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This letter chronicles my experience yesterday evening at the Franklin Park Rave/Cinemark in Toledo, OH. I am sharing here to hopefully get someone's attention of the state of cinema in 2020.
2020 has been a trying year. As time has marched on though, there are signs that things are getting better. It’s exciting. When I found out our local Cinemark was at last reopening (along with others across the country) I was full of joy. In all this tumult, finally an option to escape the realities of the present day. And what better way to escape than another fine piece of cinema from a true mater, Christopher Nolan.
I grab a ticket on Fandango and I wait for the day, tinged with anticipation. Some days pass and it’s finally here. I wash my hands, don a mask, and head out for the evening. Upon arrival, everything is where I remember it. Print my ticket at the kiosk, grab some snacks and chat with the usher on podium. I told him how excited I was to be back and he seemed to echo this after the long time off. Everyone was so pleasant and genuinely happy to be here. It was great.
I made my way to my seat in the premium THX certified XD auditorium, got comfy, turned off my phone, and prepared myself for an exhilarating experience. Finally, after nearly 7 months, I was back in a real cinema for a real movie with real fans. How terrific. The lights dim and the sound grows louder. Here we go.
This is the point where everything went wrong. This is the point where the care stopped. This is the point where the cinematic experience was reduced to something downright shameful.
When I worked in this business for over a decade both on the floor and in projection, great care was taken to present a film right. It was our job to make sure the filmmaker’s vision made it on screen and through the speakers without compromise. After all, this is why patrons come to the cinema: to be entertained without the technology getting in the way. Going the extra mile wasn’t optional, it was essential to ensure things were done right. After attending Tenet at Franklin Park, I now realize that idea is dead.
The XD auditorium has a massive screen. The aspect ratio isn’t entirely clear but in the past, scope films (2.4:1) would always fill the screen left to right with a slight letterbox effect on top and bottom. While this was never ideal, it did not ruin the experience. Proper masking would have taken things to the next level but I’m willing to forgive this for now. For Tenet, I expected the experience to be similar, despite the 2.2:1 intended ratio from Mr. Nolan.
To my dismay, the film was run flat. This meant that there was no letterboxing top and bottom, or pillarboxing on the sides, but windowboxing! Nothing is worse than blank space on all four sides on the screen! What is the point of a large screen, premium experience when large portions of the screen go completely unused? The entire presentation of the film in this way is sloppy, unprofessional, and a besmirch to the filmmakers that took great care to make it. If there are bars on all four sides, you’re doing it wrong. Even in an auditorium with no masking, 2 of the 4 sides should have image right up to the edge and there is no excuse for that not to happen.
I sat through the opening sequence of the film, hoping someone would notice or perhaps fix it. This didn’t happen. I made the decision to inform the staff, climbing over other patrons and taking myself out of the auditorium. They were all happy to discuss. I figured maybe in the craziness of things, a small oversight was made. However, the answer I received was that this was intentional and deliberate.
After doing a little research, I learned the DCP was delivered in a flat container with a 2.2:1 image within it. The problem is that most rooms (and the XD house is likely no exception) only have lens presets for flat and scope. This means that you either play Tenet windowboxed flat or cropped scope. While this is a poor choice from the director and the distributor to knowingly and intentionally release a film with a non-standard ratio, this does not mean that a quality-conscious exhibitor can’t make an effort to account for this.
In an XD house such as this, that is rigged without masking, the projection technicians could have created a “flat full container” and a “scope full container” lens setting, based upon the native aspect ratio of the masking-less screen.
For the flat full container macro, the image would be full width of the 1.85 target and blanking would be added to the top and bottom of the image in accordance with the top and bottom of the screen.
For the scope full container macro, the image would be full width of the 2.40:1 target (the full width of the DLP chip) and blanking would be added to the top and bottom of the image in accordance with the top and bottom of the screen.
The above macros would effectively permit non-standard ratios packaged in either flat or scope containers to maximize the screen area. The technical staff would simply need to load up the studio supplied test pattern, or pause on a bright shot from the movie and flip in between them to determine which provided the largest image without cropping any of the image.
Given the non-standard ratio of this XD house, it’s entirely possible that most of the problems here could have been resolved before presenting the movie to a paying audience. Instead though, the easy route was taken, the presentation was ruined, and I missed out on what otherwise could have been a terrific evening.
The staff member that assisted me was kind and professional but I knew he had his hands tied. There wasn’t much he could do to fix this in the moment because the failures were already in place and the movie was rolling. He offered a refund for my ticket and all my concessions, despite my not asking for one. This was a very nice gesture and worthy of respect. In my heart though it saddens me. I know the hardship exhibitors have faced this year. I know how hard it’s been for many to be out of work, struggling to know what’s going to happen. I still have close friends who work in exhibition and know how tough this year has been. I wanted to give you my money for this and show my support. I want to be a cheerleader for getting folks back into cinemas. I want to prove its still fun and worth the risks. In the end though, it simply isn’t when such lack of care is put into the product you sell: watching a movie.
Cinemark used to pride itself in a terrific movie going experience. At one time, it was truly the best seat in town. Sadly, this is no longer true. If this is what Cinemark considers a premium experience, I can’t say that I could ever return to support such blatant disregard for showmanship. Maybe that’s why Front Row Joe and Popcorn Penny have been missing: they too are dismayed and have left, never to return.
