions from various fast food establishments that your walkie can pick up.

Getting a report from the one customer in the building that thinks your watch is two minutes too fast.

Moving prints. Period.

Getting a radio call saying there is no picture only to find out that it is the defective dowser plate sticking (because it is made of a material that melts like butter when exposed to a 4K lamp for more than five seconds at a time) in a brand of projector which shall remain nameless.

Fire alarms.

Any booth having to do with AMC.

A certain digital format which shall remain nameless.

Finding that certain tool cabinets have been locked and I don't have a key.

People asking for tools that I know I'll never see again if I loan them.

When the power grid that services the theatre goes out for two hours.

And the bitch list could go on and on.

------------------
The man with the magic hands.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 05-11-2001, 04:10 AM:

Dwayne-

Your list is great! I never once had a problem with drink cups, etc in the projector port, though. I guess I was lucky. Many MANY times I caught patrons doing the "middle finger shadow puppet " during credits in the projector beam. Many times they would turn around and find me mimicking their shadow puppet right at them. If they were the only ones left in the auditorium, I would just close the hand douser, mute the sound and walk away.

With our old walkies at the Chinese, they could sometimes hear me at Bowles Crossing 12, which was 23 miles away from my theater! I could not hear them. This was proved to me one night when I came home to find an MP3 of something I said a few hours earlier on the walkie. And I know the guy (the projectionist at Bowles) wasn't sitting out in the parking lot recording me because I could hear Bowles booth noise in the background and I knew he worked that evening.

Posted by Jesse Skeen (Member # 586) on 05-11-2001, 10:56 AM:

Being overly obsessive, I've found that you do need to adjust the framing ever so slightly depending on what you're running. This of course means doing so the first time that show is run on that screen, then not having to touch it again until something else plays! To keep people from threading out of frame, maybe the framing knob should have an electronic lock on it requiring a password to adjust? Anyone wanna look into that?

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 05-11-2001, 04:23 PM:

No problem! We could just hire a security guard to stand by each knob as well! Let me guess, you have to adjust framing when you go from a scope to flat movie or vice-versa? That can be the case when you have odd masking, etc...

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 05-11-2001, 05:29 PM:

That is easily fixed by aligning the turret. If things are set up properly (not that all theaters are), there is no need for a framing control.

Posted by Ethan Harper (Member # 472) on 05-11-2001, 11:41 PM:

Im surprised no one has said laser pointers yet. Or is this no longer the common problem it use to be?

Dwayne, when I worked at Cinemark (ugh!) we use to pick up the Wendy's 2 miles down and various apartment maintenance workers. I thought it was cool because somehow, I managed to order food at Wendy's over the radio. Not including the number of arguments my Manager got into with the maintenance workers over the radio. That always seemed to entertain me. Although, this one time the maintenance workers decided to play the "Sanford and Son" theme song over the radio which I felt was more enjoyable than listening to the CRAP that Cinemark decides to put in their Non-Sync. It was either that or the porno clips that they played over the radio as well.

Annoying things hmmm...let's see:
Managers or employees that think they know more than you.

The boss wanting you to train managers on how to run the booth.

Mono

People that don't work here think that somehow they belong in the booth.

I would say static but because we use FilmGuard I don't even know what that is.

Smelly trashcans

People trying to talk to you through the port hole.

Pre-show commercials.

Opaque splicing Tape.

Tools left out.

Purple pair of panties left on port hole.

uniforms.

People not responding to you on the radio.

People that cut you off on the radio.

People that push the talk button on the radio repeatedly to get a long series of clicking for others to hear, or other wierd sound effects.

DLP(ugh!what a piece of CRAP!)

I will have to think of more later.

------------------
--"That's my story and i'm sticking to it!"--

Posted by Aaron Sisemore (Member # 145) on 05-12-2001, 12:10 AM:

Ethan:

I'd rather listen to good mono (Mono done right?) than bad stereo ANY DAY. and I know Scott Norwood and others will agree with me.

I didn't realize laser pointers were a problem in the booth.

Aaron

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 05-12-2001, 12:28 AM:

Aaron said:

"I didn't realize that laser pointers were a problem in the booth."

Well yeah! Who do you think is responsible? Someone in the audience? NO!

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 05-12-2001, 05:33 PM:

Aaron got to it before I did: crappy Dolby/SMART/Ultra setups that sound worse than good mono are high on my list.
Other stuff: mono films (or trailers) being played in SR, Dolby A prints being played in SR, not having DTS disks for a film in DTS, not having proper lenses and aperture plates to show a film in 1.66 or 1.33 when appropriate, crappy lenses in general, poorly cut aperture plates in general, rewind benches without adjustable speed controls, improperly placed changeover cues, prints with multiple sets of cue marks in rapid succession at the end of each reel, prints missing leaders and tails, Technicolor reels, crappy lab work, torn/stretched perfs, noisy rectifiers, crappy booth monitor setups (which basically includes everything less than the THX crossover/monitor), poor ventilation, etc., etc.

