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This topic comprises 3 pages: 1 2 3
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Author
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Topic: projectionists diary / logbook?
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Brad Haven
Master Film Handler
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Posts: 300
From: fremantle, West Australia
Registered: Aug 2001
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posted 09-22-2002 01:20 AM
I'm just curious if many cinemas keep a diary or logbook for the projection room to keep track of maintanance, work done on each day, general issues concerning the booth or just to communicate between each other?I've always kept one as i've always worked for not so organized companies, i have found it to be a blessing when you get that phone call a few months later wanting to know what happened to the print that was last seen at our cinema and has since gone missing and you tell them on whatever date 'so and so' picked up the film and took it off the premises. We only work one projectionist at a time and the company wil not pay for any crossover time at shift changeover, so we dont always get a chance to communicate all the reqiured info, so the diary serves it's most important function for us in that way. I have on occasions found the diary to be a ball and chain, we all know that at times you dont have time to stop and write in the book and some things are forgotten, in an official diary this CAN mean that it didn't happen! The management know that we have a diary but only rarely asks to see it (once in the last 3 years), so we try to refrain from expressing our feelings toward the company and their decisions. Do you keep a logbook or a diary?
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Les Brock
Film Handler
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Posts: 42
From: Basingstoke, Hamshire, UK
Registered: Nov 2001
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posted 09-22-2002 03:45 AM
When I worked in projection we always kept a log detailing any problems ( print or equipment related ). It was also used for recording any feeback from the public and any messages for the projection staff on duty the next day.Projection logs are still kept by many cinemas in the UK. UCI / Filmworks cinemas make it mandatory for their projectionists to keep a log and I am sure other exhibitors do as well.
------------------ Les Brock Principal Engineer SDDS Systems. Priestly Road Basingstoke,Hants United Kingdom, RG24 9JP Phone +44 1256 484924 Les.Brock@sonybpe.com Website www.sdds.com
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Brad Miller
Administrator
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Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99
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posted 09-22-2002 04:37 AM
In most theaters I have seen, the booth log becomes a way for operators to try and push the blame on the other operators whenever something goes wrong. Everyone gets angry because people take the logged comments personally and the booth log ends up killing what was a team effort. I have yet to see a log that truly worked like it should. I am all for a log of equipment problems and especially print pickups, but I have found it is necessary to really make things clear that any personal crack, comment, implied whatever is not permitted in the log. It only causes problems. I also have a problem with people who go berzerk over the log. Hey, sometimes one of the projectionists may have been overly busy with other work than to note "had to turn up volume in #5 at customer request". Get over it! Logging things like that is just annoying anyway. Do I really need to know the status of a fader or focus setting on a show by show basis? NO! That being said a simple routine of leaving a warning note of anything not working right or any info that the other oprators need to know on the desk has always worked well in booths I have operated. Once the warning of "move this print to this auditorium for the screening today" has passed, the note is simply thrown away. Equipment associated notes are taked to a corkboard and once the problem is fixed, the notes are tossed. Trying to read through pages and pages of a journal is a huge pain when I am trying to research the problems someone has had with a particular piece of equipment. I much prefer coming into a booth and having a board of notes pinned up to check. I know people will disagree with that way of communicating, but I'm sick of the drama queens writing novels in a log and throwing hissy fits because they are reading into someone's daily diary submission too far and manipulating it into a personal insult. Notes are pretty restrictive with how much can be written and force people to be brief and get to the point. ![](http://www.film-tech.com/ubb/wink.gif)
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Ken McFall
Jedi Master Film Handler
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Posts: 615
From: Haringey, London.
Registered: Apr 2001
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posted 09-22-2002 06:28 AM
We keep a diary which allows for communication between each shift and give an idea of what work has been done each day. However, there is a tendancy to 'forget' to enter problems etc. I insist that there is an entry of 'No Problems' at the foot of each day if that is in fact the case. At least that way I can be sure they have not forgotten to enter a problem. A big empty space is no use to me.I also have an occurence report that must be filled in if there is a problem that the public would have been aware of. It has a check box for equipment failure or human error. God help anyone who make's a report blaming equipment and I spend hours trying to find a non existant fault.... The report has to be handed into the office no later than the end of that day. The duty manager should also be informed immediatly of any such problem by house phone so they don't look foolish when they get complaints..... Let's not get into how foolish some of them are anyway!! Unfortunatly any reporting system relies on honesty and consistency... can anyone tell me how to achieve that!
