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This topic comprises 2 pages: 1 2
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Author
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Topic: Be Glad This Wasn't You...
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Mark Lensenmayer
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1605
From: Upper Arlington, OH
Registered: Sep 1999
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posted 09-24-1999 07:08 AM
Saw a preview screening of AMERICAN BEAUTY this week at the new AMC Easton 30 in Columbus OH. This airplane hanger-like structure has a 30 screen theatre, a Planet Hollywood and an All-Star Cafe. A Spielberg GAMEWORKS is in the same building!Reels 2 & 3 were shown in the wrong order. We see a couple go to lunch, then we see them make the date. Just a few of the amazing things one sees when time is moved around. I sensed something was wrong when the sound at the end of reel 1 didn't match the sound at the start of the next reel. Once reel 3 ended and reel 2 started, it got VERY weird. Most of the audience did not notice the problem. Even a friend of mine who is a professional critic didn't realize there was a problem until I mentioned it to him. He thought something seemed wrong, but just thought it was some trick of the storytelling. Management did notice, and was handing out free passes at the door, apologizing profusely for the problem. The claim was that reels 2 & 3 were mislabled, the the print had arrived too late for a check screening. This was one of the stranger things I've ever seen in a cinema. Fortunately, it happened early enough that the second half of the movie made sense. The manager told me his biggest fear was that another reel had been placed out of order, and the last reel wasn't in the place of reel 4. I hope this doesn't happen to any of you! Mark Lensenmayer
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Brad Miller
Administrator
Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99
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posted 09-24-1999 07:46 PM
Yup! We had a similar incident happen with Thomas Crown Affair (Technicolor depot, of course). The reels all were banded #1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. However, the band labeled 4 was actually a second copy of 3!!! The print arrived late, as always and the duplicate reel almost wasn't caught. It was going to go straight on screen. Thankfully it was noticed on the rewind bench. ANOTHER reason NEVER to build straight on to the platter. Tails up always and Wednesday deliveries, please!
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Kelsey Black
Film Handler
Posts: 58
From: Pima, Arizona, USA
Registered: Aug 1999
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posted 09-24-1999 11:51 PM
okay, my turn to rant.
the first of these is about the management that operated the theater I currently run before my family took it over from them... as he was telling us one night before we made the official change over, they had a print of Mighty Ducks 3 that came in an hour before the first showtime, slapped it together, only to find out on SUNDAY NIGHT that the reel sequence was 1,4,2,3,5. they and apparently everyone (very few) who came to see it thought that it was just a series of flashbacks, etc. BTW, they ran only for the weekend, friday night, saturday matinee & night, Sunday matinee & night, and Monday night. (we cut out the sunday matinee as nobody showed up 70% of the time, and changed the monday night $1 off discount to the saturday afternoon matinee...)the second is really a horror story. literally. back when Technicolor was still delivering prints to us on Friday _afternoon_, we were opening Halloween H20. well, the dropoff window came and went, 2 hours to showtime.... calls to technicolor... 1 hour to showtime.... 45 mins to showtime, people showing up... the print arrives. I feel I need to include that this was back when I had been basically running the entire operation short of cash register and boxoffice for only 4 months, so I was freaked. anyways, I put the print together, and managed to even put previews on, rewind it (using 36" reels on a cinemeccanica dual tower) and start it just the moment that it finishes rewinding. (well, threaded up as well, of course) anyways...
previews... good, no bad splices... reel one almost done.... REEL 2! it's upside down and the soundtrack is on screen!!! house lights go up, and people stop laughing... (can you believe they actually found it hillarious???) so I got the rewind table, and took that reel off, rewound it, then noticed that the next reel (3) was also backwards... took it off... rewound it, and put the print back together. total elapsed time, 18 mins. yeesh!
of course, none of this would have had to happen if Tech. would have delivered on time, all the reels in the same direction (I prefer tail out... wonder why)
gol, I sure am gonna miss this place.
unfortunately, the technicolor scandal continues..... ahh... that felt good to get off my chest. Kelsey Black
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Scott Norwood
Film God
Posts: 8146
From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas)
Registered: Jun 99
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posted 09-25-1999 08:11 AM
Yeah, Rushmore confused me, too. I was inspecting for changeover mark placement, and, for a few moments, I actually thought that someone might have spliced half of the reel in backwards (since the head of that reel was fine, and corresponded with the frame left on the leader).
Oh, "Brassed Off" gets another one of my awards for dumbest changeover mark placements--at one point, you see the motor cue, then a fadeout to black (between the two sets of cue marks) then another scene starts, then you see the second set of cues. Argh!
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Christopher A Kerr
Film Handler
Posts: 43
From: Oakville, Ontario, Canada
Registered: Sep 1999
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posted 09-25-1999 04:08 PM
I hate late arrivals more than anything else, which is a real pain since I work at a second run theatre. We usually get our films straight from the first run theatre friday morning or VERY late thursday night after their last show. Some times, certain theatres will be nice and send us the print allready made up or on 2 6000' reels. A couple of theatres won't do this and since we like to pick up as soon as we can, they rush through the break down. I've gotten films in every possible different combination you can imagine. Tails up, heads up, heads/tails double spliced on, single spliced, attached with masking tape, scotch tape, even some just wrapped around, not even attached. Some guy even spliced the cardboard censor bands on to the end of the film one time.Last week I didn't get my print of The Iron Giant until 12:30 on Friday. We have been open Friday Matinees for the last 2 weeks, but since all my staff are students and Fridays are slow, I have been working by myself until I can hire new staff. I started to make up the print and at 5 to 1 no one had shown up so I figured I was in the clear. Two minutes to show time one customer showed up for the show. I sold him his ticket and explained that the show would be a few minutes late. With help from the owner we got the print assembled and started only 15 minutes late. This was only possible since the print had arrived in good shape, tails up and all in the proper order. If any of you ever ship your prints straight to second run theatres, PLEASE make sure you ship them in a condition you would like to receive them. You will make me and every other second-run theatre projectionist a very happy man. Cheers
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