my profile | my password | search | faq & rules | forum home

» Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE   » Operations   » Film Handlers' Forum   » List some dumb things you have seen projectionists do (Page 1)

This topic comprises 7 pages: 1  2  3  4  5  6  7

Author Topic: List some dumb things you have seen projectionists do Chris Hipp Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1462 From: Mesquite, Tx (east of Dallas) Registered: Jul 2003 posted 03-23-2006 11:18 PM                     This is relating to film and equipment. Stories like getting drunk and mooning the audience through the port window belong in a different thread. something I have seen: I know of someone who has his or her opening "projectionist" pre-cut the heads and tails of the new prints, then splice them back together and put them back in the cans until the scheduled build up person(s) arrives to officially build the print. This is supposed to somehow make the job easier for the person(s) building up at night.  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 03-24-2006 12:04 AM                     I know of one guy who has a fool-proof system for removing scratches from prints. His solution? Simply cut out the scratched footage and throw it away! Voila, a scratch-free print. No joke, he's one of the head local booth guys and it's for a major chain too.  |  IP: Logged Ron Curran Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 504 From: Springwood NSW Australia Registered: Feb 2006 posted 03-24-2006 01:48 AM                        To maintain a constant width, for Scope this Projectionist cut a new plate to crop the width and fitted a new lens. who cares what goes on at the sides, he said. Don't try this at home.  |  IP: Logged Monte L Fullmer Film God Posts: 8367 From: Nampa, Idaho, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 03-24-2006 02:57 AM                     Two stories here... 1 - Knowing an operator that would slop up a print with 20 ft of shoe polish on each end of the splice and still use yellow opaque tape at the join. I asked him on this and he told me that he doesn't want to waste his time hunting for the splices (typical lazy-type operator who gets paid royally and still has very lazy booth operations..) on breakdown. ....for a three plex. 2- (this one really tops them all for me...) I was a booth manager for a megaplex and had 6 assistants under me. One assistant (assistant "A"), determined to make a notch with the theatre, was working with my other assistant (assistant "B") for the day session - I wasn't scheduled until the evening shift. We were playing "SW-EPI" back in '99. I arrived for the evening shift and assistant "B" told me something that I just about flipped over and should have fired assistant "A" for his stupiditiy. Assistant "A" was covering one half of the building and had called Assistant "B" over to 'verify' something. Assistant "B" got over there and about crapped a brick. Here was a P35 machine, running WITHOUT any loops whatsoever, hammering away like mad. - in the middle of SW:EP1. Assistant "B" immediately slammed down the machine and reset the loops for normal operation. (guess what happened is that he did something to the Ultramittent shoe to pop them open, thus losing the loops..) and asked Assistant "A", after doing the resetting: "Why the frik didn't you shut down the machine immediately when these loops were lost! Don't you have common sense when these things happen to obviously know what to do?" Then, the CLASSIC answer was: "Thank you very much. I do have common sense. It's just that I needed someone to come over here to verify that there is something wrong before I shut down this machine...! " ...we had to order a replacement reel that was damaged DUE to "his common sense." ..to this day, even though Assistant "B" has gone off to other lands and adventures, we occasionly keep in contact and remind each other to "use common sense to verify something.." ..that was the worst one I've ever heard about... -Monte  |  IP: Logged Dieter Depypere Master Film Handler Posts: 343 From: Deutsch-Wagram, Lower Austria, Austria Registered: May 2005 posted 03-24-2006 03:56 AM                     I know SOME (not only one!) projectionists, who cut out half of the credits and splice them back on after playing. So you get a print with lots 'o splices in the credits section.  |  IP: Logged Jason Winn Expert Film Handler Posts: 131 From: Mesquite, TX, USA Registered: Jan 2006 posted 03-24-2006 12:32 PM                     This one guy I used to work with was building up the print Van Helsing. He somehow "forgot" an entire reel! He put the reels on like this: ...4, 5, and 7. He skipped reel 6! He didn't even realize it until it was being screened by one of the other projectionists. They were putting away the cans and he saw an extra reel just lying around. He had to stop the movie and add it on. The same guy I just mentioned above was "attempting" to build up Elektra one night. Notice I said "attempting" because this has to single-handedly be the worst build-up job I have ever seen. First, he put two of the same trailers on. He had two Mr. and Mrs. Smith trailers back to back. Then, he forgot to put the Fantastic Four trailer on. By the way, Fox was advertising Fantastic Four to be shown before Elektra, so it was a big deal. Then, he had two (not one, but two) mis-splices during the trailer pack. But it gets better! He left a piece of tape on the print about halfway through the movie. When it ran through the projector, it caused a brain-wrap. It was a huge mess. About a foot and a half was chewed up and had to be cut off. Plus, I think some of the film got scratched due to the brain-wrap. Last but not least, the same guy I mentioned both times above started a movie nearly 25 minutes late one time! That is unacceptable! You know why he started it late? Because he just forgot about it. He was sitting around doing nothing and wasn't paying attention to his performance schedule. He wasn't even in the booth, so he didn't hear the projector beeping. What really surprises me is that the customers in the theatre waited so long before they told someone their movie hadn't started yet. It was a weekday and we weren't really that busy. I think there was only like 5 or 6 people in the theatre. But, that is still unacceptable. I never started movies late. I don't see how someone could start a movie 25 minutes late. The best part is, after it happened, this guy was laughing about it like it was no big deal. I just wanted to slap some sense into him. Oh, guess what happened to this guy? He got promoted to booth manager! Go figure! Hey, Brad, you were talking about one of the local head booth guys. I think these two guys might be related.  |  IP: Logged Louis Bornwasser Film God Posts: 4441 From: prospect ky usa Registered: Mar 2005 posted 03-24-2006 01:03 PM                        Must we DO this? ......oh well: Guy #1 hears that talcum powder will keep tape from sticking so, during a "guest appearance" at a theatre with AW-2 platter he dumps about 1.5 lb of talcum powder on top of the film pack on feed out platter. Other than dirt he gets by for 2-3 reels, when the center feed arm stops moving due to talcum build up. It took 2 operator and me 3 hours to untangle the mess and resplice. Remember each splice, the film and the hands had to be cleaned before tapa would stick. (This guy had 12 years experience, but not with platters) Guy #2 had 2 machine auutomation, but did not trust the cues. He "cued early" and also ran down late. 15-20 feet of film "missed" at changeover. Marx Bros. movie had punch line at end...entirely missed. Also 15 year man. Louis  |  IP: Logged Jamie Glossop Expert Film Handler Posts: 100 From: Nottingham Uk Registered: Jan 2004 posted 03-24-2006 01:04 PM                        25 mins late, wow thats late! The old cinema i used to work at was kind of ok but thier timetables was done wrong, 30 mins before the films sposed to be on the other showing before thats still on, so we was kind pushed by time at some times, Also when the film james bond die another day was on the boss gave everyone a few glasses of wine and a free bottle of wine to all the staff including the projectionists while they was on duty. The cinema was 6 screens number 1 being the biggest 3 on the upstairs which required you to run around alot to each projection room and 3 on the downstairs where they are in the same room, There are always 2 staff on in the booths one doing upstairs and one doing downstairs, Onetime one of the projectionists was late and i had to start all 6 screens and do most of the lens changes to put them into scope, Which at the end of it i was very tired. And not to mention screen 1 projector breaking down and carrying the film down to screen 4. I miss working in the cinema world and i hope this interview ive got coming up will give me a chance to get back into this kind of work.