Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Hey you, you suck! (AKA: Outing bad film handlers)

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Topic: Hey you, you suck! (AKA: Outing bad film handlers)

Chris Brown
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 105
From: Fairport, NY, USA
Registered: Nov 2004

posted 12-13-2004 02:04 PM

Boy I wish our courier took the prints up to the booth! We have a stairway that leads up there, with a door...he usually leaves the prints at the bottom of the stairs. Which isnt so bad I suppose. It would be nice if they were brought upstairs, but if there are a lot I usually have someone on staff give me a hand lugging them up.

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Rick Raskin
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1100
From: Manassas Virginia
Registered: Jan 2003

posted 12-13-2004 03:20 PM

Hmm... Sounds like a thread from a while back: about the silliness of union operators contracting that the film be delivered to the booth. Maybe it wasn't so bad after all!

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Dan Lyons
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 698
From: Seal Beach, CA
Registered: Sep 2002

posted 12-13-2004 04:38 PM

Carrying cans up stairs is good for you! Great workout for your legs and ass. [thumbsup]

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Andy Aggieri
Film Handler

Posts: 34
From: Las Vegas, NV
Registered: Apr 2004

posted 12-13-2004 06:47 PM

Our ETS prints do not get any farther than the curb, and the TES prints make it just inside the front door [fu]

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Steve Kraus
Film God

Posts: 4094
From: Chicago, IL, USA
Registered: May 2000

posted 12-13-2004 07:15 PM

DHL & Sky bringing Technicolor prints are efficient and deliver right to me. As do UPS, FedEx etc. bringing prints from smaller distributors. Likewise the various courier services like Network, Airnet, Danzas, Paramount Courier bringing me screening prints whether from ETS or otherwise.

The one issue I have is with the trucking company who brings me the run of the mill ETS prints as they constantly gripe about parking and think I should be bringing all films to them in the lobby and fetching them from there (this is an office building). Dropoffs with building security when we aren't there are fine but I draw the line at taking down any more than a single print if I can (never while on screen). Everyone else comes up so they can too. Thus I have no plans to buy a dolly.

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Scott Norwood
Film God

Posts: 8146
From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas)
Registered: Jun 99

posted 12-13-2004 10:20 PM

Hey, you, at the "N and S Cinema 6" in Daytona Beach, FL., you suck! You sent me what is probably the only USA print of "Hukkle," complete with masking-taped leaders (some flipped), inconsistent reel orientation, shoe polish (maybe not your fault), and a random cut in the middle of the credits that you then decided to re-attach with masking tape. Worse, you used the nasty white splicing tape when you plattered this print and you used about one square inch of masking tape to hold down the reel ends; of course the tape didn't hold and the film was all over the can when I opened it.

As for shipping, around here, prints usually get delivered and picked up in the theatre lobby. The delivery companies usually have keys to the lobbies and can pick up or deliver at whatever time is convenient. I've never seen delivery to the booth by a delivery company, unless an usher or manager decides to be helpful by carrying the prints.

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Steve Kraus
Film God

Posts: 4094
From: Chicago, IL, USA
Registered: May 2000

posted 12-14-2004 12:32 AM

I played that 10/30/03. I don't recall anything about it.

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Bill Gabel
Film God

Posts: 3873
From: Technicolor / Postworks NY, USA
Registered: Jan 2002

posted 12-14-2004 09:12 AM

My prints are all delivered to the booth with no problems. We also never release a print to a courier service without them telling so the title and print number. Otherwise they have to call their company dispatch for the information.

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Steve Kraus
Film God

Posts: 4094
From: Chicago, IL, USA
Registered: May 2000

posted 12-14-2004 01:45 PM

That is my policy as well: Ask for it by name. And no I will not tell you what it might be.

