Earlier this week, I voiced an opinion to someone near the 'top of the totem pole'. That opinion being that playing three different prints a day in one auditorium is very impractical from the projectionist's point of view. As lifting and moving a print is a 'two person job', and getting assistance in shuffling prints around all day tended to be pretty difficult. That got some wheels spinning in the mind of the person to whom I was speaking, and he told me that the home office had recently gotten some 'literature' on some gizmo that facilitated one person print moves.
A few days later, a fax came in, addressed to me, about something called 'the Print Pocket'. From what I read and saw on the fax, it looked as though it would work, and be quite slick about it.

...So, has anyone encountered one of these? Does it work well, or is it just one more annoyance?

There was something about this a few months back. Do a search "moving prints" and you should turn up with something. Personally, I just assume place all of the platters in the middle of the booth and thread to whatever projector management wants.

I'd just assume equip all theatres reel-to-reel and not worry about moving prints around!

Mr. Lucas would just assume he tells the Master Control Program to load the different movies into the various DLP via the eithernet port that HE controls.

Steve

Does "just assume" = "just as soon" ?

Gordon, I've heard of "bicycling" prints but that goes beyond!

I LOVE Brad's idea about putting the platters in the center of the room and threading to whichever machine you need. This could really work, couldn't it? Or even just placing film rollers and guides strategically in a conventional platter booth so that when needed, you could actually thread to a different projector regardless of which projector the platter sits next too. In a 12-plex booth, they are always stringing a print from a platter thru two and three machines in interlock, sometimes the projectors are on opposite sides of the booth. I've never seen this in actual operation -- just the thought of interlocking three projectors playing off the same platter is enough to give me nightmares. But I would think it would be even easier to do this if it were just to get to a particular machine with no interlock involved.

Come to think of it...you wouldn't really have to put them in the middle of the room. Unless you had one of those "round-the-room" layouts. If the projectors are all in a straight-line formation, then you just need a lot of helper rollers and you could "move" a print by simply showing it.

 |  IP: Logged