Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Hey you, you suck! (AKA: Outing bad film handlers) Part 2

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Topic: Hey you, you suck! (AKA: Outing bad film handlers) Part 2

Randy Stankey
Film God

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

posted 10-28-2006 02:27 PM

Part 1 of this discussion is here.

quote: Randy Stankey
If I was the only person woking in the booth who was able to movie prints and I didn't have a cart or a "Pizza Board" I'd break the print down.

Yes, various print moving devices can be bought or made. Showshippers. Wheeled carts. Home made boards and lifting devices. etc. etc.

But it's weird. A lot of places that really NEED them don't have them, nor do they even think to get them. These are the places I refer to. This is when breaking the print down is necessary... OR spending scads of the above-mentioned money for retroactively solving dropped film problems.

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Aaron Mehocic
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 804
From: New Castle, PA, USA
Registered: Jun 99

posted 10-28-2006 04:36 PM

quote: Brad Miller
What IS stupid are people who move a print BY THEMSELVES WITHOUT CLAMPS!!! (You know who you are.)

As representative of the thread Whats Wrong With This Picture (Do a search, the posts are quite entertaining).

And for the record, the individual in this picture is now out of the business. Married a lawyer he did.

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Paul Van Dusen
Film Handler

Posts: 82
From: Roanoke, VA
Registered: Feb 2006

posted 10-29-2006 03:55 AM

quote: Monte L Fullmer
I'm just the opposite: I like it when googooplexes leave their trailer paks on the print to where I don't have to do anything since I know that these movies will eventually be playing at my 6plex.

(only thing is I have to take their cue settings off and put mine on..)

-Monte

I couldn't agree with you more. [beer]

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Charles Greenlee
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 801
From: Savannah, Ga, U.S.
Registered: Jun 2006

posted 10-29-2006 10:32 AM

quote: Randy Stankey
"Why was the 'operator' carrying a print of Star Wars down the emergency stairwell, by himself?

Good question.
1-The booth is one long hallways, so there was no excuse to try to carry the print downstairs.
2-It was midweek, we weren't losing or moving prints, so there was no excuse to move the print at all.
3-Even if we were losing the print, it gets broken down upstairs, and carried down in its can(s).

The sphincter was in the booth before I was even hired, I don't know who the sphincter who trained him was. I don't know why a whole print, ring, trailers, and all ended up at the bottom of a stairwell. Unofficially, one of the other employees implied that the projectionist in question lost his temper, and the film paid for it. I don't know, and frankly I don't care. I know there was no excuse for the 3+ miles of spaghetti at the bottom of our stairwell, and he was the one who did it. There is no excuse for film being on the floor, unless its a coke ad or something that is being pulled and trashed, and even then I don't want to see it.

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Randy Stankey
Film God

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

posted 10-29-2006 10:45 PM

quote: Charles Greenlee
I don't know why a whole print, ring, trailers, and all ended up at the bottom of a stairwell.

Could "Sphincter Boy" have been trying to steal said print?

I think you did a good thing canning him like that. The kid was trouble. You did the company a favor.

If you could have shown that he was, in fact, in the process of stealing the print you could have called the cops. Was there an exit leading outdoors at the bottom of those stairs? (I assume that an "Emergency Stairwell" would.)

Yeah, I know this is a grey area but think of it this way: If you were the manager of a Wal-Mart and you found an employee walking out of the building with a knapsack full of DVDs wouldn't you can him for stealing? And, IF he had enough DVDs in his knapsack to make it a felony shoplifting charge, wouldn't you call the cops?

Well, that print of Star Wars would have been worth at LEAST $1,000. (And, if you believe the studios, it could be worth $10,000!) That's Grand Larceny in almost any juristdiction.

At the very minimum, that kid should have found himself in the office explaining to you why you shouldn't be calling the cops!

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Charles Greenlee
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 801
From: Savannah, Ga, U.S.
Registered: Jun 2006

posted 10-30-2006 12:37 AM

Nope, doesn't fit him trying to steal it. He's not that smart. Not to mention, he carries prints all of the time. Even if he did try to steal it, why was it spaghetti at the bottom of the steps? The stairwell also has a door leading into the main hallway below. I think you'd have to be reaching to try to claim stealing on that. However, you're right on one thing. It would have provided some extra psycological impact if I had played that angle on him. But anyways, from what I was told, it appear that he was pissed, threw a tantrem and the film. I think that the projector had problems earlier, and it probably pissed his dumbass off.

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Randy Stankey
Film God

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

posted 10-30-2006 12:03 PM

If you don't think he was stealing then fine. But he could have been carrying it down the stairs for whatever reason and tripped and dropped it. Viola! Spaghetti!

I have NEVER seen a projector misbehave for no reason. Even on those crappy Christies, there's a reason, even if it's a poor design.

For instance, if you didn't thread the projector the right way, or if you didn't clean it before you threaded it, a Christie would spite you for all sorts of reasons but there's no reason to be mad enough to throw a print down the stairs. Yeah, I'd get mad about crappy projectors but there are limits.

Bringing this back around to the topic sentence: "People who suck and the companies that hire them."

