This is topic Making the case for "Film Done Right" in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.


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Posted by Douglas Carmichael (Member # 1930) on 12-31-2003, 10:01 PM:
 
I was talking with my mom in the car on the way back from the airport, and when I brought up the importance of "Film Done Right" (ie. having projectionists who know what they're doing and who _care_, proper care of the film, proper equipment maintenance, etc.) she said that "who cares about 'film done right', it just adds to the ticket price... (Why spend $18-$20 for a ticket for such 'little' improvement'?). You get the story anyway. (Never mind the fact that if the story is not properly presented, it can detract from the immersiveness of the film.)" "Who cares if the film is properly handled?"

She thought I meant something like the grand old singles 'back in the day' and the roadshow epic films back then, not basic care and attention to presentation quality with ANY film (which I think makes or breaks the viewing experience.)

So, Film-Techers, I ask these questions:
1) What are some visible effects of "Film Done Wrong"
that can really put a dent in the film-viewing experience?
(I want to be able to tell her "Would you want to see/have
'xxxxxxx' when you see a film?" "Would you want 'yyyyyyy'
to happen?") Keep your explanations as non-technical as possible.

2) How could I explain to her that I don't mean the grand 'roadshow' presentation of old when I talk about FdR? (She automatically thinks 'grand presentation ... expensive ... plush seats, etc.' when I talk about quality presentation.)

3) Have you ever had any personal experiences at 'cheapo' theaters that don't practice FdR? What were they and how did you feel afterwards? (Personally, from a pure business perspective, I would not feel I had gotten a good return on my time/money investment (aka ROI) if I saw a poorly presented film. I'd rather get myself the DVD and have perfect presentation quality (or as much as my reproduction equipment can reproduce) and be able to view the film multiple times.)

4) What theaters have you been to (in the Chicago suburbs area) that are 'midrange' theaters (ie. not the grand single-screeners, but not the lowest of the low-end) that _do_ practice FdR?

Thanks.

--Douglas
(At least she knows IMAX theaters practice FdR....)
 

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Posted by Darryl Spicer (Member # 711) on 12-31-2003, 10:23 PM:
 
Well, for question #1 I would say. A big yellow and green scratch going right down the middle of the picture the entire show. Boy that's a good time for a split screen effect.

For #2 just tell her your typical multiplex theater.

For #3 Yep, anytime I have to get up because the movie went out of frame or it is out of focus or the sound goes out is a bad experience for me. A local dicount theater here has of course problems with the pictures because of scratches but when all of the trailers play with no sound because they can't get the exciter to work or there is bad flicker in the picture because there is a problem in the lamps power supply is piss poor presentations even if the tickets are cheap.

Can't answer #4
 

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Posted by Chris Hipp (Member # 1788) on 12-31-2003, 11:03 PM:
 
As Daryl said, anything that causes the customer to have to get up would be film done wrong.

Other things include dirty prints, dirty screens, of course scratches, poor quality sound-improperly maintained sound systems (buzzing or humming in sound, etc) Poor quality splices.

The list goes on and on. the main reasons that a customer will complain will be about bad sound, out of focus picture, out of frame picture or improperly set masking.

As far as you mom's definition of presentation, read the "improving your onscreen presesntaion" in the tips section. I think she probably thinks the same way as that guy at the Dallas theater.
 

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Posted by Will Kutler (Member # 770) on 01-01-2004, 01:10 AM:
 
Film Donne Right includes:

Maintaining the booth and projection equipment. Someone who is a craftsman and showman, who gives a damn about making the movie going experience worth while. Someone who knows how to repair and maintain the equipment, and who can prevent an aw-shit.

Film Done Right includes; properly maintained aperture plates and masking, clean undamaged (or properly repaired) screens, clean port windows and lenses, clean and scratch free prints, running the proper trailers per studios request, properly aligned sound systems, films in focus...etc

A professional who can answer customers questions without bullshitting them!

Once again, a PROFESSIONAL CRAFTSMAN AND SHOWMAN WHO GIVES A DAMN!
 

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Posted by Manny Knowles (Member # 1171) on 01-01-2004, 03:36 PM:
 
The fact that it is necessary to mount this type of campaign shows just how far gone the presentation industry has become.

No doubt most moviegoers have slowly become accustomed to poor screen illumination, excessive amounts of jitter, dust, dirt, scratches, etc.

Before making a case for "Film Done Right" there needs to be an increase in the number of instances of "Film Done Right."

