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Our theatre was showing a sneak of Mystery Alaska, and I expected that the print would show up the day before the screening. Well, by 6pm the day it should have arrived, it still was not there. I promptly called Technicolor because I'd had a previous incident with them regarding a sneak when they had had no knowledge that we were booked for the print and I couldn't get one till about two hours before it was supposed to show. Afraid that this might happen again, I asked them what time they were going to deliver Mystery Alaska, and they told me midnight that night. I asked the operator why we weren't notified about such a strange delivery time. I mean, how did they know anyone would be at the theatre at that time to receive the print? Of course, she was clueless like all the operators I talk to there.

So, I stayed late that night to let the Sky Courier guy in and to build up the print ... which was a shoe polish, junk print!!! (Somebody please explain to me why people still use shoe polish to mark the heads and tails of prints. Talk about amateurish!)

This week we are playing Bowfinger and Blair Witch Project. They both arrived yesterday, but I have a day job and can't inspect film until after 7:00 pm, so no chance of getting any replacement film until next Monday or Tuesday.

Bowfinger: Reel 4 has at least 15 splices (all with real footage missing, not just cuts) and perf damage throughout the reel

All but about 30 seconds of the end-credits are cut off

The trailer(s) that are supposed to be attached are missing

A lab splice that was so far out of line it would have derailed the film in the projector

Blair Witch: So full of static electricity that I had to stick extra guards around the film pack to keep it from getting thrown

Perf damage in two reels

"Attached" trailer missing

Not only that, but both films had broken/falling apart split reels, loose/torn/stringless reel bands and of course the usual bent cans.

But hey, at least they arrived on time (TES's version of on-time -- 1 day early).

As Erika said....AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHH!!

A week ago, we got "For Love of the Field of Dreams" and "Blue Streak" from TES, and a print of "Mumford" Every single reel in "Mumford" was broken, and a few broken reels were also in the other two prints. We built them up as carefully as we could so as not to damage the film, since broken reels are completely useless! Anyway, I called Technicolor and politely asked them to send me 10 empty plastic reels for replacements. "No problem, we'll get those out to you right away" the happy female voice on the other end proclaimed. We have received no replacements yet.

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I'm really surprised some crazed projectionist out there hasn't torched the building yet. One day soon projectionists will be the butt of the same jokes everyone has tagged postal workers with. Come on guys, you know how you get when you're up in that dark room all day trying to provide a top notch presentation to your customers and you get a Technicolor print in with all broken reels. Remember that mental image of the reel splitting apart while you were unwinding it and then chasing the ever unwinding roll of film down the endless hallway...all the while destroying that reel? (This happens once to everyone and then learn to use the Goldberg split reel from that point on.) How many of you have cut open your hand due to a break in the flange of a TES reel? Is it possible for a TES reel NOT to wobble on the rewind shaft? Can anything think of two words more annoying than "integrity inspected"? What the hell does that mean? I'll tell you...some 16 year old who has never touched a film before is unwinding the first 20 feet of film of each reel onto the floor, looking at it and saying "uh, yeah I guess it's fine". And on goes the sticker! How many out there typically spend an hour a week on the phone...on hold with TES? Has the "print department" EVER actually called anyone back, as promised by the nice ladies who answer the phones? How many of you have sat ALL NIGHT at your theaters because that print is promised to be delivered 2 hours from the phone call. Another phone call comes "just one more hour"...then another, and another, and another. Finally you get your print at 3PM Friday afternoon! Gee, ETS has depots spread nicely around the continent!

Do the studios REALLY have no idea what's going on at Technicolor??? If they do, then they clearly don't care. If they don't, will someone who can get through to a higher up please tell them?

SMPTE and Kodak needs to have a "recommended practice" of "No print who's end result is to provide an entertaining and excellent presentation shall be handled by Technicolor!"

In 1993, Technicolor entered the
arena of physical distribution of
motion picture release prints as a
result of the need to add value to the
core services that Technicolor had
provided for over three-quarters of a
century. The distribution model
employed was based on two
distribution centers located in
Wilmington, Ohio and Ontario,
California. Within a one-hour flight
from 60% of the U.S. population and
at the source of a spoke and hub air
transportation system, TES can react
quickly and efficiently to changing
conditions, including transport
related such as weather and market
related such as release strategies.
Intrinsic to the model and TES's core
tenets are the following:

Security - from the time a print
leaves the laboratory, each
step is recorded and
monitored by sophisticated
information technology
including GPS tracking,
secured warehouses and
bar-coding.

...Then how do you explain all these 'free' or 'lost' prints or prints with DUPLICATE PRINT NUMBERS (I have had a couple instances of this happen, honest...) laying around in theatres all over the country?

Quality - with a quality zoned
environmentally controlled
warehouse, integrity checks
and proactive logistics
management, TES ensures
only the highest quality print are
on screen.

...You have GOT to be kidding... What a joke. Nuff said.

Outsourcing - by providing 7
x 24 customer service, reel
replacements and circuit
management, TES allows its
customers to focus on revenue
and cash flow generating
activities.

...Those 'cash flow generating activities' usually involve the sales of consessions to disgruntled patrons that came to see a new print rather than a scratched, shoe polished mess missing leaders and tails etc etc that came as an 'integrity inspected' print from TES... '7x24'? I think they meant '24/7' Of course thats how much time you spend on HOLD when calling TES...

Speed to Market - by
employing modern logistics,
more prints can move to more
markets faster, better and
cheaper.

...Did this include buying a controlling interest in Airborne and Sky Courier by chance? Or maybe thats the other way around? Hell if I know

Aaron

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