It used to be that kids like old "Sphincter Boy", there would wash out of the booth rather quickly... The first week, if not the first DAY! But, nowadays, there is such a lack of respect and professionalism that idiots like this become the norm rather than the exception.

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Monte L Fullmer
Film God

Posts: 8367
From: Nampa, Idaho, USA
Registered: Nov 2004

posted 10-31-2006 01:54 PM

Okey - Time for another RANT: (and maybe Brad can put together a small "show and tell" on this one) My biggest RANT is those clowns who DO NOT know how to use a Christie MUT.

1-You take the film from the platter (if your soundtrack is up)
, give it a half twist. (If you're one of those who do soundtrack down, good luck since the print will skip across the deck as the film is being pulled across the deck on breakdown since the soundtrack will be ready to meet the pole with soundtrack inboard.)

2-When feeding the film to the first roller (top or bottom one depending where the deck is holding the print) on the pole, the soundtrack should be facing IN towards the pole (since the reel is spinning in an anti-clockwise direction instead of the STRONG MUTs and other MUTS that spin the reel in the clockwise direction) where the film is winding soundgtrack in on the reel.

You don't know how sometimes when I get film that is wound in the opposite direction on the reel since I have STRONG MUTS.

Now, granted, I can bear with this abnomality at times, BUT, ther are times when I have to assembl trailer paks to these reversed prints on the Kelmar bench that can pull teeth from mad cow at times.

RANT off

thx - Monte

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Steve Guttag
We forgot the crackers Gromit!!!

Posts: 12814
From: Annapolis, MD
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 10-31-2006 02:26 PM

The problem Monte with this rant is it is another discussion...emulsion in versus emulsion out wind. The opinions and findings differ and seem to carry great emotion.

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Monte L Fullmer
Film God

Posts: 8367
From: Nampa, Idaho, USA
Registered: Nov 2004

posted 10-31-2006 07:49 PM

Hi Steve - Yes,I can see where you're coming at with the emulsion topic and do agree. It's just that some of us are stuck in the area of the classic Edison "S" wind.

Also, the big problem is that 99.99% of the theatres around this part of the UNION has employees that has never had the opportunity of proper booth training on equipment - like the blind leading the blind.
Plus, most all of the films I receive (ETS prints) come from theatres within a two-state area of Idaho and Utah.

As for the TECH prints and being more nationwide, I still see prints from TECH that have been wound emulsion in on shipping reels..
-Monte

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Brad Miller
Administrator

Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99

posted 10-31-2006 07:53 PM

You know, if someone wants to break a print down emulsion in, do the WHOLE PRINT emulsion in and it's not that big of a deal. All of my findings have shown that to not be the ideal way, but fine, if someone wants to wind that way for shipment just keep it consistent.

What really ticks me off are these doofuses who resplice (or even worse, masking tape) the leaders back on with the soundtrack flipped. [Mad]

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

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

posted 10-31-2006 08:28 PM

Right....if you have tail leaders that are "backwards," it takes all of ten seconds to unwind and flip them so they're oriented correctly.

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Monte L Fullmer
Film God

Posts: 8367
From: Nampa, Idaho, USA
Registered: Nov 2004

posted 10-31-2006 11:55 PM

quote: Brad Miller
....these doofuses who resplice (or even worse, masking tape) the leaders back on with the soundtrack flipped.

Where I get off on the the Christie MUT thing. For it's easy to wind soundtrack away from the post on the shipping reel.

How I can tell they don't know how to use these MUTS is this very thing - flipping the leads of both ends-was the basis for my rant.

You think that these clowns can get a clue when the prints comes in from the depots .. the EDISON way...(sorry, didn't mean to want to make a big issue on this, just making a voice and wonder if any others that works in the discount houses have rants of their own on this issue,) - Monte

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Steve Guttag
We forgot the crackers Gromit!!!

Posts: 12814
From: Annapolis, MD
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 11-01-2006 08:13 AM

I'm with Brad on this one...the rant (remember the thread is about sucking) should be on consistancy...if you are going to break down a print a certian way...do it that way all of the way through.

As for track towards the pole or emusion oriented a certain way, you have no case...that is mere personal preference and no relation to "sucking."

Steve

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Randy Stankey
Film God

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

posted 11-01-2006 09:36 AM

Aren't the Strong MUTs the same as the Potts/Alpha ones?

If so, getting the soundtrack up/down (emulsion in/out) is as easy as altering the twist in the film as it goes through the rollers. Isn't it?

On my MUT, for build up, the film comes off the reel spinning counter-clockwise then it zig-zags through the mini accumulator/tensioner. After that, it makes a 90º twist and goes up the pole and onto the platter.

So, it doesn't matter which way the soundtrack/emulsion is facing as it comes off the reel. Does it? You can always orient the reel so that the film unspools CCW then make that last twist to the left or to the right so that the film is the way you want it.

Breaking down is the same way, only in reverse. The film comes from the platter, down the pole and around the corner. Then you make the twist in the desired direction and zig-zag through the rollers and onto the reel.

Again, it doesn't matter which way the drive motor spins because it's easy to simply twist the film the other way.

Isn't this right? Or are you guys talking about something else?

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