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 03-24-2006 02:51 PM                        I saw a guy STAPLE a film to fix a break once. (not in my theatre, and he's out of the business since 1977, so don't worry) Had a trainee accidentally turn on our old slide projector with a "COMING SOON" slide in it, during a love scene (accident...he was learing to do changeovers and confused the slide-proj switch with the projector motor switch...the audience got a good laugh at least)  |  IP: Logged Jamie Glossop Expert Film Handler Posts: 100 From: Nottingham Uk Registered: Jan 2004 posted 03-24-2006 03:21 PM                        Wow a staple ? Surly that could of some damage if it went through the projector?  |  IP: Logged John Eickhof Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 588 From: Wendell, ID USA Registered: Jan 2000 posted 03-24-2006 04:56 PM                        Staples?? Thats not new ... back in the 70s I ran a few spanish prints from Azteca Films, a stapled splice was GOOD! most of the time they were just lapped over on the reel or a hunk of masking tape was wrapped all the way around the film thus when it hit the old gate in my Sups it raised all kinds of hell! The staples would actually make it through the machine unless they were placed in the sprocket holes!! We never had time to inspect it was a grind 18 hr run mexican theatre!!  |  IP: Logged Ben Wales Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 602 From: Southampton. England Registered: Jul 99 posted 03-24-2006 04:56 PM                     A few years ago I worked at a venue and the Head Projectionist had some strange, but true ideas... 1# Ordered Metal Mirror Polish to clean a Glass Mirror for Xenon Lamphouse. 2# Ordered several Bottles of Blooping Ink to use on a 70mm DTS Print!??. 3# Instructed me to lace up a 70mm film through the 35mm Opitical Soundhead on a Cinemeccancia Victoria 8 to test it working - I had to ask him to show how it's done .  |  IP: Logged Chris Hipp Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1462 From: Mesquite, Tx (east of Dallas) Registered: Jul 2003 posted 03-24-2006 05:33 PM                     quote: Brad Miller I know of one guy who has a fool-proof system for removing scratches from prints. His solution? Simply cut out the scratched footage and throw it away! Voila, a scratch-free print. That is kinda funny, I know a guy locally that takes a sharpie and colors in the scratches as the film is playing.  |  IP: Logged Ron Curran Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 504 From: Springwood NSW Australia Registered: Feb 2006 posted 03-24-2006 09:51 PM                        I remember reading about a projectionist's response to the destruction of hundreds of feet of film. "It wasn't my fault. I was nowhere near the projector at the time!" And we wonder why we're going backwards to digital.  |  IP: Logged Aaron Mehocic Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 804 From: New Castle, PA, USA Registered: Jun 99 posted 03-24-2006 11:11 PM                     Two guys were moving a print without clamps when the center ring gave out on them. Now they probably could have salvaged reels 4-6 rather easily since they were over a platter deck when this happened. Instead, they purposely dumped the whole film onto the floor not being quite sure what to do. It took them about 8 hours to correct their mistake.  |  IP: Logged

All times are Central (GMT -6:00)

This topic comprises 7 pages: 1  2  3  4  5  6  7

Printer-friendly view of this topic

Hop To: Select a Forum: Category: Operations -------------------- Digital Cinema Forum Film Handlers' Forum Large Format Forum Ground Level Feature Info, Trailer Attachments & REAL Credit Offsets Category: Community -------------------- Film-Yak Film Handlers' Movie Reviews The Afterlife Bob Maar's Joke-A-Thon Category: Classified -------------------- Equipment and Supplies Wanted/For Sale Help Wanted/Seeking Employment Category: System -------------------- Software Beta Testing Forum

The Film-Tech Forums are designed for various members related to the cinema industry to express their opinions, viewpoints and testimonials on various products, services and events based upon speculation, personal knowledge and factual information through use, therefore all views represented here allow no liability upon the publishers of this web site and the owners of said views assume no liability for any ill will resulting from these postings. The posts made here are for educational as well as entertainment purposes and as such anyone viewing this portion of the website must accept these views as statements of the author of that opinion and agrees to release the authors from any and all liability.