Posted by Brian Potts (Member # 429) on 05-12-2001, 10:59 PM:

Finding out that the air conditioning broke last summer and has still not been fixed

Posted by Joe Schmidt (Member # 822) on 05-13-2001, 12:41 AM:

Locking the framing knobs is NOT a good idea due to the variety of things that can go wrong occasionally and a quick framing adj. is necessary to correct. I have seen prints matted to 1.85 which were inconsistent from reel to reel. Besides even the best of us will make a mistake sometimes. Any projectionist who claims he never makes a mistake is LYING, plain & simple.

Well, it's time once again to say I'm glad I'm Wetired Fwom this Cwazy Bitzness, but in my day...

We very rarely had a breakdown, but when we did the manager would come rushing up to the booth, which is understandable, but he/she/it would have to be told, as politely as possible, "Well, I can talk to you, or I can fix this, but I can't do both at the same time!"

We had the authority to kick a manager out of the booth if necessary.

Booths were off limits to all but projectionists. They were secured areas, and only projectionists had keys. Visitors were not allowed unless we said OK. Booths has a private phone line in addition to the theatre's lines.

For further emphasis, we were paid considerably more than most managers, most of whom came and went faster than we could keep track. Their authority was generally limited to such weighty matters as determining how much popcorn needed to be ordered for next week.

While the old man was not wildly enthusiastic about the union, he was astute enough to know there were more brains up there [as a rule] than down on the floor, and we were on a first-name basis.

Think about this, folks, and realize how much things have changed... for the worse.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 05-13-2001, 01:23 AM:

I can certainly make the claim that after the framing knobs were locked on my Christies that I NEVER, EVER, NOT EVEN ONCE threaded out of frame. We had 16 projectors in four different rooms and a very tight schedule. I guarantee we ran the best presentations ever to occur in the state of Colorado, bar none. At least for a theater with more than one or two screens.

Did I thread out of frame when I was a beginner? Yeah.

Do I make other mistakes? Sure.

Do those mistakes involve threading a projector out of frame? Hell no.

I have never had the experiences with matting that Joe describes above. Not once. Once they were locked, they never needed to be adjusted. And we screened every single print to go in and out of the place. Remember that we were a multiplex with typical movies going in and out. The only aspect ratios we had were 2.39 and 1.85. The equipment was properly aligned. Art houses have many more aspects to choose from, since moviemakers around the world shoot in whatever format is closest to their reach at the time (standards anybody?)

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 05-13-2001, 02:02 AM:

Joe S.

Since your retirement from the biz, many things have improved. One of them is printing. "Scent of a Woman" was the last film printed with wandering matting from reel to reel that I am aware of. That was back in 1992. I have not seen a single instance since then and like Joe R. said above, threading in frame is NOT a problem. Locking the framing controls is one of the BEST things that I see in a well run booth. Even the minimum wage "candy counter" kids have no problem threading in frame every single time.

Things do change over time, indeed. I am not going to get into a discussion as to whether union operators are better than non-union because some of them are and some of them are not, but if the candy counter kids can thread in frame all of the time yet back in "the day" there were problems threading in frame, what does that say about those projectionists back then with the threading in-frame handicap?

Posted by Pete Naples (Member # 761) on 05-13-2001, 04:55 AM:

I came across prints of 'The General' a couple of years or so back that were very definitely printed with a somewhat mobile framing line...

It still happens in this day and age, and the framing on adverts and trailers is awful!

Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 05-13-2001, 09:06 AM:

When I started in exhibition there were only carbon arc lamphouses. Changeovers had to made every twenty minutes. Operators/Projectionists would have to let you into the booth. Most booths contained hot plates, refrigerators, easy chairs , radios for their listening pleasure in addition to the rewind bench tools, film and len's cabinets. Log's had to be kept by the theatre as inspections were made by the fire department on a regular basis.

Today with platters and automation the booths are kept in better and cleaner condition. Today framing the projectoe is monor compared to missing a changeover.

The union in NYC was father/son and unless you were a close relatives you could not get in the union.

Well the unions did themselves in. In many of the theatres that were built with platters and automation the first managers were the business agents of the union's that we would call upon as we would come into a new area.

The first theatre I put in with a platter and automation was in 1966 in Bartow, Florida and I hired a union business agent as manager and this continued well into the early eighties.

If I had to opted for then or now, I would take now.

Posted by Alan Plester (Member # 852) on 05-13-2001, 10:07 AM:

Its a good job framing handles were not locked in the cinema I worked in as although both projectors were housed in the same room, screen two was upstairs and was shown through a periscope system, when it got hot and the mirrors started moving it was like watching a beveled screen, constant moving of picture, up & down all day, it was to me, an absolute disgrace, if I had been a paying customer, I would not have viewed a film up there, only in winter.

