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Topic: Technicolor using ETS reels

Brad Miller
Administrator

Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99

posted 11-22-1999 10:52 PM

Well, all the prints received here from Technicolor this week were on brand new ETS reels. I'm wondering if this is the case throughout the country and if Technicolor finally realized their patented designs were a joke.

So, who else got their TES prints on new ETS reels...and why would they actually patent their reel design? It's not like ETS or someone else is going to run out and try to steal their design.

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Joe Redifer
You need a beating today

Posts: 12859
From: Denver, Colorado
Registered: May 99

posted 11-23-1999 12:24 AM

What I am more interested in knowing is who else is getting their TES prints TWO DAYS prior instead of the normal Technicolor 1 day? Why aren't we getting them 2 days prior as well? I want them two days prior, and there is no excuse not to have them two days prior. Everyone, without exception, needs to have their TES prints two days prior. Maybe I should call them about this. Everyone else should, too.

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Masao Garcia
Film Handler

Posts: 34
From: Lancaster, CA, USA
Registered: Oct 1999

posted 11-23-1999 01:06 AM

I've occasionally seen an ETS reel or two in the TES cans, but I always figured they stole them or something. Personally, I'm still getting crappy TES reels and for reasons unknown to me, they always pack half of a reel which has broken apart with the rest of the reels. This has been the case for the last 3 weeks. It's as if they realize the reel has broken right before they close up the cans and then they put a slightly less broken half of a reel and they keep the broken broken one in there for me to throw away. And one last rant, they didn't pack the DTS discs with the Messenger, so I had to order them and they got to me on like Tuesday (ordered them Thursday night), so I got to play the movie in digital for two and a half days before it was put in a non-digital house. Stupid Technicolor....

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Michael Cunningham
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 186
From: Anchorage, AK
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 11-23-1999 01:42 AM

Joe,
Here in Anchorage, Alaska we always get our Technicolor prints two days in advance regardless of which day of the week the print opens. Maybe that's because they allow more time for shipping all the way up here. What I would really like is two days clearance on returning the things. Hate those late Thursday nights!

Mike

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 11-25-1999 01:05 PM

I had a phone call from a Technicolor person last night, who asked "If Airborne has your freight one day prior to your scheduled delivery date, is is all right with you if they go ahead and deliver it early, rather than waiting till the scheduled date?"

Of course, I said "You bet it's all right." So now we'll see if we start getting prints early.

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Rick Uhlhorn
Film Handler

Posts: 11
From: Cedar Park, Texas USA
Registered: Oct 1999

posted 11-25-1999 11:15 PM

i always call technicolor on thursday to find out which prints they are sched. to pick up on firday. as we have 10 screens it sometimes gets a little busy in the booth on thursday night. if we ship out more than 3 prints i ask technicolor which prints they need returned on friday. they usually tell me which prints are not priority returns and reschedule them to be picked up on monday. things don't get rushed this way. other topic i wish goldberg made plastic shipping reels.

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Bruce McGee
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1776
From: Asheville, NC USA... Nowhere in Particular.
Registered: Aug 1999

posted 11-29-1999 10:51 AM

I just had my first experience with these TES reels that you have been raving over as long as I have known about this site. ONE reel of a 6 reel feature came apart as I was picking it up to place it on the inspection table. It fell less than a foot to the floor, but the center popped out and the film went everywhere. Thanks to my not coming unglued, the print is now safe and sound on some of the nice yellow reels that I bought from Brad.

Now I know what they look like, and how to avoid this catastrophe again.

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Randy Stankey
Film God

Posts: 6539
From: Erie, Pennsylvania
Registered: Jun 99

posted 11-29-1999 01:04 PM

My latest 'tactic' has been to trash all the old, beat up Technicrapper reels I come across.

We just got a couple of 2k split reels and we got to put them to use almost immediately! Toy Story had 3 or 4 broken reels and End of Days had one or two.

The theory is this... If THEY aren't going to throw out those bad reels, SOMEBODY has to! More film is geting damaged by those reels than would be damaged if you just bagged them up (plastic bag) and sent them back on the cores. If all those junky reels get tossed, they are out of circulation and eventually will have to be replaced with new ones.

If more people would throw those reels in the trash then the problem would go away in no time!

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Brad Miller
Administrator

Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99

posted 11-29-1999 02:49 PM

This may sound too amazing for everyone to believe, but it's true. I got 10 out of 12 broken reels (broken beyond belief I might add) on 2 End of Days prints, called TES and they actually sent out replacement reels!!! I've tried this many times before with no luck, but after that one just tossed them in the trash, figuring when the prints (all but 1 reel each) came back on cores they would get the hint.

Everyone might want to try this. Perhaps they have realized their reels are a joke and will send out replacements rather than receive their prints back on cores.

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Jim Ziegler
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 753
From: West Hollywood, CA
Registered: Jul 99

posted 11-30-1999 04:24 AM

Were the reels they sent out new and undamaged? If so, I might call them and get some just because I need some plastic 2ks...

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Brad Miller
Administrator

Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99

posted 11-30-1999 03:05 PM

Old, worn, marked up, dirty, all the fabulous qualities we have come to expect from our friends at TES.

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Joe Redifer
You need a beating today

Posts: 12859
From: Denver, Colorado
Registered: May 99

posted 11-30-1999 08:58 PM

I had several broken reels on my End of Days prints. One of them fell apart during buildup and damaged some film. I called TES and bitched, of course. I got them to pay for the replacement reel that was damaged. They always send out empty replacement reels to compensate for the bad ones as well, but it can sometimes take a couple of weeks to get them. I asked to speak to a manager when I was on the phone with TES, and I asked her why these reels ever make it out of the depot. She said it is because they are not visably damaged. I pointed out to her that one reel was held together with masking tape--very visable! Not much of a response to that. But she did say that a select few theatres are testing their new reel design (not the newer clear ones we have been seeing, I don't think anybody on this forum is a TES test theatre). She says if results come back good then they will start trashing all of the old crapper reels. The newer ones supposedly do not need a tool to come apart, so theoretically they should not break in half. We'll see.

I certainly will not take the time to tear down my prints onto cores. I have Christie platters. You cannot put a split reel on a Christie platter table because the spindle doesn't have the notch required to spin the damn thing. I would have to tear down to regular 2000's and then rewind to cores at the workbench. Too much trouble to make a point.

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Scott Ribbens
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 118
From: Los Angeles
Registered: Oct 1999

posted 11-30-1999 09:14 PM

The reason that most of the reels are broken, is because the people who slap them together when they ship out prints, don't pay attention to HOW they put the flanges on the cores. Then someone at a Theatre has to pry them apart so they can load the reel on the make-up table or rewind bench. The person doing that is in a hurry and the locks break off. Or someone removeing the prints at the end of the run breaks the locks off. But instead of trashing them, they probably throw the flange in a box and then they go back on a new print..... and the cycle continues.

By the way, for the most part, the guys at the labs run the reels...core to core. It's pretty rare that they actually run film on "reels".

On another note, did you know that the "Break apart Killer Reels" cost the same amount as the one piece plastic reels.

------------------

Scott

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