--

Here is a puzzler: Lemony Snicket Print 20 Reel 1 contained 2 theatre-made splices causing slight sound jumps. I thought maybe someone cut out raw stock splices. Out of curiousity I wound it back for closer examination. First of all they were both at scene changes while lab splices would be entirely random. And taking careful measurements based on the Kodak edge markings I determined that both had exactly 4 frames missing. Hmm....makes you wonder.

---

Fat Albert Print 14 . The bozo who initially screened this added the 3 loose trailers and instead of cutting the head leader of R1 in the black did so adjacent to the first frame of the Fox logo thus cutting first second or so of sound. If the head leader was kept as part of the build then they heard this while looking at the green band of the first trailer.

Is it really so hard to do this job properly?

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Thomas Procyk
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1842
From: Royal Palm Beach, FL, USA
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 12-14-2004 02:09 PM

That's my biggest annoyance... when people treat the first and last reels like they're the middle of the print: Leaving an ID frame of the green band on the head of R1 (and most of the time not including the attached trailer!) or the first frame of the studio logo. The three worst logos to do this on are Fox, Columbia and Universal. All have sound fading up or entering before the first frame.

And why the hell do some theaters cut the TAIL off of the LAST reel when plattering?? This ruins the end of the credits, or any additional footage at the end, not to mention several layers beforehand because they like to LICK the tail when moving prints. [Mad]

Oh, and don't forget to leave one frame of the ratings band on the tail of the last leader so you know that's the end of the print. [Roll Eyes]

Yes, Steve, for a lot of people, doing it properly is too much work. [Frown]

Getting back to Chase Hanson's squabble earlier:

quote: Chase Hanson
I dont think you guys would be able to read any of ours...we usually "recycle" our tail tape to attach heads/tails.

Remember, he wasn't talking about securing the reels. He was talking about "attaching heads and tails" which to me sounds like he's using the $5 artist's tape when he's supposed to be SPLICING them back on. Which in turn means he could be using $500 tape and would still suck. [Razz]

=TMP=

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Chase Hanson
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 172
From: San Diego, CA
Registered: Oct 2004

posted 12-14-2004 07:04 PM

quote: Thomas Procyk
Remember, he wasn't talking about securing the reels. He was talking about "attaching heads and tails" which to me sounds like he's using the $5 artist's tape when he's supposed to be SPLICING them back on. Which in turn means he could be using $500 tape and would still suck.

You get a

for figuring out what I meant about securing heads and tails. But a [thumbsdown]

for saying I suck.

No I dont splice heads or tails. One out of the 8, 35SS Neumades we use actually makes an honest to god decent splice. Clean even trims on the sides and smooth sprocket perfs, every other unit has one or more malities that make them barely tolerable in my opinion. So ill spare "you guys" the eminent joy of dealing with compounded soundtrack/sprocket damage and more punchout dimples than you can shake a film handling glove at and just tape the mofos together.

I use about 4"-6" of fresh tape to secure the reels if I have a head/tail...and in those "rare" circumstances when I dont Ill get a little silly and blow 18-26" of expensive tape to do a full lap around the reel.

I think my moniker should be "bad film handler"...since I apparently am. [uhoh]

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

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

posted 12-14-2004 07:11 PM

quote: Thomas Procyk
And why the hell do some theaters cut the TAIL off of the LAST reel when plattering?? This ruins the end of the credits, or any additional footage at the end, not to mention several layers beforehand because they like to LICK the tail when moving prints.

I remove the tail. This is because of our automation. It has a nasty habit of "pushing the stereo button" all by itself if the end-of-film cue isn't in exactly the right place, which leads to all sorts of racket and potential speaker damage from the end tail going through.

HOWEVER, I also replace that tail with a long piece of film that starts off with the end-of-film cue. This also lets me place one less cue directly on the film. I never cut off any part of the actual movie or the credits.