Very Disappointed,
Aaron Garman
2020 has been a trying year. As time has marched on though, there are signs that things are getting better. It’s exciting. When I found out our local Cinemark was at last reopening (along with others across the country) I was full of joy. In all this tumult, finally an option to escape the realities of the present day. And what better way to escape than another fine piece of cinema from a true mater, Christopher Nolan.
I grab a ticket on Fandango and I wait for the day, tinged with anticipation. Some days pass and it’s finally here. I wash my hands, don a mask, and head out for the evening. Upon arrival, everything is where I remember it. Print my ticket at the kiosk, grab some snacks and chat with the usher on podium. I told him how excited I was to be back and he seemed to echo this after the long time off. Everyone was so pleasant and genuinely happy to be here. It was great.
I made my way to my seat in the premium THX certified XD auditorium, got comfy, turned off my phone, and prepared myself for an exhilarating experience. Finally, after nearly 7 months, I was back in a real cinema for a real movie with real fans. How terrific. The lights dim and the sound grows louder. Here we go.
This is the point where everything went wrong. This is the point where the care stopped. This is the point where the cinematic experience was reduced to something downright shameful.
When I worked in this business for over a decade both on the floor and in projection, great care was taken to present a film right. It was our job to make sure the filmmaker’s vision made it on screen and through the speakers without compromise. After all, this is why patrons come to the cinema: to be entertained without the technology getting in the way. Going the extra mile wasn’t optional, it was essential to ensure things were done right. After attending Tenet at Franklin Park, I now realize that idea is dead.
The XD auditorium has a massive screen. The aspect ratio isn’t entirely clear but in the past, scope films (2.4:1) would always fill the screen left to right with a slight letterbox effect on top and bottom. While this was never ideal, it did not ruin the experience. Proper masking would have taken things to the next level but I’m willing to forgive this for now. For Tenet, I expected the experience to be similar, despite the 2.2:1 intended ratio from Mr. Nolan.
To my dismay, the film was run flat. This meant that there was no letterboxing top and bottom, or pillarboxing on the sides, but windowboxing! Nothing is worse than blank space on all four sides on the screen! What is the point of a large screen, premium experience when large portions of the screen go completely unused? The entire presentation of the film in this way is sloppy, unprofessional, and a besmirch to the filmmakers that took great care to make it. If there are bars on all four sides, you’re doing it wrong. Even in an auditorium with no masking, 2 of the 4 sides should have image right up to the edge and there is no excuse for that not to happen.
I sat through the opening sequence of the film, hoping someone would notice or perhaps fix it. This didn’t happen. I made the decision to inform the staff, climbing over other patrons and taking myself out of the auditorium. They were all happy to discuss. I figured maybe in the craziness of things, a small oversight was made. However, the answer I received was that this was intentional and deliberate.
After doing a little research, I learned the DCP was delivered in a flat container with a 2.2:1 image within it. The problem is that most rooms (and the XD house is likely no exception) only have lens presets for flat and scope. This means that you either play Tenet windowboxed flat or cropped scope. While this is a poor choice from the director and the distributor to knowingly and intentionally release a film with a non-standard ratio, this does not mean that a quality-conscious exhibitor can’t make an effort to account for this.
In an XD house such as this, that is rigged without masking, the projection technicians could have created a “flat full container” and a “scope full container” lens setting, based upon the native aspect ratio of the masking-less screen.
For the flat full container macro, the image would be full width of the 1.85 target and blanking would be added to the top and bottom of the image in accordance with the top and bottom of the screen.
For the scope full container macro, the image would be full width of the 2.40:1 target (the full width of the DLP chip) and blanking would be added to the top and bottom of the image in accordance with the top and bottom of the screen.
The above macros would effectively permit non-standard ratios packaged in either flat or scope containers to maximize the screen area. The technical staff would simply need to load up the studio supplied test pattern, or pause on a bright shot from the movie and flip in between them to determine which provided the largest image without cropping any of the image.
Given the non-standard ratio of this XD house, it’s entirely possible that most of the problems here could have been resolved before presenting the movie to a paying audience. Instead though, the easy route was taken, the presentation was ruined, and I missed out on what otherwise could have been a terrific evening.
The staff member that assisted me was kind and professional but I knew he had his hands tied. There wasn’t much he could do to fix this in the moment because the failures were already in place and the movie was rolling. He offered a refund for my ticket and all my concessions, despite my not asking for one. This was a very nice gesture and worthy of respect. In my heart though it saddens me. I know the hardship exhibitors have faced this year. I know how hard it’s been for many to be out of work, struggling to know what’s going to happen. I still have close friends who work in exhibition and know how tough this year has been. I wanted to give you my money for this and show my support. I want to be a cheerleader for getting folks back into cinemas. I want to prove its still fun and worth the risks. In the end though, it simply isn’t when such lack of care is put into the product you sell: watching a movie.
Cinemark used to pride itself in a terrific movie going experience. At one time, it was truly the best seat in town. Sadly, this is no longer true. If this is what Cinemark considers a premium experience, I can’t say that I could ever return to support such blatant disregard for showmanship. Maybe that’s why Front Row Joe and Popcorn Penny have been missing: they too are dismayed and have left, never to return.
Very Disappointed,
Aaron Garman
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