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This topic comprises 2 pages: 1 2
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Topic: AMC new lighting policy
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Dustin Mitchell
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1865
From: Mondovi, WI, USA
Registered: Mar 2000
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posted 08-27-2002 12:06 AM
I'll check out the OSHA book next time I get the chance to see if there are theatre specific guidelines or just general ones. Feature level lighting levels are not adequate for pre-show presentation for two reasons:1) patrons are not moving in and out of the auditorium nearly as much during the feature. Someone correct me if I am wrong, but wasn't there recently a court case about someone being injured while exiting during the credits of a movie? The person won on the grounds that the feature was over (I hate mankind  ) and thus the lights should have been brought up to a higher lever. I might be remembering this one wrong though. 2) More importantly than point one, when the feature is playing there is a lot more light in the auditorium reflecting off the screen. You can't tell me that a slide presentation lit by a tiny halogen bulb is going to create as much light in an auditorium as a xenon putting 16fl of light on the screen, or hell, even one putting a paltry 8 on screen. Whichever way you look at it its a dangerous situation and AMC is opening themselves up to serious litagation (if it really is a company policy). I imagine they would lose any lawsuit brought against them because of an injury caused by poor lighting.
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John Pytlak
Film God
Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000
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posted 08-27-2002 08:33 AM
Sufficient lighting must be provided for safety, especially when people are moving about and being seated. As others have noted, the auditorium lighting should not shine ON the screen, to allow reasonable image contrast, even during the pre-show "entertainment":
http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/newsletters/pytlak/dec99.shtml ------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: +1 585 477 5325 Cell: +1 585 781 4036 Fax: +1 585 722 7243
e-mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion
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Frank Angel
Film God
Posts: 5305
From: Brooklyn NY USA
Registered: Dec 1999
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posted 08-27-2002 09:26 AM
I certainly wouldn't rely on the bounce lighting from the screen as my safety lighting for the theatre. This is can't be taken into account when designing theatre lighting -- it's not a guaranteed source of light (like when the projector jams and the safety kills the lamp). And as I said, good theatre lighting design will provide as much lighting as necessary to provide safety at all times -- movie running or not, audience entering/leaving or not, no image on the screen or bright lit screen. The level of safety lighting doesn't change with the number of people moving about at any one time. If the isle is lit well enough for 1 person, it is lit well enough for 200 people. Many theatres have now moved to those rope lights to demarcate the isles. Whatever the design, the safety goal is to
light up all the areas where patrons need to walk with enough light for them to safely maneuver even if the film were to stop with the screen dark and the full lighting did not come up. There needs to be enough light so that they can safely maneuver the isles to the exit doors. This has to be balanced with the need to have the seating area dark enough so that the audience is not distracted during the movie and of course, as John mentioned, all this and still not cause light to hit the screen. It is a tall order and many theatres don't do it very well, but where it is done correctly, all needs are met -- safety, comfort and high screen contrast.As for the theatre being dark when entering from outside -- there is no way for any lighting system to compensate for people entering the theatre from bright daylight, or even from a well lit lobby. The eye needs as much as 15 minutes to fully dilate to be able to see in a dark environment. We always go to 50% for ten minutes before the end of the preshow music so that the patrons' eyes have a chance to adjust to the "show" level lighting. You cannot walk in from the outside into a theatre without first letting your eyes adjust to the difference in light level, if you don't, well, get ready for lots of plenty of banged knees and shins -- even the danger of sitting in an already occupied seat. There is nothing even the best lit theatre interiors can do to avoid this problem. You just have to wait at the rear of the theatre until your eyes adjust to the lower light level. It's just common sense. Like you should have the expectation of getting burned if you spill a cup of hot McDonald's coffee in your lap. Frank
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John Pytlak
Film God
Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000
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posted 08-27-2002 10:06 AM
FWIW, if red light is used to illuminate the lobby, dark adaptation is retained, since it doesn't desensitize the rod (night) vision:
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/vision/rodcone.html#c5
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/vision/colpuz.html
http://www.ssssclub.com/ecjan97.htm
http://www.noteaccess.com/APPROACHES/ArtEd/ChildDev/SReality.htm ------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: +1 585 477 5325 Cell: +1 585 781 4036 Fax: +1 585 722 7243
e-mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion
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Thomas Procyk
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1842
From: Royal Palm Beach, FL, USA
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 08-27-2002 12:24 PM
Interesting that this topic got started. I wonder if this recent paragraph in the newspaper has anything to do with it:Today (August 27) - Orlando Sentinel - "Ticked Off!" (daily column where people write in about stuff that ticks them off): "I'm ticked off at movie theater chains. They discount movies in the daytime so that we seniors can save a few dollars. When you walk out of the theater you are blinded by the sun. Give free sunglasses when you exit or pay for my cataract surgery -- you creeps!" Perhaps it would be easier and cheaper if the theater would arrange for the sun to be turned off between showtimes??  Mike: quote:
Sounds like they're trying to hide poor cleaning practices!
No joke. One of the theaters I worked at (won't say which one) actually made a practice of this. I would watch them through the port window as they swept everything under the seats, and then called on the radio, "Projection? Lower the lights in Auditorium #... a little more, we can still see cups..." Disgusting. Oh, and someone please remind me to fall and get hurt at an AMC this weekend. I've always wanted to own my own theater chain... =TMP=
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Still odd that they would have them all the way down to feature level, usually there is a mid-level for trailers on screen, that would seem the logical first step rather than all the way down. Then again, who said megaplexes are logic-driven businesses, right?
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