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Author Topic: Training Reel Chris Medley Expert Film Handler Posts: 180 From: McKinney, TX, USA Registered: Jan 2004 posted 02-16-2004 02:11 AM                        I was thinking of putting a training reel togther for some new projectionists (and some old ones). ie loose cues, flipped trailers. Have any of you tried this and if so, can you give me some idea of where to start.  |  IP: Logged Michael Schaffer "Where is the Boardwalk Hotel?" Posts: 4143 From: Boston, MA Registered: Apr 2002 posted 02-16-2004 03:12 AM                        I would start at the beginning and work my way towards the end.  |  IP: Logged Floyd Justin Newton Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 559 From: Phoenix, Arizona, USA Registered: Jun 2002 posted 02-16-2004 05:53 AM                     ....duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh!.......... fjn  |  IP: Logged Manny Knowles "What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???" Posts: 4247 From: Bloomington, IN, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 02-16-2004 10:51 AM                     Flat picture thru scope lens Scope picture thru flat lens Flat picture thru flat lens with scope ap. plate Scope picture thru scope lens with flat ap. plate flopped image (soundtrack on wrong side) head/tail flop (upside-down, backwards) splicing out of frame splicing in-frame but with soundtrack "pop" Image out of focus I have done this in the past as a game and not part of the initial training (it can be overwhelming). Find short "teaser" trailers or use short segments of trailers. The process takes too long otherwise. Insert about 10-20 feet of black leader in between each trailer and be sure to close the manual dowser to hide what you're doing to mess up the next trailer. Prepare a sheet with the name of each trailer, in order. Leave room for them to write notes. Make certain that you have a corresponding cue sheet in the booth so that you can create the problems you want them to spot (in the correct order). Have the projectionists go into the auditorium and make sure they sit apart from one another. Leave the house lights at half so they can see what they are writing. (If you normally run trailers with lights down then you might explain why the lights are left on; they might otherwise list it as a "mistake.") You should remain in the booth to run (or supervise) this show. Join the staff in the theatre afterward to discuss the problems. Make certain they are able to (a) state the problem and (b) determine the cause of the problem. Examples: (a) picture was upside-down and sound running backwards (b) trailer was spliced backwards -- head/tail flopped (a) soundtrack visible on-screen and text printed backwards (b) trailer was flopped -- soundtracks not aligned (a) image was scope width but cropped top/bottom (b) flat aperture plate in gate etc... Avoid the temptation to include a multitude of problems in a single trailer. In other words, I would not advise playing a flat trailer thru scope lens, flopped and/or backward. That's a bit too advanced and, in my opinion, not a likely scenario. (A much better "trick" question would be to include a trailer that is played correctly!) If you have a soundhead that can do this, you might want to run a trailer with the impedence roller disengaged. This will demonstrate the "motorboating" effect. Disengage the digital audio system (if you have one). Run the test with analog sound only. [ 02-16-2004, 01:13 PM: Message edited by: Manny Knowles ]  |  IP: Logged Gary Crawford Expert Film Handler Posts: 200 From: Neptune NJ USA Registered: Nov 2003 posted 02-16-2004 03:15 PM                     Manny's ideas are great. When I first started we had one of our service guys stroll around the booth and shut your lamp off, open the guide roller in the sound head, turn your amps off, twist the focus knob, all kinds of things like that. The idea was to see how we would handle a problem. It drove me nuts at the time but it did teach me how to speed up troubleshooting and keep the show on the screen. He wasn't above coming in early and rewinding your 3rd reel so it would be tails-up when you took it from the bin. Once he even went into the trailer reel and cut a splice and then rewound it to see how I would handle a film break, or another time made a splice out of frame. Later on I got to do this stuff to the new guys.  |  IP: Logged Randy Stankey Film God Posts: 6539 From: Erie, Pennsylvania Registered: Jun 99 posted 02-16-2004 03:55 PM                     For people who have experience, the difference between aspect ratios is second nature. For people who are just starting out it can be pretty difficult to understand. Make a comparison chart something like this: Being able to actually see the difference between ratios makes it a lot easier to explain to people why it's so important to install the right lens and aperture for each film. If your theater only has Flat & Scope lenses the trainer's job is a lot easier but if you have lenses for other ratios it can be a lot more difficult for people to visualize. It's especially difficult for some people to visualize how certain films, when shown through the wrong lens/aperture will be cropped. For instance, when a 1.66 film is played through a 1.85 lens, the projectionist has to make a "Hobson's Choice" between framing for the subtitles at the bottom of the screen or chopping off the tops of peoples' heads. If you like this chart feel free to use it... or edit it for the ratios your theater uses.  |  IP: Logged Manny Knowles "What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???" Posts: 4247 From: Bloomington, IN, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 02-16-2004 04:52 PM                     Gary: Gee, sounds like that guy was responsible for a lot of screwed up shows. I can't believe he was the guy in charge. That madman ought to have been the first one banned from the booth! I hope some of these younger booth techs don't buy into that kind of guerilla training. ****** Randy: Framing on those "croppy" formats (i.e. cropped = crap) requires a certain eye for composition. "Honey" is a great film if for no other reason than the fact that it lends itself to demonstrating the importance of correct framing for a crapped film: There is a microphone hanging in almost every shot! Once, to illustrate how 'scope works: I drew the figure of an oval inside a square onto a dental dam with a Sharpie marker. Then I got two "volunteers" to stretch it out to make the oval turn into a circle. In the process, the square frame became a wide rectangle. That turned out to be pretty effective in actuality. As for AR comparison illustrations, the best I've seen has boxes in boxes. The biggest, of course, being an IMAX frame. Our booths have whiteboards so I usually just draw it as I'm teaching. I draw in Academy, 1.85 and scope and leave the others out since we don't use them.  |  IP: Logged

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