(By the way, I don't understand why the "d" in "FdR" is lowercase.)

In answer to the questions....

quote:

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1) What are some visible effects of "Film Done Wrong"
that can really put a dent in the film-viewing experience?
(I want to be able to tell her "Would you want to see/have
'xxxxxxx' when you see a film?" "Would you want 'yyyyyyy'
to happen?") Keep your explanations as non-technical as possible.

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quote:

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2) How could I explain to her that I don't mean the grand 'roadshow' presentation of old when I talk about FdR? (She automatically thinks 'grand presentation ... expensive ... plush seats, etc.' when I talk about quality presentation.)

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quote:

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3) Have you ever had any personal experiences at 'cheapo' theaters that don't practice FdR? What were they and how did you feel afterwards? (Personally, from a pure business perspective, I would not feel I had gotten a good return on my time/money investment (aka ROI) if I saw a poorly presented film. I'd rather get myself the DVD and have perfect presentation quality (or as much as my reproduction equipment can reproduce) and be able to view the film multiple times.)

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quote:

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4) What theaters have you been to (in the Chicago suburbs area) that are 'midrange' theaters (ie. not the grand single-screeners, but not the lowest of the low-end) that _do_ practice FdR?

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quote:

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And as for "Film Done Right", I don't mean a theater that is like the grand
houses of old (Remember the days of the 1950s/1960s and seeing 'South Pacific', 'Gone With The Wind', 'Ben Hur', and the great epic films?). I mean a theater that does these things:

* Attractive, well-maintained building (I don't mean a luxury Marriott
or Ritz-Carlton hotel type of building, but a building with good
outside 'eye appeal' and a general standard of cleanliness.)

* Reasonable ticket prices. (I don't mean super-expensive, I don't mean too
cheap, but REASONABLE.)

* Attentive management/house staff (both to customers (ie. customer-friendly)
and to issues that might arise during a film presentation (ie. auditorium
_cleanliness_, cellphone users, crying babies, and other distractions,
etc.)

* Other distractions might include drunks/hecklers who are talking
and chitchatting, etc.

* Reasonably priced and good-quality concessions (less relevant to me
because of health issues.)

* Comfortable seats (especially to sit in during long 2-3hr features such as
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (LOTR:ROTK is nearly 3hrs long
with NO intermission.) Don't you agree that is important?

(Especially with your knees.)

* Well-maintained auditoria. (ie. no excess light pollution, acoustic
isolation from other auditoria in the complex so no sound bleeds through
from other films and interferes with your viewing of the film you paid to see,
clean floors/seats, etc.)

* Professional and attentive projection. This includes:
* Images that are in focus and properly framed. (ie. no
image spills outside the screen area.)
* No dust/dirt on the image or jitter and weave. (Jitter
and weave are vertical and horizontal movement
as film passes through the projector.) The film should
(in a properly maintained projector) cleanly pass down
through the mechanism as each frame is projected
(there are 24 frames in each second of film and 30 frames
in each second of video.)

* A bright, clear image with no flicker. (Bright as in the
SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers)
standard of 16 footlamberts). Some theaters will
run their lamps at a reduced power level than standard
or neglect replacing them until they are close to
not working anymore... (BIG bucks for replacing the lamp and
lamphouse it sits in versus changing the lamp at the proper
number of hours of use.)

* No scratches or other damage to the film print which can
cause image artifacts (that is both prevented by
proper equipment maintenance as well as conscientious
film handling.) Would you want to see a big yellow
and green scratch right down the middle of the
picture? I wouldn't.

* Quality, well-maintained sound systems that are properly
calibrated. No buzzes, hums, or other sound-related
distortions that can detract from the film presentation.
If digital sound (ie. Dolby Digital or DTS) is
in that theater and used for that print, the digital
sound should switch in at the proper point in time
and switch out properly. The analog soundtrack should
also sound clear without any artifacts.

And, the theater should "Do Film Right", for ALL presentations, no matter
what time or what day.

Would you accept a meal at a restaurant that was undercooked, the staff
was getting bugs or other artifacts in the food, the outside (facility)
was ratty and unmaintained (or less care was taken in its maintenance),
the plates were paper and flimsy, and the only background
sound you heard was the sound of the machinery in the kitchen and a
cheap poorly-adjusted radio? Would you eat there (even if it's a lunch
special) NO!

Same with film presentation. (Airlines are different because the FAA
regulates "Piloting Done Right" and "Air Service Done Right".

Not so with film presentation.