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 05-13-2001, 11:22 AM:

The thing that totally peeves me off is that when threading, it's easy to roll the projector by hand a frame or three to see that the film is in frame. Some kids don't even do that!

Posted by Jerry Chase (Member # 660) on 05-13-2001, 12:58 PM:

Joe, your comments about the union might be accurate when relating about some unions, but they are even more revealing about the "us vs. them" and supercilious attitudes of certain union members.

Of all the various problems with unions, this attitude was undoubtedly the most galling to me. Yes, there can be managers and employees that are uneducated and total jerks, but I've also seen my share of coffee swilling, dirty t-shirted, stackers of Playboy that called themselves the greatest thing to exhibition since sound, while the kid on the floor working his way through college and simultaniously studying Shakespere and Kant was looked upon by them with disdain.

The fact that union employees were covered by a collective bargaining agreement gave many of them the idea that they didn't need to improve their skills or try to excel beyond the minimum required. Many felt (or knew for a fact) that they couldn't be fired, no matter how outrageous their behavior, and that staying cronies with the local rep and getting a picture on-screen was all that was required to do a great job, all hail the brotherhood.

It bothers me when you state that the greatest decision that a manager had to do was figure out how much popcorn to order. Statements like that show as much or more of an ignorance of the big picture as that of a manager not knowing anything about the booth, which, btw, was usually not the manager's fault, but was a common ploy of the unions to keep from being held accountable for sloppy presentation, sloppy booths, and sloppy attitudes.

I'm of the opinion that unions are a good thing, *when union leadership doesn't degenerate into nepotism and fear of using fines or discipline because of the possibility of upsetting the brothers*.

There are plenty of unions where union pride is well deserved, and the union has served a vital function in improving safety in the workplace and providing for pensions and other valuable social benefits. I'd place most local IATSEs at the bottom of this list though. Instead of demanding better working conditions like air conditioning in booths, the locals demanded petty rules like ushers carry the film cans to the top of the booth stairs. Instead of working to establish minimum standards for presentation that all members had to abide by, they demanded radios and tvs be allowed in the booths. Instead of requiring booths to be clean, safe and orderly workplace environments, like any union worth its salt, the locals demanded that owners leave recliners found by members at the dump in the booths, so that those union members could nap on the job.

I had the distinct displeasure of going into many booths after the union was removed, and have had to cleanup and throw things out to get things back up to the minimum standards I'd expect in a janitor's closet. Bits of toast, smeared food, roaches, recliner chairs with holes and mice, broken tvs, Field and Stream collections, lockers chock full of broken and unusable parts mixed with pornography sometimes dating back to the 1940s, walls, floors and equipment all covered with grease and grime so deep that the first method of cleaning was sometimes a putty knife. This was the often the final result of allowing those fabulous secured areas, where only projectionists had keys.

I'm not saying that you personally did any of this, or even that any one union local did all of this, but it _is_ a fair and accurate representation of many union locals, and those attitudes and practices were a primary reason for many of those locals and their members being considered persona-non-grata, and told to get their filthy dirty shirt the f--- off the floor and back up in the hole.

When you admit that managers were underpaid and follow it up with "Think about this, folks, and realize how much things have changed... for the worse." because the union attitudes of "I've got more brains than you" are no longer allowed, I think you have things mixed up.

A theatre is a place that requires a lot of skills to operate properly. It isn't turned into a place that people want to visit by any one individual. It takes the dreamer, the banker, the architect, the manager, the projectionist, the cashier, the concessionist, the janitor, and all those people that provide the films. The narcisisstic attitude of many union members was totally outrageous and out of place. The industry is better off without them, and I for one say good-riddance. I do regret that the few competent projectionists who weren't able to find work in tech support are gone, and I regret that the fear of a repeat of the union has driven many theatres to not using a dedicated professional as a projectionist, but I see this as a problem that was obliquely CAUSED by the unions, more than one that exists because the unions are gone.

So, in closing, I have to add to the list of things that annoy me in the booth:

Lazy, incompentent, sleeping projectionists. (union or not)

Posted by Pete Naples (Member # 761) on 05-13-2001, 04:43 PM:

Randy U hit it right on the head!

It's not exactly tricky to roll the mech on to a 'stop' and thread there, once threade, flick it over a couple of frames on the inching knob and check it's in rack, and also check the film moving over the sprockets etc. That's how I used to do it, and how I always taught people to do it.

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 05-13-2001, 06:55 PM:

It's virtually a reflex action for me to walk up to the projector and grab the flywheel and time the intermittent. Sometimes I catch myself doing it when I just walk up to look into the machine to check it.

