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Topic: Automatic starts
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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 08-02-2003 08:54 PM
Auto start timers are an ideal feature of any professional booth. I say professional because if the theater is hiring kids who can't or don't want to learn how to thread properly and in frame, etc. then those guys need to be there when the show starts and it is not a professional booth IMHO. For a booth staffed with professionals, then there is no problem with it at all and it allows them to operate the booth to a greater efficiency. For example, let's say a projector breaks down and the projectionist needs to do a quick repair, he can't if he is off trying to start shows manually. Print buildup nights, trailer changing nights, etc. offers the projectionist the ability to multi-task, saving time and the employeer payroll money. Simply put, the only time automatic starts are a bad thing is when a booth is not being ran by professionals.
Now if there is nothing else urgent going on at the time, then by all means the projectionist should make an attempt to be there when it starts, or at least during the trailer pack before the feature starts. For that matter I am a firm believer in the "20 minute policy", where the projectionist must check each screen's presentation every 20 minutes to ensure a quality show, so by no means misinterpret this as my claiming that timers mean the projectionists shouldn't be checking on the shows anyway. However when situations arise, having timers keeps the shows running smoothly and on time. Hey, those projectionists gotta sometime!
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John Scott
Master Film Handler
Posts: 252
From: Oakdale, MN, USA
Registered: Jul 2000
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posted 08-03-2003 02:57 AM
Having at one point managed a complex with ELF Platters and automatic starts, I am of the strong opinion that the auto starts should NOT be used. While it can be a time and labor saver under ideal circumstances, I found that it often just leads to lazy booth operators, poor presentation, dirty projectors, and show-stopping problems. After discussion with my city manager at the time, we disabled the auto-starts, and were lucky enough to get the ELF decks replaced with normal platter decks. With needing someone up there to start and thread every show, the vast majority of our problems stopped.
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