When I see a film at a theater, I want to see it in the way the
director INTENDED and in its entirety.
If I 'could not afford' going to a quality theater, I'd just rent the DVD
or buy the DVD. Sure, it's different, but I know the image will be
stable and quality and the sound will be quality.

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She did talk about going to the matinee showing ('it's the same thing' (in her words), and I told her that a theater that "Does Film Right" will do film right for EVERY showing, EVERY film, EVERY day, not just a few 'special' showings. Don't you agree?

At first, she said that it 'depends upon what the public wants', but then I told her that the public has been (due to the sorry state of film exhibition) conditioned to believe that poor presentation is the norm. It doesn't have to be if the projectionists/staff at a theater would care. (That's what I said: It's not about luxury, it's about basic care and concern for what you do.)

That's the principle I plan to build my entire career on (AV production/multimedia/technology support for the media industry). Doing it right all the time, no matter what equipment or the size of the job.

Anyway, the theater we plan to go to tomorrow is the Cinemark @ Seven Bridges in Woodridge, Illinois. We're going to see Young Black Stallion at the IMAX in that complex. Does anyone (Adam Martin? Gordon McLeod?) know the projectionist there and the specs of the IMAX booth (ie. classic/GT/SR/MPX, Mk2 reel unit vs. QTRU, PLC or relay-based, type of sound system (classic dubber? DDP? DFPII? DTAC?), etc.)?

Does that theater (and/or Cinemark in general) have a good reputation for quality presentation? (I know IMAX theaters in general are known for better-quality presentation/maintenance than the run-of-the-mill 35mm theaters.)

What presentation flaws should I be looking for in a IMAX presentation? (I know that dirt should not be on a IMAX screen if (either) the projectionist is operating the field flattener frequently enough or the PLC is set to cycle the flattener in a PLC booth.) Would the SMPTE evaluation form in the manuals section be useful?

Thanks for your comments on my last post.

--Douglas
 

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Posted by Richard Cieplechowicz (Member # 1275) on 01-03-2004, 01:55 AM:
 
Douglas,

I’m in Lincolnshire, IL at the Regal City Park 20 & Imax. While we are quite proud of our IMAX presentation we also have a great both staff that ensures a quality 35mm presentation. Any time you or your mom is in the area stop by and we will be more than happy to give you a tour.
 

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Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 01-03-2004, 02:58 AM:
 
Richard, how about sending in some pictures so everyone here can get that tour virtually?
 

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Posted by Thomas Procyk (Member # 1170) on 01-03-2004, 09:22 AM:
 
Actually, I would take it a bit further than "Anything that makes a customer get up." My idea of Film Done Right means that the presentation is free from "Anything that takes the viewer out of the story -- even for a brief second." For example, if a film is in analog and a lab splice comes crashing through the middle of the frame and slams through the speakers, you won't get up to tell them about it but you've just been reminded that you're in a theater now, and not the Shire.

This doesn't only include what's going on onscreen, though. I've been to places where the employee has his walkie-talkie turned up and is standing in the auditorium. Now we not only know that Smiegel is really evil, but that they're out of Nachos and box office needs quarters. Outside distractions that are the theater's fault should also be considered. Someone leaving the port window open, the auditorium doors, or if the exit doors by the screen aren't sealed properly and there's that sliver of light spilling in from outside.

And it doesn't have to be a "cheapo" theater to have bad presentation. I've been to some really spiffy and polished multiplexes that guarantee "picture perfect presentation" (hehe!) only to be treated to FOUR black scratches going through the FIRST SHOWING of a NEW film on OPENING day!!! TWICE!Did they warn me when I spent $7 at the box office on a matinee? Of course not. That would be bad for business.

That's another thing I don't understand. Places that don't tell you that you're paying full price for a defective product and letting you discover it for yourself. It's like grocery stores not dating milk and letting you see if its good once you get it home, get settled and prepare to enjoy it only to find an unpleasant surprise.

=TMP=
 

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Posted by Richard Cieplechowicz (Member # 1275) on 01-03-2004, 11:35 AM:
 
Brad, I'll have pictures submitted within a month. The theatre is in the process of being remodeled with new carpet, wallpaper, digital mylars and even some projection and sound up-grades.
 

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Posted by Jack Ondracek (Member # 1466) on 01-03-2004, 12:55 PM:
 
...from Manny:

quote:

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(By the way, I don't understand why the "d" in "FdR" is lowercase.)

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P.S. Is it appropriate to compliment the projectionist after the show if the presentation was good?

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