Let's me tell you another story of "film done bad".

When I recevied my copy of "moulin rouge", there weren't DTS disks. So the next day, in the morning, I went to the distributor (Giglio FIlm-Florence) asking for the disks and, luckily, they gave me a copy.
After a month of projection my colleague forgot to send back the disks so today morning I went to the distributor to give them the disks.

The person that manage the depot, said me to "leave the part number on the print".

Let me explain. Usually we receive all prints (sometimes also New print) with a sticher on the print with wrote which reel is and what side (for example "P1" after the start of the reel and "F1" before the end).

Since I DON'T WANT TO SEE ANYTHING ON MY SCREEN, I carefully remove every time the stickers from the print.
Today I was told to leave the sticker where they are. I told to the men that "I will continue to remove them because stickers can be seen from the audience" and the answer was "No, they cannot be seen".
I reply with "Yes instead. Otherwise I'll left on the print" but I told him that I will remove the stickers and then I will put new ones when the print leaves my theater.
I told him that it is unnecessary because I always splice correct leaders to each reel and I put a sticker on the leader with the number of part (also if it is already wrote on the leaders itself).
He reply me that "Why do you splice leaders? We throw them away each time"...
I told him that leaders are for protective purpouse and he reply me that "No, prints doesn't scratch during transport because the emulsion is not on the external side of the reel; scratches are made in the projectors".

I reply him that I never scratched a print during my 3 years job in the cinema and that the emulsion can be at the external side, it depends how the projectionist have rewind the movie. I've projected "Moulin rouge" for one month and there were absolutely NO scratches on the print, just few black spots at splices; I manually clean the print every week.

Few weeks ago I put pieces of an old trailer around each reel of my copy of "save the last dance" (projected by another theater for just *a week* and DESTROYED) because leaders were not in the boxes.
Now I know that distributors throw away the leaders...

I'm very demotivated after this interesting conversation.
Ok, what I'm doing is for my audience, not for the distributor, but...

Bye

You are absolutely correct that the leaders provide protection for the print during shipping, and should always be properly spliced back on. Standard SMPTE 301 specifies the length of the leaders, and recommends that "it shall be restored to its original length" when sections are lost.

You are also correct that the audience should never see or hear stickers, splices, or any other distraction during the movie.

It's a shame we can't clone and send the clones into these film exchanges to stop this kind of thing, not to mention to enlighten the unwashed on leader-removal etiquette.

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John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
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

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Grazie John, sei veramente gentile!!

I told the happened to my manager: he told me that, unfortunately, this happen frequently but that I have his support for "making film right"!

My theater will probably close within 2 year, due to new megaplex builded out of the city. I'm now thinking about changing type of job: I make computer manteinance in a school during spare time and I like it but I like Cinema too.
However I think that my manager is just an unique event and surely I will hit a wall if I will start working in a multiplex or in another theater.
I love this job, but I want to do it in the right way. Be a projectionist in a theater where the clock is the main thing and no attention is put to film and its presentation is like working in a supermarket. And I don't want to work in a supermarket.

I saw many multiplex and "normal" theaters around Italy and in my town: I saw new Medusa (italian company) multiplex and the presentations was horrible (despite what the manager said to me).
I heard very bad about Warner Village and Kinepolis.

So I'm convincing myself that the right way to love cinema is to be there as a customer...

Thanks for your support!

Bye
Antonio

Your sad-faced "Smilies" icon is appropriate. I hope you can continue to find theatres that value presentation quality, and the skilled people needed to maintain it. IMHO, the best way to improve the movie industry is from the "inside", doing the best job we can and providing good business reasons for having skilled people as projectionists, and for putting projection and sound quality high on the priority list. Maybe you can be the one to "make a difference" in improving the presentation quality within one of those theatres that are run like "supermarkets".

------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
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

No, I LOVE multiplex! I told you that I go to Milan (600 km from Florence) once for year (last time to see "Jurassik park 3" and "Final Fantasy") because it is an "ultimate experience": the owner is convinced that good presentation is the key of the theater and usually his 5 screen are plenty of people coming from all Italy. Presentation are perfect: no scratch, no dirty, sound PERFECT, huge screens, best seats. Only after 3 years of projection I was able to see the Change over and the automation cues... With his 5 screen is at 11th place in the Italian list of "best City"!

However I'm convincing myself that Multiplex works like a supermarket.
I told you about "Medusa" one (200 km from my home): screen one had all digital formats (including SDDS-8 and 70mm DTS), Crown amplifiers, Dolby EX, THX certification, 20meters long screen, a LOT of speakers in the auditorium...

However the film was scratched from the beginning to the end, the sound was poor and low (poor sound=poor EQ considering the quality of speaker and auditorium): I heard NO surround sound, NO subwoofer sound. Just a good Stereo movie.

I saw other three movies in that multiplex, all three bad-presented. And I will never go to that Multiplex of course.

I would like to work in a Multiplex, I would like to give my best improving not one but 20 screens... However I believe that I will faced up with a manager that say "No matter if DTS is doesn't working" or "you have to build the movie in less than 20 minutes" or "You don't have to clean film/equipment because you spend too many hours" and similar.

German, in Florence almost ALL theater work like Supermarket, not only Multiplex. That is the reason cause I'm deciding to "be a customer"...

John,

I know that movie presentation can be changed only by inside but I believe that, in Italy, it will be a very "Mission Impossibile".

Thanks to everyone!

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So it is not only my colleague, it is common to all projectionists...

But, forgive the question, who are you in your booth?