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John Pytlak
Film God
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Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000
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posted 09-22-2002 06:58 AM
A print log is a good idea. Documenting any problems or concerns seen while inspecting a print can help resolve any dispute if a theatre is later blamed for print damage, and would help track performance as a print is moved from screen to screen. A print log sent along with a print, documenting its' complete projection history would be ideal, since each projectionist would honestly tell of any problems they caused or encountered with the print. (We can dream, can't we?) ![](http://www.film-tech.com/ubb/wink.gif) ------------------ 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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Pete Naples
Phenomenal Film Handler
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Posts: 1565
From: Dunfermline, Scotland
Registered: Feb 2001
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posted 09-22-2002 07:40 AM
In my day we kept a booth diary and a print log. The diary was used to pass information on to colleagues, keep a record of hours, problems, items needing attention etc. The print log is pretty self explanatory, every title played was logged, with copy number and condition report, being as I mainly worked rep theatres this information could be vital to putting on a show with a good print, or not. I don't see how anything other than a single screen with one operator can be run well without some form of booth diary/log.In the Cameo, Edinburgh many years ago we were clearing out and found the booth diaries dating way back to the late 'forties. These were fascinating reading, with notes of carbon amps, how much milk was in the projectionists fridge, how many drops of oil the Nš2 intermittent had need to bring it back to level, and so on. Those are now in the posession of the National Museum of Scotland, if my memory serves me rightly. I think the were donated along with old ushers and concierge uniforms we found in some long abandoned lockers in the spooky old boiler house.
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Steve Guttag
We forgot the crackers Gromit!!!
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Posts: 12814
From: Annapolis, MD
Registered: Dec 1999
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posted 09-22-2002 09:56 AM
I've always worked a booth with a booth log...never had a problem with them yet. The Uptown most certainly has a booth log....it is our best way to communicate with each other and doesn't leave the other operators with surprises. From time-to-time, there has also been a print log. There also used to be a show log...that is, how many shows each print had. We could easily calculate how many feet of MAG film had run over each head. We must have been one of the few theatres that wore out Teccon mag heads! Steve ------------------ "Old projectionists never die, they just changeover!"
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Scott Norwood
Film God
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Posts: 8146
From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas)
Registered: Jun 99
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posted 09-22-2002 12:19 PM
We have a booth log in one place where I work. The head projectionist there started it when the theatre opened in 1998 and it seems to have worked out well. It is useful to have an historical document for technical issues, as it often makes troubleshooting easier (and is useful for maintenance items which need to be done on a regular basis, such as oil changes).In other places, communication is normally done with notes left on the rewind bench. If some particularly important piece of equipment (for example, one deck on a platter) is having problems, someone will usually leave a big "do not use" sign on it as well. I've never seen any theatre that kept a print shipping log; it seems almost redundant, though, since playdates can be determined by looking at old schedules. For rep houses or anyone else who often plays used prints, inspection reports can be useful, however. At the very least, information like "starts with...", "ends with...", type of cue marks (if changeover house), and picture sound/format information can be invaluable.
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Adam Martin
I'm not even gonna point out the irony.
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Posts: 3686
From: Dallas, TX
Registered: Nov 2000
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posted 09-22-2002 03:41 PM
I should also note that I highlight certain problems in the log, and I'm the only one allowed to do any highlighting so I know it's important.Green for projector problems and blue for sound problems. It makes it easier to quickly flip through the book and track problems. When you show up for your shift, you are required to read the log book all the way back to your last shift. In addition to the log book, there is a daily log sheet to keep track of instrument readings and showtimes and print passes, and a print log to detail the history of the print while it's at the theater. The print log gets copied and shipped out with the print when it leaves. I'm not sure I'd do a print log in a 20-plex, but it's great for large format.
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Tim Turner
Film Handler
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Posts: 87
From: Chula Vista, CA, USA
Registered: Jan 2002
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posted 09-23-2002 01:41 PM
I feel that booth logs, are very important. Any problems or things to watch out for in the booth can be noted, and the projectionist that comes in the next day can be aware of it, right away. Instead of finding out about it when he starts the show!I also think its valuble when you make changes to something, or learn how to fix something that you know the other projectionist don't know. You explain exactly what you did to fix the problem, so when they have the same trouble they'll know what to do. I found an old log book in the booth while cleaning the closest one day thats dated as far back as 1995-1997 long before I arrived in 1999. And while most of it was just doodles and rants about why someone had to close on Sunday etc, there were a few valuable things I learned from it that I never knew before. For example in 1996 there were problems with the sound going out in our #4, the projectionist noted that he found a work around by switching to a Bypass mode. If I had not read that in 2001 when I had the same sound problem in the same projector, I would not have known what to do, and would have wasted time calling the head projectionist. And probably canceling the show.... Point is, noting all of your experiences in the booth in a log, can help every other progectionist, even ones years later after you're long gone, gain more knowlege and better themselves. In a way its better than a manual if done right, because the log book talks about things specifically in that booth the projectionist works in.
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