As for licking the film, we are a single screen so no moving of prints is involved, and we don't have a need for lickage here. [Smile]

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Steve Kraus
Film God

Posts: 4094
From: Chicago, IL, USA
Registered: May 2000

posted 12-14-2004 08:51 PM

Your splicers are crap and you know this and don't do anything about it? And you don't resplice leaders? Yes, you are indeed a lousy film handler.

But thanks for the suggestion that the powers that be create a bad film handler label for those who admit being such...until they change their ways.

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Randy Stankey
Film God

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

posted 12-14-2004 11:50 PM

87% of your splicers are bad, probably, because some BUTTHEAD took them apart!

If the film cutter gets dull or misaligned, I can sort of understand how that might happen from mere neglect. (Sort of!)
If the razor blades are misaligned, dirty and dull I can sort of understand how somebody wouldn't change them. (They can be a P.I.T.A. unless somebody shows you how.)
If the punch holes are full of gum and dirt and the compartment on the bottom hasn't been cleaned out in a long time I can see how the splicer would malfunction.

Those are forgivable... if you are the forgiving kind.

However, if a splicer makes a, "SNAP!", or a, "CLINK!" sound when you push it down instead of the nice, positive-sounding, "Click!", it's misaligned. If it tears out he sprocket holes of the film when it punches them, it's misaligned.

Practically the only way for them to get misaligned is if somebody took one apart! (Or somebody dropped it.) People that take splicers apart PISS ME OFF! [Mad]

I have reasembled so many splicers because somebody disasembled them and couldn't get them back together right that I have had nightmares about it!

Oh! One more question. You have EIGHT splicers? EIGHT?! Let me get this straight... One-two-three-four-five-six-seven-EIGHT!?
Cheeze and CRACKERS! I was only allowed to have TWO! And, that was beause we bitched and BITCHED for an extra one. We had 17 screens. We FINALLY got a third splicer by ordering part by part until I could build a "Franken-Splicer" out of them! You've got eight splicers and nobody knows how to take care of them! IF I wasn't so sickened by that I'd be amused!

I'll make you a deal. Send me all of your extra splicers. I'll take them apart, clean, repair and realign them. I'll send you whatever number of working splicers I can make out of that pile of junk, except I get to keep two of them as payment.

If you send me seven splicers and I can make six of them work again, you'll get back four of them. If I can make ALL of them work, you'll get back five.

You'll have four or five more working splicers than you had before... 500% improvement! Technically, it won't cost you a penny and the corporate muckety-mucks who run the company will think you did a good job!

I'll give the other two a good home where they'll be taken care of.

Then I'll give the busted parts a decent burial!

Jeez! Splicer abuse pisses me off!

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Ever Gonzalez
Film Handler

Posts: 29
From: San Diego, CA
Registered: Oct 2004

posted 12-15-2004 02:59 AM

Chase continues to amaze me.

I have no idea what he is talking about with the splicers. We do have 8 of them.

1 at the far east end with MUT #5
1 at the east build-up table
1 at the mid east side with MUT #4
1 at the center east side with MUT #3
2 at the 3 build-up tables in the center of the booth
1 at the mid west side with MUT #2
1 at the far west side with MUT #1

All in great working condition. (going to double check this Thursday since I am now officially back at this theatre)

I now realize that I am spoiled with 8 splicers. I would complain when one would run out of tape and I had to walk 20 steps to get another splicer to finish the splice from the pull. Man, we are spoiled when it comes to splicers.

I have sent out I believe all 8 of them at some point have been sent for repair. The company we deal with actually takes them apart and puts them back together with new parts if needed. They came back perfect and would splice with that perfect "click" sound and that perfect "no hassle" splice.

I have (when I was there) a booth duty for my booth supervisors to check, clean, and note if any splicers are in need of repair. I certainly check the ones I use and send out immediately. We even have a "incoming" and an "out-going" shelf for employess to use for splicers in need of repair or those splicers that just came in from being repaired.

If any of these splicers did what Chase claims they do, then why hasn't he said anything?

I really don't think there is an equipment problems here.

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