I tell these people that they must do these things and they'll just do it while I'm looking and then go back to behaving like idiots when I leave. This is why I've taken to arriving at theatres unannounced.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 05-13-2001, 10:07 PM:

Good idea... catch them in the act. Then ask them point-blank why their methods have not improved.

Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 05-13-2001, 11:54 PM:

It really frys my butt when some "technician" suggest using WD-40 to free up a stupid stuck roller.

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 05-14-2001, 12:01 AM:

You wouldn't believe the difference in the way the booths look when you just show up! At one place I recently went to I just went into the theatre and sat down for the start of a show. Nobody even knew I was in the audience. There were several problems, least of which was the DTS not running. (I looked up into the booth window and could see that it was off.)

After the show I went up to the booth and asked why the movie wasn't in DTS. They told me, "It IS in DTS..." I told them that I had been in the audience and I saw that it wasn't playing. The answer was, "Oh... Umm... the player isn't working..." I said, "Let's take a look at her. I'll fix 'er up for you."

I turned it on and there weren't any disks inside. I went and got the disks, (which were laying on top of another projector), and put them in. It fired right up. No problems. I told them, "It works a lot better when the disks are in the player..."

.....Which leads me to yet ANOTHER pet peave. There are three, and only three places where a DTS disk ought to be:

In the player.
In the can.
In your hand, being taken from one of the above places to the other.

Posted by Gracia L. Babbidge (Member # 582) on 05-14-2001, 12:42 PM:

Annoying things in a booth?

~slide projectors

~overhead lighting that is so bright that it becomes a distraction in the auditoriums
~operator that is afraid of the dark and turns on far too many bright overhead lights

~people that sneak up behind a projectionist, startling them on purpose

~lack of: suspended ceiling; tile on the floor; employee restroom, or even running water…

~operator that assumes he knows more about how to run a booth that I do because he's had experience as something of a sound technician, plus playing around with a bunch of AV equipment while he was in college, and he's now been working in a projection booth for about 8 months; whereas I've only been working in the cinema business for over four years, with 3 years & 8 months experience in a few different projection booths

~vague log book entries intended to keep someone from looking like an ass
~log book entries made by an operator to basically chew out the head projectionist
~log book entries that border on being unprofessional

~76dB ambient noise level, making it damn near impossible to hear the cheap walkie-talkies…

…I've had an aggravating few weeks recently…

------------------
In some cultures, what I do is considered normal.

Posted by Sean McKinnon (Member # 612) on 05-14-2001, 01:30 PM:

Yeah I hate it when people sneak up behind me in the booth. At my last theatre (hollywood hits) everyone though it was wick ed funny to sneak up on me while i was building a print and scare the shit out of me. I used to be in the habit of building all the movies onto 6k reels and putting them up on the platter all at once using the 3 muts well one manager there didnt like it that I would leave the muts unattended so one day I was at the other end of the booth and he took the film clamps and started bangting them together so id think that the mut fell over. I ran as fast as I ever did to find him standing there cracking up!!! The worst part is that I fell for it again a few weeks later.

And my number annoyance would be ORC Super Platters.

------------------
--Sean McKinnon
Asst. Manager/Projectionist
Gloucester Cinema 1-2-3

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 05-14-2001, 01:45 PM:

Silent films shown at the wrong speed.

CIR splicers.

Long reels wound on 2-inch cores (guaranteed to get crushed every time).

POLYESTER FILM!

Posted by William T. Parr (Member # 677) on 05-14-2001, 02:37 PM:

I can sum up my biggest annoyance in the booth as operators who do not take thier jobs seriously or do not take pride in thier work and like to play and joke around like they are on the floor staff.

Posted by Manuel Francisco Valencia (Member # 710) on 05-14-2001, 03:56 PM:

HVAC techs who must go through the booth to work on the a/c units on the roof and bring all the crap on the top of the building into the booth via big boots. And all the units are still broke.

Punk kids who just have to throw something at the port glass right when I start the movie.

When technicolor picks up a print at midnight and delivers the same print the next day. (right on Jody!)

And pretty much everything else mentioned above.

Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 05-14-2001, 05:31 PM:

A very serious safety problem could develope if someone sneaks up and scares the crap out of the projectionist while he/she is working around operating equipment.

Pranks like that should not be tolerated whatsoever, PERIOD!!!!!!

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 05-14-2001, 05:56 PM:

I once was taking a picture of a technician that worked for me while he was hooking up the AC outlet in the back of a wall hanging rack. Of course the AC was not on but I never thought of the effect that the flash might have on him when I took his picture.
This guy jumped at least 12 feet

and I thought he was on his way up the exhaust stack but he came back down quickly. Thank god I had a motor drive on the camera to capture the look on his face!

Mark @ GTS